Oral drug compliance monitoring using radio frequency identification tags

• US 20060289640A1
• Filed: 05/18/2006
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dow Global Technologies LLC (Dow, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dow Global Technologies LLC (Dow, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bernius, Mark T., Kalantar, Thomas H., Castillo, Flor A., Haley, Robert P., Jones, Christopher M., Fletcher, Robert B., Mercure, Peter K., Babinec, Susan J., White, Douglas P., Warren, Malcolm W. II, Felix, Mark S. B., Danowski, Kristine L., Strand, Diedre A., Rosner, Bettina M., Simon, Jahne, Pressler, Michelle A., Sun, Larry S., McDougall, W. Chris, Cranley, Paul E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,382,263 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/435
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 11/007 Boluses
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4833 Assessment of subject's compliance to treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/30 Compliance analysis for taking medication
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 3/007 Marking tablets or the like apparatus for printing on tablets or the like B41F17/36
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 3/071 into the form of telescopically engaged two-piece capsules
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 9/0009 involving or responsive to electricity, magnetism or acoustic waves; Galenical aspects of sonophoresis, iontophoresis, electroporation or electroosmosis microelectromechanical systems A61K9/0097
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 9/2072 characterised by shape, structure or size; Tablets with holes, special break lines or identification marks; Partially coated tablets; Disintegrating flat shaped forms A61K9/0004, A61K9/0056, A61K9/0065 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 9/4808 characterised by the form of the capsule or the structure of the filling; Capsules containing small tablets; Capsules with outer layer for immediate drug release capsules filled with granules or microparticles A61K9/16; filled with microcapsules or coated microparticles A61K9/50; with mixture of different granules, microcapsules, (coated) microparticles A61K9/5084
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/04 characterised by the shape
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07327 Passive means, e.g. Faraday cages Faraday-type protection of electric circuits in general H05K9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07336 Active means, e.g. jamming or scrambling of the electromagnetic field
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07345 by activating or deactivating at least a part of the circuit on the record carrier, e.g. ON/OFF switches
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10079 the collision being resolved in the spatial domain, e.g. temporary shields for blindfolding the interrogator in specific directions
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2208 associated with components used in interrogation type services, i.e. in systems for information exchange between an interrogator/reader and a tag/transponder, e.g. in Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] systems methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns G06K7/00; record carrier for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/273 Adaptation for carrying or wearing by persons or animals
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/362 for broadside radiating helical antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 11/08 Helical antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop

Abstract

A device useful for oral drug delivery device consisting of: (a) a capsule, tablet or pill designed to disperse in the gastrointestinal system; (b) an RFID tag positioned in the capsule, tablet or pill, the RFID tag comprising an antenna; (c) an object selected from the group consisting of a magnet, a ferromagnetic object, a ferrite object and an electromagnetic shielding object positioned within, over or adjacent the antenna of the RFID tag to alter the antenna characteristics of the RFID tag so that if the RFID tag is interrogated before the capsule, tablet or pill disperses in the gastrointestinal system, the response of the RFID tag is sufficiently altered or attenuated to determine that the capsule, tablet or pill has not dispersed in the gastrointestinal system and so that if the RFID tag is interrogated after the capsule, tablet or pill has dispersed in the gastrointestinal system, the object separates from the RFID tag so that the response of the RFID tag is sufficiently detectable to determine that the capsule, tablet or pill has dispersed in the gastrointestinal system. Alternatively, a switch can be used to signal ingestion of the device, and change the response of the device. In another embodiment, the instant invention is a device useful for oral drug delivery, consisting of: (a) a capsule, tablet or pill designed to disperse in the gastrointestinal system; (b) a first non-anti-collision RFID tag positioned in the capsule; (c) a second non-anti-collision RFID tag positioned in the capsule, so that if the RFID tags are interrogated by an RFID reader before the capsule, tablet or pill disperses in the gastrointestinal system, the response of the RFID tags collide and so that after the dispersible material of the capsule has dispersed in the gastrointestinal system thereby allowing the first and second non-anti-collision tags to separate from each other, then the response of the RFID tags is sufficiently different from each other to determine that the capsule has dispersed in the gastrointestinal system

Claims

1. A device useful for oral drug delivery, comprising:

(a) a capsule, tablet or pill which will disperse in the gastrointestinal system;

(b) an RFID tag positioned in the capsule, tablet or pill, the RFID tag comprising an antenna;

(c) an object selected from the group consisting of a magnet, a ferromagnetic object, a ferrite object and an electromagnetic shielding object, the object positioned within, over or adjacent the antenna of the RFID tag to alter the antenna characteristics of the RFID tag so that if the RFID tag is interrogated before the capsule, tablet or pill disperses in the gastrointestinal system, the response of the RFID tag is sufficiently altered or attenuated to determine that the capsule, tablet or pill has not dispersed in the gastrointestinal system and so that if the RFID tag is interrogated after the capsule, tablet or pill has dispersed in the gastrointestinal system, the object separates from the RFID tag so that the response of the RFID tag is sufficiently detectable to determine that the capsule, tablet or pill has dispersed in the gastrointestinal system.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the object of element (c) disintegrates in the gastrointestinal system.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the object of element (c) separates from the RFID tag in the gastrointestinal system.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag is selected from the group consisting of an active RFID tag and a passive RFID tag.

5. The device of claim 4, further comprising a drug formulation positioned in the tablet, pill or capsule.

6. A device useful for oral drug delivery, comprising:

(a) a tablet, pill or capsule designed to disperse in the gastrointestinal system;

(b) an RFID tag positioned in the tablet, pill or capsule, the RFID tag comprising a switch, the switch turning on or off in response to conditions in the gastrointestinal system so that if the RFID tag is interrogated before the tablet, pill or capsule disperses in the gastrointestinal system, the response of the RFID tag signifies that the capsule has not dispersed in the gastrointestinal system and so that if the RFID tag is interrogated after the tablet, pill or capsule disperses in the gastrointestinal system, the response of the RFID tag signifies that the tablet, pill or capsule has dispersed in the gastrointestinal system.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the RFID tag is selected from the group consisting of an active RFID tag and a passive RFID tag.

8. The device of claim 7 further comprising a drug formulation positioned in the tablet, pill or capsule.

9. A device useful for oral drug delivery, comprising:

(a) a capsule, tablet or pill designed to disperse in the gastrointestinal system;

(b) a first non-anti-collision RFID tag positioned in the capsule;

(c) a second non-anti-collision RFID tag positioned in the capsule, so that if the RFID tags are interrogated by an RFID reader before the capsule, tablet or pill disperses in the gastrointestinal system, the response of the RFID tags collide and so that after the dispersible material of the capsule has dispersed in the gastrointestinal system thereby allowing the first and second non-anti-collision tags to separate from each other, then the response of the RFID tags is sufficiently different from each other to determine that the capsule has dispersed in the gastrointestinal system.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the RFID tag is selected from the group consisting of an active RFID tag and a passive RFID tag.

11. The device of claim 10, further comprising a drug formulation positioned in the tablet, pill or capsule.