Dispensing inspection device, dispensing inspection method, and recording medium

• US 10,314,767 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2017
• Issued: 06/11/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hasegawa, Kazuhide
• Primary Examiner(s): Conner, Sean M
• Application Number:
  US15/805,515
• Publication Number:
  US 20180055736A1
• Time in Patent Office: 581 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/035 Blister-type containers blisters in general B65D75/36
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/10 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0076 Medicament distribution means with pill counting devices A61J7/02; with time indication A61J7/04; containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents B65D83/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/02 Pill counting devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/9508 Capsules; Tablets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/22 Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10 by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensing; by corpuscular radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1413 1D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30232 Surveillance
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30242 Counting objects in image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0014 using an image reference approach
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/13 Edge detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/147 Details of sensors, e.g. sensor lenses fingerprint or palmprint sensors G06V40/13; vascular sensors G06V40/145; eye sensors G06V40/19
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/66 Trinkets, e.g. shirt buttons or jewellery items recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 2201/06 Recognition of objects for industrial automation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 2201/07 Target detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/10 Character recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/153 using recognition of characters or words
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 : for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0063 : with means for detecting the geometric dimensions of the article of which the code is read, such as its size or height, for the verification of the registration
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 : for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 : delivered from dispensers

Abstract

There are provided a dispensing inspection device, a dispensing inspection method, a program, and a recording medium capable of inspecting whether dispensing is appropriately performed with high reliability. By obtaining a first image captured by imaging a rear surface of a medicine sheet and a second image obtained by imaging a lateral side thereof, and a third image obtained by irradiating a front surface of a fractional medicine with light from an inclined lower side, detecting a medicine name using OCR and/or code recognition from the first image, detecting the number of medicine sheets from the second image, detecting the number of fractional medicines from the third image, detecting a total number of medicines from the number of the medicine sheets and the number of the fractional medicines, and determining whether a medicine name and the number of medicines in prescription information and the detected medicine name and the detected total number of medicines match each other.

Claims

1. A dispensing inspection device comprising:

a first mounting table for placing one or more medicine sheets and a second mounting table for placing fractional medicines cut from the one or more medicine sheets;

diffusing lighting means for irradiating the first mounting table with diffused light from a lower side of the first mounting table;

first imaging means for imaging the one or more medicine sheets placed on the first mounting table from the lower side of the first mounting table and second imaging means for imaging the one or more medicine sheets placed on the first mounting table from a lateral side of the first mounting table;

third imaging means for imaging the fractional medicines placed on the second mounting table from a lower side of the second mounting table;

inclined lighting means for irradiating the second mounting table with light from a lower side of the second mounting table in a state where an optical axis thereof has an angle with respect to an optical axis of the third imaging means;

medicine name detection means for detecting a medicine name of the one or more medicine sheets using at least one of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and code recognition from a first image captured by the first imaging means;

medicine number detection means for detecting the number of the one or more medicine sheets from a second image captured by the second imaging means, detecting the number of fractional medicines from a third image captured by the third imaging means, and detecting a total number of medicines from the number of the one or more medicine sheets and the number of the fractional medicines; and

inspection result determination means for determining whether a medicine name and a number of medicines in acquired prescription information and the medicine name of the one or more medicine sheets detected by the medicine name detection means and the total number of medicines detected by the medicine number detection means match each other.

2. The dispensing inspection device according to claim 1, further comprising:

side lighting means for irradiating the one or more medicine sheets placed on the first mounting table with light from a lateral side of the first mounting table.

3. The dispensing inspection device according to claim 1,

wherein an angle formed by the optical axis of the inclined lighting means and the optical axis of the third imaging means is 30°

to 60°

.

4. The dispensing inspection device according to claim 1,

wherein the inclined lighting means emits light of which a half-width of a light intensity in an orientation distribution is 20°

to 60°

.

5. The dispensing inspection device according to claim 1,

wherein the medicine number detection means detects the number of fractional medicines using brightness and darkness of the third image.

6. The dispensing inspection device according to claim 5,

wherein the medicine number detection means detects the number of fractional medicines using a combination of a bright portion of the third image and a dark portion adjacent to the bright portion.

7. The dispensing inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the medicine number detection means performs edge detection to detect an end face of a sheet-like material from the second image, and detects the number of the one or more medicine sheets from the second image using at least one of the shape of an end portion of the detected end face, a density between the detected end faces, a density within the detected end faces, the thickness of the detected end face, and regularity of images between the detected end faces.

