Medical products and medical product ordering system

• US 20060016897A1
• Filed: 07/22/2005
• Published: 01/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha (Terumo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha (Terumo Corporation)
• Inventors: Yasuda, Kenichi, Iwami, Jun, Numata, Shigeki
• Granted Patent: US 8,028,835 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2050/314 Flexible bags or pouches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 50/30 Containers specially adapted for packaging, protecting, dispensing, collecting or disposing of surgical or diagnostic appliances or instruments for wound clamps A61B17/10; for ligaturing clips A61B17/122; packages or dispensers for surgical gloves or finger-stalls A61B42/40
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/98 using electromagnetic means, e.g. transponders
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/10 Bag-type containers
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/1437 Locking means requiring key or combination to open the container
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/1468 Containers characterised by specific material properties
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/60 using magnetic or electronic identifications, e.g. chips, RFID, electronic tags

Abstract

A transaction management system is capable of simply and accurately gathering information about the use of medical products with minimized human errors and automatically executing issuance of invoices of suppliers and restocking of used products on the basis of the results of use of products deposited at medical centers. The system comprises a computer system having an antenna electrically connected to a reader and a medical product encapsulated in a sterilized environment in a package. The package is provided with an IC tag arranged such that signal transmission and/or reception is disabled while the package remains unopened so that the medical product is in the sterilized condition. The IC tag becomes wirelessly communicable with the antenna when the package is opened to remove the medical product. The computer system reads the product information about the medical product from the IC tag now wirelessly communicable with the antenna and, on the basis of the obtained product information, places an order to a supplier for the replenishment of the used medical product through a dedicated line or an external network.

Claims

1. A medical product storage pack comprising a package, a medical product encapsulated in a sterilized environment in the package, and an IC tag arranged at the package such that at least one of signal transmission and signal reception by the IC tag is disabled, and such that at least one of signal reception and signal transmission by said IC tag is enabled upon opening said package to permit removal of said medical product from said package.

2. The medical product storage pack according to claim 1, wherein said IC tag, prior to the opening of the package, is sandwiched between electromagnetic wave shield sheets that are integrally attached to portions of said package such that said electromagnetic wave shield sheets are separated away from each other when said package is opened.

3. The medical product storage pack according to claim 1, wherein said IC tag comprises an antenna that is at least one of a signal transmission antenna and a signal reception antenna, and an electrically conductive strip adhesively secured to said antenna, the electrically conductive strip being peeled off from said antenna when said package is opened.

4. The medical product storage pack according to claim 3, wherein said medical product and said IC tag are encapsulated in two different sections of said package which are both exposed when said package is opened.

5. The medical product storage pack according to claim 4, wherein said IC tag is a first IC tag, and comprising a second IC tag enabled for at least one of signal transmission and signal reception when said medical product is encapsulated in the sterilized environment.

6. The medical product storage pack according to claim 1, wherein said medical product and said IC tag are encapsulated in different sections of said package which are both exposed when said package is opened.

7. The medical product storage pack according to claim 6, wherein said IC tag is a first IC tag, and comprising a second IC tag enabled for at least one of signal transmission and signal reception when said medical product is encapsulated in the sterilized environment.

8. The medical product storage pack according to claim 1, wherein said IC tag is a first IC tag, and comprising a second IC tag enabled for at least one of signal transmission and signal reception when said medical product is encapsulated in the sterilized environment.

9. A medical product storage pack comprising:

a closed package possessing an enclosed space in which is located a medical product under sterilized conditions, the closed package being openable so that the space is no longer under sterilized conditions to permit removal of the medical product from the package;

an IC tag arranged at the package;

means for disabling at least one of signal transmission and signal reception by said IC tag when the package is closed and for enabling at least one of the signal reception and the signal transmission by said IC tag when the package is opened so that the space is no longer under sterilized conditions.

10. The medical product storage pack according to claim 9, wherein said means comprises electromagnetic wave shield sheets integrally attached to portions of said package.

11. The medical product storage pack according to claim 9, wherein said IC tag comprises an antenna that is at least one of a signal transmission antenna and a signal reception antenna, and said means comprises an electrically conductive strip secured to said antenna, the electrically conductive strip being peeled off from said antenna when said package is opened.

