System and Method for Verifying the Contents of a Filled, Capped Pharmaceutical Prescription
First Claim
1. A probe for a system for determining the chemical signature of a pharmaceutical compound, comprising:
- a housing;
an inlet in the housing adapted to be connected to a transmitting optical fiber;
a scanning aperture in the housing;
a receiving outlet in the housing adapted to be connected to a receiving optical fiber;
at least one transmission reflector positioned in the housing to receive laser light from the transmitting optical fiber and reflect the laser light through the detection outlet to a pharmaceutical vial containing a pharmaceutical compound positioned outside the housing, andat least one receiving reflector positioned in the housing to receive light reflected by the pharmaceutical compound and reflect the light to the receiving outlet.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A probe for a system for determining the chemical signature of a pharmaceutical compound. The probe comprises: a housing; an inlet in the housing adapted to be connected to a transmitting optical fiber; a scanning aperture in the housing; a receiving outlet in the housing adapted to be connected to a receiving optical fiber; at least one transmission reflector positioned in the housing to receive laser light from the transmitting optical fiber and reflect the laser light through the detection outlet to a pharmaceutical vial containing a pharmaceutical compound positioned outside the housing, and at least one receiving reflector positioned in the housing to receive light reflected by the pharmaceutical compound and reflect the light to the receiving outlet. This configuration can enable rapid and accurate scanning of a pharmaceutical contained in a vial positioned adjacent the detection outlet.
19 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A probe for a system for determining the chemical signature of a pharmaceutical compound, comprising:
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a housing; an inlet in the housing adapted to be connected to a transmitting optical fiber; a scanning aperture in the housing; a receiving outlet in the housing adapted to be connected to a receiving optical fiber; at least one transmission reflector positioned in the housing to receive laser light from the transmitting optical fiber and reflect the laser light through the detection outlet to a pharmaceutical vial containing a pharmaceutical compound positioned outside the housing, and at least one receiving reflector positioned in the housing to receive light reflected by the pharmaceutical compound and reflect the light to the receiving outlet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for determining the chemical signature of a pharmaceutical compound in a vial, comprising:
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a stage configured to receive and hold a pharmaceutical vial; a spectrometer; a fiber optic bundle connected to the spectrometer, the fiber optic bundle including a transmitting optical fiber and a receiving optical fiber; and a probe comprising; a housing; an inlet in the housing connected to the transmitting optical fiber; a detection outlet in the housing, the detection outlet positioned adjacent the stage; a receiving outlet in the housing connected to the receiving optical fiber; at least one transmission reflector positioned in the housing to receive laser light from the transmitting optical fiber and reflect the laser light through the detection outlet to a pharmaceutical compound in a pharmaceutical vial positioned on the stage; and at least one receiving reflector positioned in the housing to receive light reflected by the pharmaceutical compound and reflect the light to the receiving optical fiber; and a processor for processing optical signals from the pharmaceutical compound and comparing the processed signals with at least one spectrum from a database of known pharmaceutical compounds. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of verifying pharmaceuticals contained in a pharmaceutical vial, comprising:
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positioning a pharmaceutical vial containing a pharmaceutical adjacent a verification system; passing laser light along a transmission path from a laser generator to the pharmaceutical in the vial, the transmission path including at least one redirection of the laser light with a reflector; passing light reflected by the pharmaceutical along a receiving path from the pharmaceutical to a detector, the receiving path including at least one redirection of the light with a reflector; determining the chemical signature of the pharmaceutical based on the reflected light; determining a prescribed pharmaceutical for the vial based on a label affixed to the vial; and comparing the determined chemical signature against a database of known chemical signatures to determine whether the pharmaceutical contained in the vial is the prescribed pharmaceutical for the vial. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification