Medicament compliance monitoring system, method, and medicament container

• US 20070135691A1
• Filed: 12/12/2005
• Published: 06/14/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Zingelewicz, Stephen, Zingelewicz, Virginia, Azzaro, Steven, Schnore, Austars
• Application Number:
  US11/301,230
• Publication Number:
  US 20070135691A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/301
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A medicament compliance monitoring system and method of monitoring medicament compliance are disclosed. The medical compliance monitoring system includes a detector, a transmitter, and a monitoring center. The detector is configured to detect an activity indicative of medical compliance of a medicament. The transmitter is in communication with the detector. The monitoring center is in communication with the transmitter. The transmitter is adapted to communicate data from the detector to the monitoring center in real-time to the occurrence of the activity indicative of compliance. The method includes detecting an activity indicative of medical compliance of a medicament; and transmitting the detected activity to a monitoring center in real-time to the occurrence of the activity indicative of medicament compliance. Also disclosed is a medicament container.

Claims

1. A medicament compliance monitoring system comprising:

a detector configured to detect an activity indicative of medical compliance of a medicament;

a transmitter in communication with the detector;

a monitoring center in communication with the transmitter;

wherein the transmitter is adapted to communicate data from the detector to the monitoring center in real-time to the occurrence of the activity indicative of compliance.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a communications relay panel positioned within a vicinity of the subject and in communication with the detector and the transmitter.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmitter comprises at least one communication media selected from a group consisting of wired telephone, wireless telephone, two-way walkie-talkie, pager, cable, and the Internet.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring center comprises:

a database for receiving and compiling the data on activities indicative of medical compliance.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring center is adapted to communicate with a caregiver through at least one communication media selected from a group consisting of wired telephone, wireless telephone, pager, two way walkie-talkie, facsimile, cable, e-mail, and Internet.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a status report generator for generating a real-time status report upon request.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the detector is on the subject.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of detectors.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of detectors are within a vicinity of the subject.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the detector comprises at least one detector selected from a group consisting of a motion detector, blood pressure detector, heart rate detector, medicament access detector, chemical substance detector, sleep detector, weight detector, pulse rate detector, and urinalysis detector.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the detector is configured to detect one or more activities indicative of medical compliance selected from a group consisting of a physiological aspect, a side effect, a disease abatement, and a physical indicator.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the physiological aspect is selected from a group consisting of an excreted form of a drug, an excreted drug-specific metabolite, an exhaled form a drug, and exhaled particulates.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the side effect is selected from a group consisting of coughing, swelling of lower legs, swelling of feet, low pulse, tiredness, difficulty sleeping, weight gain, frequent urination, tiredness, dehydration, loss of appetite, sore throat, sleeping difficulties, increased heart rate, dry mouth, decreased appetite, dry throat, fatigue, and upset stomach.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the disease abatement is selected from a group consisting of stabilization of a condition, shortness of breath while resting, changes in sleep, changes in eating, reduced heart rate, elimination of excess fluids, maintenance of constant weight, improved lung function, improved symptoms, reduced acute symptom, reduced hospitalization need, decreased use of rescue inhaler, and reduction of an acute attack.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein a combination of a plurality of the activities indicative of medicament compliance indicates whether the subject is compliant with a dosage intake, a dosage amount, or a dosage frequency.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring center comprises a modeling operation configured to conclude whether the subject is compliant with the medicament based on a combination of a plurality of the activities that are indicative of medicament compliance.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the modeling operation is configured to conclude whether the subject is compliant in a qualitative or quantitative manner.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the modeling operation comprises at least one model selected from a group consisting of artificial intelligence, statistical modeling, and hybrid fusion techniques.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the detector is configured to detect a plurality of activities indicative of medicament compliance.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the plurality of activities indicative of medicament compliance correlate to a plurality of medicaments that differ from each other.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the plurality of medicaments that differ from each other correspond to a plurality of medical conditions that differ from each other.

22. The system of claim 19, further comprising a plurality of detectors that are configured to detect the plurality of activities indicative of medicament compliance.

23. The system of claim 1, further comprising a medicament container for holding the medicament, wherein the medicament container is configured to detect removal of the medicament from the medicament container.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the medicament container is configured to detect removal of the medicament by detecting at least one change selected from a group consisting of a change in weight, shape, size, and color.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the medicament container is configured to detect removal of a plurality of medicaments that differ from each other.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the medicament container is configured to detect removal of the plurality of medicaments that differ from each other by detecting a combination of changes selected from a group consisting of a change in weight, shape, size, and color.

27. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring center comprises a search mechanism adapted to search for patterns in the activities indicative of medicament compliance of the subject.

28. The system of claim 1, wherein a caregiver determines which activity is indicative of medicament compliance.

29. A method of monitoring medicament compliance comprising:

i) detecting an activity indicative of medical compliance of a medicament by a subject; and

ii) transmitting data of the detected activity to a monitoring center in real-time to the occurrence of the activity indicative of medicament compliance.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising correlating the detected activity with medical compliance of the medicament.

31. The method of claim 29, further comprising correlating the detected activity with medical compliance of intaking, dosage amount, or dosage frequency of a medicament.

32. The method of claim 29, further comprising performing a modeling operation to conclude if the subject is compliant with the medicament based on a combination of a plurality of activities that are indicative of medicament compliance.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the modeling operation comprises at least one model selected from a group consisting of artificial intelligence, statistical modeling, and hybrid fusion techniques.

34. The method of claim 29, further comprising detecting a plurality of activities indicative of medicament compliance of a medicament.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising correlating the plurality of detected activities with medical compliance of a medicament.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising correlating the plurality of detected activities with medical compliance of a plurality of medicaments that are different from each other.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising correlating the plurality of detected activities with medical compliance of intaking, dosage amounts, or dosage frequencies of the plurality of medicaments.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising performing a modeling operation to conclude if the subject is compliant with the plurality of medicaments based on a combination of a plurality of activities that are indicative of medicament compliance.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein performing the modeling operation concludes whether the subject is compliant in a qualitative or quantitative manner.

40. The method of claim 29, further comprises searching for patterns in the activities indicative of medicament compliance of the subject.

41. The method of claim 29, wherein the medicament comprises at least one medicament selected from a group consisting ACE Inhibitors, Beta-Blockers, Diuretics, Corticosteroids, short-acting Bronchodilators, long-acting Bronchodilators, and Statins.

42. The method of claim 29, wherein the medicament comprises at least one medicament capable of treating a condition selected from a group consisting asthma, cholesterol, and CHF.

43. The method of claim 29, further comprising providing the medicament in a medicament container, wherein the medicament container is operable to detect removal of the medicament.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the medicament container is operable to detect removal of a medicament by detecting at least one change selected from a group consisting of a change in a weight, shape, size, and color.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein the medicament container is operable to detect removal of a plurality of medicaments that differ from each other.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the medicament container is operable to detect removal of the plurality of medicaments that differ from each other by detecting a combination of changes selected from a group consisting of weight, shape, size, and color.

47. The method of claim 29, further comprising detecting a base-line pre-medicament detection, from the subject, of the activity indicative of medicament compliance.

48. The method of claim 46, further comprising comparing the base-line pre-medicament detection with the detection concurrent with a medicament.

49. The method of claim 29, further comprising detecting a post-medicament detection.

50. A method of monitoring medicament compliance of a subject comprising:

i) providing an activity detector, wherein the activity is indicative of medical compliance of a medicament;

ii) collecting data from the activity detector;

iii) providing a transmitter in communication with the detector;

wherein the transmitter communicates the data from the activity detector to a monitoring center in real-time to the occurrence of the activity indicative of medicament compliance.

51. A medicament container comprising:

a compartment configured to hold a medicament; and

wherein the compartment comprises a sensor configured to detect removal of the medicament.

52. The medicament container of claim 51, wherein the sensor is in communication with a transmitter adapted to communicate data from the detector to the monitoring center in real-time to the occurrence of the activity indicative of compliance.

53. The medicament container of claim 51, further comprising a plurality of compartments.

54. The medicament container of claim 51, wherein the medicament container comprises a circuit.

55. The medicament container of claim 51, wherein the compartment comprises a cover and the sensor is configured to detect removal of the medicament in correlation with an opening of the cover.

56. A medicament compliance monitoring system comprising:

a plurality of detectors configured to detect a plurality of activities indicative of medical compliance of a medicament; and

a monitoring center for receiving data from the plurality of detectors in real-time to the occurrence of the plurality of activities indicative of compliance.