8. The dispensing inspection device according to claim 1,

wherein the inclined lighting means has an elongated shape, and a length of the inclined lighting means in a longitudinal direction is equal to or longer than a length, in a direction that matches the longitudinal direction of the inclined lighting means, of the imaging region set on the second mounting table.

9. The dispensing inspection device according to claim 1,

wherein the first mounting table is inclined with respect to a horizontal direction.

10. The dispensing inspection device according to claim 1, further comprising:

positioning means vertically provided with respect to the first mounting table for determining a position of the one or more medicine sheets on the first mounting table.

11. A dispensing inspection method comprising:

capturing, in a state where one or more medicine sheets placed on a first mounting table with a rear surface thereof being directed downward is irradiated with diffused light from a lower side of the mounting table, a first image obtained by imaging the one or more medicine sheets from the lower side of the first mounting table, and a second image obtained by imaging the one or more medicine sheets from a lateral side of the first mounting table;

capturing, in a state where fractional medicines cut from the one or more medicine sheets are placed on a second mounting table with a front surface thereof being directed downward and are irradiated with light from an inclined lower side of the second mounting table with respect to an optical axis for imaging, a third image obtained by imaging the fractional medicines from the lower side of the second mounting table;

detecting a medicine name of the one or more medicine sheets using at least one of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and code recognition from the first image, the number of the one or more medicine sheets from the second image, the number of the fractional medicines from the third image, and a total number of medicines from the number of the one or more medicine sheets and the number of the fractional medicines; and

determining whether a medicine name and a number of medicines in acquired prescription information and the detected medicine name of the one or more medicine sheets and the detected total number of medicines match each other.

12. The dispensing inspection method according to claim 11, further comprising:

irradiating the one or more medicine sheets from a lateral side of the first mounting table in capturing the second image.

13. The dispensing inspection method according to claim 11,

wherein in capturing the third image, an angle formed by the optical axis for capturing the third image and the optical axis of light emitted to the second mounting table is 30°

to 60°

.

14. The dispensing inspection method according to claim 11,

wherein light emitted to the second mounting table in capturing the third image is light of which a half-width of a light intensity in an orientation distribution is 20°

to 60°

.

15. The dispensing inspection method according to claim 11, further comprising:

detecting the number of fractional medicines using brightness and darkness of the third image.

16. The dispensing inspection method according to claim 11, further comprising:

performing edge detection to detect an end face of a sheet-like material from the second image, and detecting the number of the one or more medicine sheets from the second image using at least one of the shape of an end portion of the detected end face, a density between the detected end faces, a density within the detected end faces, the thickness of the detected end face, and regularity of images between the detected end faces.

17. The dispensing inspection method according to claim 11,

wherein a light source of light emitted to the second mounting table in capturing the third image has an elongated shape, and a length thereof in a longitudinal direction is equal to or longer than a length, in a direction that matches a longitudinal direction of inclined illumination, of an imaging region set on the second mounting table.

18. The dispensing inspection method according to claim 11,

wherein the first mounting table is inclined with respect to a horizontal direction.

19. The dispensing inspection method according to claim 11, wherein the first mounting table includes positioning means vertically provided with respect to the first mounting table for determining a position of the one or more medicine sheets on the first mounting table.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program causing a computer to execute:

a step of causing first imaging means to capture a first image obtained by imaging one or more medicine sheets that are placed on a first mounting table and are irradiated with diffused light from a lower side thereof, from the lower side of the first mounting table, and causing second imaging means to capture a second image of the one or more medicine sheets from a lateral side of the first mounting table;

a step of causing third imaging means to capture a third image obtained by imaging fractional medicines cut from the one or more medicine sheets, placed on the second mounting table, and irradiated with light from a lower side thereof in a state where an optical axis of the light is inclined with respect to an optical axis for imaging, from the lower side of the second mounting table;

a step of detecting a medicine name of the one or more medicine sheets using at least one of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and code recognition from the first image;

a step of detecting the number of the one or more medicine sheets from the second image, detecting the number of fractional medicines from the third image, and detecting a total number of medicines from the number of the one or more medicine sheets and the number of the fractional medicines; and

a step of determining whether a medicine name and a number of medicines in acquired prescription information and the detected medicine name of the one or more medicine sheets and the detected total number of medicines match each other.