APPARATUS, SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRACKING DRUG ADMINISTRATION
First Claim
1. A storage unit comprising:
- a housing having base and top walls and at least one side wall extending between the base and the top walls defining an enclosure, the walls including a material suitable for providing Radio Frequency (RF) energy isolation within the enclosure, and the top wall having at least one aperture for receiving a syringe;
a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag reader within the enclosure for detecting and decoding signals from RFID tags within the enclosure;
at least one imaging sensor for collecting visual information within the enclosure; and
a control unit for managing the operation of the RFID tag reader and the imaging sensors.
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Accused Products
Abstract
According to aspects of the invention provided are apparatus, systems and methods for monitoring the presence/absence of syringes within a storage unit and monitoring the amount of drugs that are discharged from syringes when they are not within the storage unit. Monitoring the presence/absence of syringes within the storage unit is accomplished using a combination of imaging sensors and a RFID tag reader. The method includes detecting and decoding signals from RFID tags to determine which syringes are present/absent from the storage unit and the times at which syringes are removed and returned to the storage unit The method also includes collecting visual information with respect to when syringes are removed and returned to the storage unit. The timing information from the RFID reader and the imaging sensors are compared to resolve the identification of syringes. Once the timing information from the RFID reader and the imaging sensors is resolved so as to identify specific syringes, the visual information can be used to calculate the amount of a drug discharged from each syringe.
17 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A storage unit comprising:
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a housing having base and top walls and at least one side wall extending between the base and the top walls defining an enclosure, the walls including a material suitable for providing Radio Frequency (RF) energy isolation within the enclosure, and the top wall having at least one aperture for receiving a syringe; a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag reader within the enclosure for detecting and decoding signals from RFID tags within the enclosure; at least one imaging sensor for collecting visual information within the enclosure; and a control unit for managing the operation of the RFID tag reader and the imaging sensors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for monitoring the use of syringes comprising:
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monitoring the presence and absence of syringes using at least one imaging sensor and storing a corresponding first record of the presence and absence of syringes from the imaging sensor; monitoring the presence and absence of syringes using a combination of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and a RFID tag reader, wherein each syringe is provided with a RFID tag with a unique identifier, and storing a corresponding second record of the presence and absence of syringes from the RFID tag reader; and processing the first and second records to produce a third record including matched recorded visual information of each syringe with the corresponding unique identifier on one of the REID tags. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for monitoring the use of syringes comprising:
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a storage unit including a housing having base and top walls and at least one side wall extending between the base and the top walls defining an enclosure, the walls including a material suitable for providing Radio Frequency (RF) energy isolation within the enclosure, and the top wall having at least one aperture for receiving a syringe, a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag reader within the enclosure for detecting and decoding signals from RFID tags within the enclosure, at least one imaging sensor for collecting visual information within the enclosure, a control unit for managing the operation of the RFID tag reader and the imaging sensors; and a plurality of RFID tags embedded on labels suitable for use on syringes. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification