Automated portable medication radial dispensing apparatus and method using a carrier tape

• US 20040094564A1
• Filed: 02/14/2003
• Published: 05/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EMMA Health Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: INRange Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Papp, Mary Anne
• Granted Patent: US 6,848,593 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 221/25
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/035 Blister-type containers blisters in general B65D75/36
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/30 Compliance analysis for taking medication
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/10 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0084 for multiple medicaments
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/0454 the whole forming a circular container with rotating parts B65D83/0463 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/0463 formed in a band or a blisterweb, inserted in a dispensing device or container
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/66 Trinkets, e.g. shirt buttons or jewellery items recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00

Abstract

A portable medication cartridge allows for both manual and automated dispensing of tablets or capsules of virtually all sizes through a radial dispensing apparatus. The cartridge may be sealed and encoded with medication and patient identification. A microprocessor controlled medication dispensing apparatus includes a cartridge magazine capable of holding a plurality of cartridges for the same or different patients. The portable medication dispensing apparatus and method detects patient identification data and activates a radial dispensing medication cartridge in response to verification of patient identification data. The radial dispensing medication cartridge may include, for example, a tablet carrier tape having a plurality of tablet packets with at least a partially open side. The tablet carrier tape accommodates different sizes and types of tablets or capsules and is sealed with a cover tape having an identification of the tablets. The cover tape is removed after the carrier tape is inserted into the dispensing medication cartridge. The medication is sequentially advanced and allowed to radially dispense through the open side of the tablet carrier tape from the medication cartridge.

Claims

1. A medication dispensing device, comprising:

a tablet carrier tape having a plurality of tablet pockets, each of the pockets having one opening; and

the tablet carrier tape having first and second ends that are attached to one another.

2. The medication dispensing device of claim 1, wherein a tablet cover tape is removably attached to the tablet carrier tape and positioned to cover the openings of the pockets.

3. The medication dispensing device of claim 2, wherein at least one of each of the tablet pockets, except for at least one of first and last pockets, contains a respective tablet that is retained therein by the tablet cover tape.

4. The medication dispensing device of claim 1, wherein the first and second ends have predetermined structures that are engageable with one another such that the first and second ends of the tablet carrier tape are releasable attachable to one another.

5. The medication dispensing device of claim 1, wherein a first pocket on the first end of the carrier tape is engageable with a last pocket on the second end of the carrier tape.

6. The medication dispensing device of claim 1, wherein the tablet carrier tape has a registration structure.

7. The medication dispensing device of claim 6, wherein each of the pockets has at least one aperture in a side opposite the opening, and wherein the at least one aperture forms the registration structure.

8. The medication dispensing device of claim 6, wherein the registration structure is a series of registration apertures in at least one edge of the tablet carrier tape.

9. The medication dispensing device of claim 6, wherein the pockets on the tablet carrier tape are spaced apart by substantially equal separation areas, and wherein the separation areas form the registration structure.

10. The medication dispensing device of claim 2, wherein the cover tape has machine readable medication identification data thereon.

14. The medication dispensing device of claim 9, wherein the tablet carrier tape has a registration structure.

15. The medication dispensing device of claim 14, wherein each of the pockets has at least one aperture in a side thereof opposite the opening and wherein the at least one aperture in the pockets forms the registration structure.

16. The medication dispensing device of claim 14, wherein the registration structure is a series of registration apertures in at least one edge of the tablet carrier tape.

17. The medication dispensing device of claim 14, wherein the pockets on the tablet carrier tape are spaced apart by substantially equal separation areas, and wherein the separation areas form the registration structure.

18. The medication dispensing device of claim 14, wherein the tablet pockets are sized to hold a single tablet.

11. A medication dispensing device, comprising:

a housing having a base and a cover;

a tablet carrier tape having a plurality of tablet pockets, each of the pockets having one opening, the tablet carrier tape having first and second ends that are attached to one another to form a loop;

a tablet cover tape initially removably attached to the tablet carrier tape and positioned to cover the openings of the pockets and thereafter affixed to an outer perimeter of the housing;

at least one of each of the tablet pockets, except for at least one of the first and last pockets, containing a respective tablet that is retained therein by the tablet cover tape; and

a rotational member for positioning the tablet cover tape and having a plurality of actuation surfaces that are configured to engage an actuating device to rotationally advance the tablet carrier tape for radially releasing tablets of medication, the rotational member being positioned between the base and cover of the housing.

12. The medication dispensing device of claim 11, wherein the first and second ends have predetermined structures that are engageable with one another such that the first and second ends of the tablet carrier tape are releasable attachable to one another.

13. The medication dispensing device of claim 11, wherein a first pocket on the first end of the carrier tape is engageable with a last pocket on the second end of the carrier tape.

19. The medication dispensing device of claim 11, wherein the base has a slot and wherein at least a portion of the rotating member extends through the slot to expose engageable surfaces to an actuating member.

20. The medication dispensing device of claim 11, wherein the cover includes a tablet retaining wall protruding from a surface thereof.

21. The medication dispensing device of claim 11, wherein, the device further comprises an activation surface to facilitate manual radial dispensing of medication from the cartridge.

22. The medication dispensing device of claim 11, wherein the rotational member is a gear and wherein the actuation surfaces include teeth.

