Patent ID: 7806852

Claim:
A patient-controlled system for dispensing medication to a patient at times determined by the patient in an in-patient setting, comprising: a fingerprint sensor for reading at least a portion of a fingerprint of the patient's finger when the finger is positioned on the fingerprint sensor; a patient activated actuation device operatively associated with the fingerprint sensor; an encasement connected to the fingerprint sensor and the patient activated actuation device for impeding the ability for a person other than the patient to use the patient's finger to activate the patient activated actuation device; a microprocessor for receiving data from the fingerprint sensor, the data representing the portion of the fingerprint, and analyzing the data by comparing the fingerprint to a previously stored fingerprint to verify the patient; a delivery device connected directly to the patient for administering a prescribed amount of the medication to the patient based on the activation of the patient activated actuation device by the patient and verification of the patient; and a sensor for providing a signal to the microprocessor to prevent the dispensing of medication responsive to detecting that the encasement is not connected to the fingerprint sensor such that the encasement is no longer impeding the ability for a person other than the patient to use the patient's finger to activate the patient activated actuation device.