ITEM DISPENSER AND TRACKER

• US 20120025981A1
• Filed: 07/30/2010
• Published: 02/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Analogic Corporation
• Original Assignee: Analogic Corporation
• Inventors: Marcovici, Sorin
• Granted Patent: US 8,502,671 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/540
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/04 for dispensing annular, disc-shaped, or spherical or like small articles, e.g. tablets or pills

Abstract

An item tracking apparatus includes a tag interrogator that transmits an interrogation signal and receives a signal emitted by a tag affixed to an item in response to the tag receiving the interrogation signal, wherein the tag and item are part of a bio-compatible consumable dosage delivery unit and a controller that determines a state of the item based on the received signal. A consumable dosage delivery unit includes a dosage form and a bio-compatible wireless communications tag.

Claims

1. An item tracking apparatus, comprising:

a tag interrogator that transmits an interrogation signal and receives a signal emitted by a tag affixed to an item in response to the tag receiving the interrogation signal, wherein the tag and item are part of a bio-compatible consumable dosage delivery unit; and

a controller that determines a state of the item based on the received signal.

2. The dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the item is a medicine or a supplement prescribed to be taken by a user in accordance with a predetermined schedule.

3. The dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the state indicates at least one of:

the item has been consumed, the item is being consumed, or the item has not been consumed by a human or animal consumer of the item.

4. The dispensing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an indicator that at least one of visually or audibly presents information indicative of the state of the item.

5. The dispensing apparatus of claim 4, further comprising:

a dispensing station, including;

an item holder configured to hold the item; and

an item dispenser for dispensing the item in the item holder.

6. The dispensing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the indicator indicates, at least of:

it is time to dispense the item or the item has been dispensed.

7. The dispensing apparatus of claim 5, further comprising:

a controller that invokes the item dispenser to dispense an item based on prescribed item dispensing schedule.

8. The dispensing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the schedule is based on a medical prescription.

9. The dispensing apparatus of claim 5, further comprising:

an item sensor that determines information about items in the item holder.

10. The dispensing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the information is indicative of whether the item holder is empty, near empty, or filled to at least a predetermined level with items.

11. The dispensing apparatus of claim 10, wherein the item sensor determines the information based on a number of items in the holder, a weight of the items in the holder, or a height level of the items in the holder.

12. The dispensing apparatus of claim 5, further comprising:

a reader that reads electronic information about the item from an electronic tag on a container holding the item before the item is loaded in the holder.

13. The dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the consumable dosage delivery unit is part of a pill, a capsule, a tablet, a caplet, a softgel, or other medical package.

14. A consumable dosage delivery unit, comprising:

a dosage form; and

a bio-compatible wireless communications tag.

15. The consumable dosage delivery unit of claim 14, wherein the dosage form is a pill, a capsule, a tablet, a caplet, a softgel, or other medical package.

16. The consumable dosage delivery unit of claim 14, wherein the dosage form is configured to be administered by way of at least one of oral, ocular, otologic, nasal, urogenital, enteral, dermal, injection, or transfusion routes.

17. The consumable dosage delivery unit of claim 14, wherein the tag includes a radiofrequency identification tag.

18. The consumable dosage delivery unit of claim 17, wherein the tag stores information about the dosage form.

19. The consumable dosage delivery unit of claim 18, wherein the information includes one or more of a type of consumable dosage delivery unit, a prescribing physician, a patient identification, a prescribed dosage, a number of refills, a frequency of consumption, or a prescription fulfilling pharmacy.

20. The consumable dosage delivery unit of claim 14, wherein the tag includes silk and electrically conductive nano-particles utilized as an antenna.

21. The consumable dosage delivery unit of claim 20, wherein the conductive nano-particles include gold, silver, and/or other electrically conductive material.

22. The consumable dosage delivery unit of claim 20, wherein the conductive nano-particles are patterned for communication in the terahertz range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

23. The consumable dosage delivery unit of claim 14, wherein the tag breaks down in the presence of a bodily fluid.

24. The consumable dosage delivery unit of claim 23, wherein a signal emitted by the tag diminishes as the tag breaks downs.

25. A method, comprising:

transmitting, via a transmitter, a tag interrogation signal;

waiting for a response signal emitted by a tag in response to receipt of the tag interrogation signal by the tag, wherein the tag is a bio-compatible tag affixed to an item of a consumable dosage deliver unit; and

generating a first signal indicating that the consumable dosage deliver unit has been consumed by a user in response to receiving no response signal within a predetermined time window and a second signal indicating that the consumable dosage deliver unit has not been consumed by the user in response to receiving the response signal within the predetermined time window.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

presenting at least one of a visual or audible notification indicative of whether the consumable dosage delivery unit has or has not been consumed based on the first and second signals.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

generating a third signal indicating that the consumable dosage deliver unit is being consumed in response to a level of the received response signal being within a predetermined level range.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the tag is applied to the item through spin coating or printing.

29. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

notifying a user that it is time to consume the consumable dosage deliver unit.

30. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

dispensing the consumable dosage deliver unit from a dispenser to the user.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

notifying a remote source of the consumable dosage deliver unit that the dispenser is to be refilled with at least one more consumable dosage deliver unit.

32. A system, comprising:

a container including at least one item to dispense, wherein the container includes an electronic tag storing information about the at least one item;

an item tracking apparatus that reads the information about the at least one item from the electronic tag of the container and selectively programs the item tracking apparatus to dispense the at least one item based on a predetermined schedule when the at least one item is transferred to the item tracking apparatus; and

a remote computing system, of a source of the item, that at least one of communicates a signal including information about the at least one item to the item tracking apparatus or receives a signal including information about the at least one item to carried by the item tracking apparatus from the item tracking apparatus.

33. The system of claim 32, the item tracking apparatus, comprising:

a reader that reads the information about the at least one item from the electronic tag of the container;

a controller that selectively programs the item tracking apparatus to dispense the at least one item based on the read information;

at least one dispenser that carries and dispenses the item based on the predetermined schedule from the read information;

a notification component that presents a notification when it is time for the item to be dispensed; and

a transmitter that interacts vie wireless communication with an electronic tag affixed to the item once the item is dispensed from the item tracking apparatus.

34. The system of claim 32, wherein the remote computing system provides the predetermined schedule to the item tracking apparatus.

35. The system of claim 32, wherein the controller matches the information read from the tag of the container with the information provided by the remote computing system.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the item tracking apparatus conveys a signal to the remote computing system indicating whether the information matches.

37. The system of claim 32, wherein the item tracking apparatus conveys a signal to the remote computing system indicating that a predetermined number of the at least one item has been dispensed.

38. The system of claim 32, wherein the item tracking apparatus conveys a signal indicating an item scheduled to be dispensed has not been dispensed.

39. The system of claim 32, wherein the item tracking apparatus presents an alarm indicating an item scheduled to be dispensed has not been dispensed.

40. The system of claim 32, wherein the item tracking apparatus presents an alarm indicating an item scheduled to be dispensed has not been consumed based on communication between the item dispensing apparatus and an electronic tag affixed to the dispense item.