Container with content monitoring and reporting capabilities

• US 10,650,660 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2019
• Issued: 05/12/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sam Johnson
• Original Assignee: Sam Johnson
• Inventors: Johnson, Sam
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Toan N
• Application Number:
  US16/374,547
• Publication Number:
  US 20190318607A1
• Time in Patent Office: 405 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/18 Arrangements for indicating condition of container contents, e.g. sterile condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/30 Compliance analysis for taking medication
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/70 Device provided with specific sensor or indicating means
• 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 7/0427 with direct interaction with a dispensing or delivery system
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0436 resulting from removing a drug from, or opening, a container
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/049 automatically changing in response to a schedule deviation by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/86 Secure or tamper-resistant housings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/06 by tampering with fastening
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/08 by opening, e.g. of door, of window, of drawer, of shutter, of curtain, of blind
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/18 Status alarms G08B21/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/24 Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence

Abstract

An activity monitor is associated with a container, such as a medication bottle, and includes one or more detectors configured to detect activity associated with the bottle, such as movement, opening and/or closing, and changes in volume and/or mass. The activity monitor may include alerting devices and be programmed with scheduling information. The activity monitor may also, or instead, be part of a system and communicate with one or more remote devices such as a user device or monitoring system, such as to receive programming information from those devices or to output activity information to those devices.

Claims

1. A closed-loop content monitoring and feedback system comprising:

a host monitoring system comprising at least one server comprising a processor, a communication interface, a memory and machine-readable code stored in the memory and executable by the processor; and

a plurality of monitored medical containers, each monitored medical container comprising a container and at least one monitoring apparatus comprising at least one activity detector associated with said container which detects activity associated with said container when said housing is mounted to said container, and a processing unit communicatively coupled to the at least one activity detector and configured to transmit information regarding a detected activity at said monitored medical container;

said host monitoring system configured to receive information from said plurality of monitored medical containers regarding detected activity and configured to generate an alert when said detected activities indicate that medication associated with at least two of said plurality of monitored medical containers associated with a single user poses a threat of interaction.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said system is further configured to transmit said alert to at least one of a communication device of said user, a pharmacist of said user and a physician of said user.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said information received from each of said plurality of monitored medical containers comprises information regarding a medication associated with said container.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said host monitoring system stores information regarding a medication associated with said at least two of said plurality of monitored medical containers.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein said information regarding said medication is received from a pharmacy which dispensed each of said monitored medical containers.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said processing unit transmits information which identifies said container and said host monitoring system is configured to generate an alert when said detected activities are associated with at least two of said plurality of medical containers corresponding to a single patient and said at least two of said plurality of medical containers contain medication which poses a threat of interaction.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein said detected activities comprise detection that medication associated with said at least two of said plurality of monitored medical containers is being taken within a designated period of time.

8. A medical container content monitoring system comprising:

a container;

a cap mounted to said container; and

a content monitoring apparatus configured monitor said container, the content monitoring apparatus comprising;

at least one activity detector which detects activity associated with said container;

a communication interface; and

a processing unit communicatively coupled to the at least one activity detector, said processing unit configured to enable a communication link between said content monitoring apparatus and a mobile communication device of said user via said communication interface, to receive user input via said communication link with said communication interface and, when said user input is determined to comprise an authorizing input, to unlock said cap to allow said user to remove said cap and access said container and to transmit activity information to one or more remote devices in response to the detection of activity by said at least one activity detector.

9. The system in accordance with claim 8 wherein said user input comprises a PIN.

10. The system in accordance with claim 8 wherein said user input device comprises a fingerprint reader and said user input comprises a fingerprint.

11. The system in accordance with claim 8 wherein said at least one activity detector comprises one or more of a mass sensing device, an accelerometer and a volume measuring device.

12. The system in accordance with claim 8 wherein said one or more remote devices comprises a communication device of said user.

13. A closed-loop content monitoring and feedback system comprising:

a host monitoring system comprising at least one server comprising a processor, a communication interface, a database, a memory and machine-readable code stored in the memory and executable by the processor; and

a plurality of monitored medical containers, each monitored medical container comprising a container and at least one monitoring apparatus comprising at least one activity detector associated with said container which detects activity associated with said container when said housing is mounted to said container, and a processing unit communicatively coupled to the at least one activity detector and configured to transmit information regarding a detected activity at said monitored medical container;

said host monitoring system configured to receive information from one or more pharmacies regarding monitored medical containers which have been dispensed and to store said information in said database, said information comprising at least an ID of said monitored medical container, information regarding medication associated with said container;

said host monitoring system further configured to store in said database information regarding a plurality of patients and to associate information regarding monitored medical containers issued to each of said plurality of patients to said information regarding said patients, said information regarding each of said plurality of patients comprising one or more of a name of the patient, contact information for the patient and contact information for one or more third parties designated by said patient.

14. The closed-loop content monitoring and feedback system in accordance with claim 13 wherein said host monitoring system generates and transmits an alert to the one or more third parties designated by a patient when said host monitoring system receives information regarding a detected activity associated with a monitored medical container which is linked to said patient.

15. The closed-loop content monitoring and feedback system in accordance with claim 14 wherein said alert comprises a message transmitted to a mobile communication device of said third party.

16. The closed-loop content monitoring and feedback system in accordance with claim 15 wherein said host monitoring system receives secondary information from a secondary device of at least one patient and stored said secondary information in said database in association with said patient.

17. The closed-loop content monitoring and feedback system in accordance with claim 16 wherein said secondary information comprises nutritional information.

18. The closed-loop content monitoring and feedback system in accordance with claim 14 wherein said host monitoring system generates and transmits information to a physician of a patient in response to receiving information regarding a detected activity associated with a monitored medical container which is linked to said patient.

19. The closed-loop content monitoring and feedback system in accordance with claim 18 wherein said information which is transmitted to said physician comprises medication compliance information.