12. The medical product storage pack according to claim 9, wherein said medical product and said IC tag are encapsulated in two different sections of said package which are both exposed when said package is opened.

13. A medical product order accepting and placing system comprising:

a computer system electrically connected to a first antenna by way of a reader device;

a medical product encapsulated in a sterilized environment in a package, said package being provided with an IC tag arranged at the package such that at least one of signal transmission and signal reception by the IC tag is disabled and such that at least one of signal reception and signal transmission by said IC tag is enabled upon opening said package to permit removal of said medical product from said package; and

said computer system comprising a storage section in which is stored product information about said medical product obtained from a signal received by the first antenna from the enabled IC tag, and order placing means for placing an order to a supplier of said medical product through at least one of a dedicated line and an external network based on said product information stored in said storage section.

14. The medical product order accepting and placing system according to claim 13, wherein said IC tag is a first IC tag and said package comprises a second IC tag enabled for at least one of signal transmission and signal reception when said medical product is encapsulated in the sterilized environment;

said computer system being electrically connected to a second antenna for receiving a signal from said second IC tag, said second antenna being arranged at a storage place in which said medical product is stored;

said medical product order accepting and placing system further comprising a stock and delivery confirmation database for storing information about said medical product arranged at said storage place on the basis of said signal received by said second antenna and storing information about said medical product removed from said storage place.

15. The medical product order accepting and placing system according to claim 14, wherein said stock and delivery confirmation database is a medical product order accepting and placing system arranged in said computer system.

16. The medical product order accepting and placing system according to claim 15, wherein said stock and delivery confirmation database stores information about stock and delivery timings by relating said information about stock and delivery timings with said product information.

17. The medical product order accepting and placing system according to claim 16, wherein when said medical product is determined to be removed from said storage place by said stock and delivery confirmation database and the first antenna has not received the signal from the first IC tag within a predetermined period of time after a time at which the medical product has been removed from said storage place, said medical product is determined to be lost.

18. The medical product order accepting and placing system according to claim 14, wherein said stock and delivery confirmation database stores information about stock and delivery timings by relating said information about stock and delivery timings with said product information.

19. The medical product order accepting and placing system according to claim 18, wherein when said medical product is determined to be removed from said storage place by said stock and delivery confirmation database and the first antenna has not received the signal from the IC tag within a predetermined period of time after a time at which the medical product has been removed from said storage place, said medical product is determined to be lost.

20. A method comprising:

receiving data from an enabled IC tag provided at a package possessing an enclosed space in which is located a medical product under sterilized conditions, said IC tag being provided at the package such that the IC tag is disabled from at least one of signal transmission and signal reception when the medical product is in the enclosed space under sterilized conditions and such that the IC tag is enabled for at least one of the signal reception and the signal transmission when said package is opened so that said enclosed space is no longer under sterilized conditions to permit the medical product to be removed from the package, the data being received by an antenna; and

storing, in a storage section of a computer, product information about said medical product obtained from the signal received by the antenna from the enabled IC tag.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising placing an order to a supplier of said medical product using said product information stored in said storage section.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein said order is placed to the supplier through at least one of a dedicated line and an external network.

23. The method according to claim 20, wherein said IC tag is a first IC tag and the antenna is a first antenna, the package further comprising a second IC tag enabled for at least one of signal transmission and signal reception when said medical product is in the enclosed space of the package under the sterilized conditions;

the method further comprising;

receiving data from the second IC tag indicating that the medical product is located at a storage place, the data from the second IC tag being received by a second antenna arranged at the storage place;

storing information about said medical product located at said storage place based on the signal received by said second antenna.

24. The method according to claim 23, further comprising storing information about said medical product removed from said storage place.

25. The method according to claim 20, wherein the IC tag is a first IC tag, the method further comprising determining that said medical product in the enclosed space of the package is located at a storage place in a medical facility based on a signal provided by a second IC tag provided at the package.

26. The method according to claim 20, wherein the IC tag is a first IC tag, and said medical product in the enclosed space of the package is located at a storage place of a medical facility, the method further comprising determining that said medical product in the enclosed space of the package has been removed from said storage place based on a signal provided by a second IC tag provided at the package.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein when said medical product is determined to be removed from said storage place and the antenna has not received the signal from the first IC tag within a predetermined period of time after a time at which the medical product has been removed from said storage place, said medical product is determined to be lost.