23. The medication dispensing device of claim 11, wherein the base includes a plurality of ratchet protrusions operatively engageable with the rotational member to restrict rotational movement to facilitate single dose radial dispensing of tablets.

24. The medication dispensing device of claim 11 wherein at least the cover tape has machine readable medication identification data that is visible when the cover tape is attached to the carrier tape and when the cover tape is affixed to the cartridge.

25. A method of filling a tablet carrier tape, comprising the steps of:

providing a carrier tape having a plurality of pockets, each of the pockets having one opening;

filling at least one of the pockets of a predetermined length of the carrier tape with tablets of the medications, leaving empty at least one predetermined pocket of the plurality of pockets.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the method further comprises:

sealing the carrier tape with a cover tape having an identifier such that the openings are covered;

attaching a first end of the carrier tape to a second end of the carrier tape to form a loop;

installing the carrier tape in a cartridge;

removing the cover tape from the carrier tape and affixing the cover tape to an outer perimeter of the cartridge;

removing the cover tape from the carrier tape, the cartridge retaining the tablets in respective pockets of the carrier tape, and installing the cartridge in a medication dispenser;

identifying a patient and determining a medication to be dispensed and a number of tablets of the medication to be dispensed;

selecting via the identifier a cartridge that contains the determined medication;

removing from the respective carrier tape the determined number of tablets of the determined medication, and moving the number of tablets to a predetermined area of the medication dispenser; and

monitoring the predetermined area for removal of the tablets.

27. The method according to claim 25, wherein the method further comprises:

attaching a first end of the carrier tape to a second end of the carrier tape such that a loop is formed with the cover tape on an outer side thereof.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein in the step of filling the pockets, one of a first pocket on the first end of the tape or a last pocket on a second end of the tape remains empty, and wherein the first pocket on the first end of the tape engages the last pocket on the second end of the tape to thereby attach the first and second ends together.

29. The method according to claim 27, wherein the first end of the tape is glued to the second end of the tape to thereby form the loop.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein the first and second ends are glued using one of a cold seal adhesive and a heat activated adhesive.

31. The method according to claim 29, wherein the first and second ends are glued using a pressure sensitive adhesive.

32. The method according to claim 26, wherein in the step of filling the carrier tape a predetermined pocket is left empty such that when the cover tape is removed from the carrier strip, the predetermined pocket is in alignment with an opening in the cartridge for removal of tablets from the pockets.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein in the step of removing tablets from the carrier tape, the carrier tape is rotated such that a number of pockets equal to the number of tablets to be dispensed move past the opening in the cartridge, thereby releasing a number of tablets equal to the number of tablets to be dispensed.

34. A method or filing a tablet carrier tape comprising the steps of:

providing a carrier tape having a plurality of pockets, each of the pockets having one opening;

filling at least one of the pockets of a predetermined length of the carrier tape with tablets of the medication;

sealing the carrier tape with a cover tape such that the openings of the pockets are covered; and

attaching a first end of the carrier tape to a second end of the carrier tape such that a loop is formed with the cover tape on an outer side thereof.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein in the step of filling the pockets, one of a first pocket on the first end of the tape or a last pocket on a second end of the tape remains empty, and wherein the first pocket on the first end of the tape engages the last pocket on the second end of the tape to thereby attach the first and second ends together.

36. The method according to claim 34, wherein the first end of the tape is glued to the second end of the tape to thereby form the loop.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein the first and second ends are glued using one of a cold seal adhesive and a heat activated adhesive.

38. The method according to claim 36, wherein the first and second ends are glued using a pressure sensitive adhesive.

39. The medication dispensing device of claim 34, wherein the at least one of the carrier tape and cover tape has machine readable medication identification data.

40. A method of dispensing medication, comprising the steps of:

providing a carrier tape having a plurality of pockets, each of the pockets having one opening;

filling at least one of the pockets of a predetermined length of the carrier tape with tablets of the medication, leaving empty at least one predetermined pocket of the plurality of pockets;

sealing the carrier tape with a cover tape having an identifier;

attaching a first end of the carrier tape to a second end of the carrier tape to form a loop;

installing the carrier tape in a cartridge;

the cover tape from the carrier tape and affixing the cover tape to an outer perimeter of the cartridge such that the identifier is readable, the cartridge retaining the tablets in respective pockets of the carrier tape, and installing the cartridge in a medication dispenser;

identifying a patient and determining a medication to be dispensed and a number of tablets of the medication to be dispensed;

selecting via the identifier a cartridge that contains the determined medication;

removing from the respective carrier tape the determined number of tablets of the determined medication, and moving the number of tablets to a predetermined area of the medication dispenser; and

monitoring the predetermined area for removal of the tablets.

41. The method according to claim 40, wherein the method further comprises attaching a first end of the carrier tape to a second end of the carrier tape such that a loop is formed with the cover tape on an outer side thereof.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein the step of filling the pockets, one of a first pocket on the first end of the tape or a last pocket on a second end of the tape remains empty, and wherein the first pocket on the first end of the tape engages the last pocket on the second end of the tape to thereby attach the first and second ends together.

43. The method according to claim 41, wherein the first end of the tape is glued to the second end of the tape to thereby form the loop.

44. The method according to claim 43, wherein the first and second ends are glued using one of a cold seal adhesive and a heat activated adhesive.

45. The method according to claim 43, wherein the first and second ends are glued using a pressure sensitive adhesive.