REAL-TIME INVENTORY RE-SUPPLY SYSTEM

• US 20140291397A1
• Filed: 03/14/2014
• Published: 10/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meps Real-Time, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Meps Real-Time, Inc.
• Inventors: Caputo, Jimmy C., Hussain, Shariq, Shamblin, Jeffrey
• Granted Patent: US 9,189,769 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/385
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10168 the powering being adversely affected by environmental influences, e.g. unwanted energy loss in the interrogation signal due to metallic or capacitive objects in the proximity of the interrogation device or in the proximity of the interrogated record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10178 including auxiliary means for focusing, repeating or boosting the electromagnetic interrogation field comparable booster antennas integrated on the record carrier itself G06K19/07794
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10316 using at least one antenna particularly designed for interrogating the wireless record carriers antennas in general H01Q1/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10356 using a plurality of antennas, e.g. configurations including means to resolve interference between the plurality of antennas
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10415 the interrogation device being fixed in its position, such as an access control device for reading wireless access cards, or a wireless ATM banking machines in general G07F19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/22 Social work or social welfare, e.g. community support activities or counselling services
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/00 ICT specially adapted for the handling or processing of patient-related medical or healthcare data for medical reports G16H15/00; for therapies or health-improving plans G16H20/00; for the handling or processing of medical images G16H30/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/00 ICT specially adapted for therapies or health-improving plans, e.g. for handling prescriptions, for steering therapy or for monitoring patient compliance
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/22 by structural association with other equipment or articles
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2216 used in interrogator/reader equipment

Abstract

A system and method for managing the contents of a medical storage container that has a required inventory of medical articles. A Faraday cage enclosure is used to isolate, scan, and inventory a tray or other container of medical articles each of which has an RFID tag. The enclosure having a size smaller than the size needed for a resonant frequency at the RFID frequency of operation. A robust electromagnetic field is nevertheless developed in the enclosure and a program compares the scanned present inventory of the tray to the required inventory database and indicates any differences. Expired and recalled articles are identified.

Claims

1. A medical storage container re-supply system for reading a data carrier that is attached to a medical storage container and a data carrier attached to a medical article located in the storage container to manage the inventory of the storage container, the data carrier being responsive to electromagnetic energy (EM) of a frequency f1 in response to which the data carrier provides identification data, the system comprising:

a metallic enclosure having an internal storage area, the metallic enclosure further having electrically conductive walls that completely surround the internal storage area and any medical article with associated data carrier placed therein to establish a Faraday cage, the enclosure having a natural frequency of resonance f2 which is different from a frequency f1 and to which a data carrier that is responsive to frequency f1 is not operationally responsive;

a probe disposed at a metallic wall of the metallic enclosure within the metallic enclosure, the probe configured to inject electromagnetic energy of a frequency f1 into the metallic enclosure, wherein the position of the probe in relation to the metallic walls of the metallic enclosure is selected so that reflected EM of frequency f1 within the metallic enclosure is in phase at the probe position to thereby optimize power transfer at frequency f1 into the enclosure;

an active impedance matching circuit coupled to the probe and configured to actively more closely match impedance of the probe to impedance of the metallic enclosure at frequency f1;

a medical storage container having a data carrier identifying the container, the container being located within the internal storage area of the metallic enclosure and containing a medical article with an associated data carrier identifying that medical article, both data carriers being responsive to EM at frequency f1 but not operationally responsive to frequency f2;

a receiving antenna disposed within the metallic enclosure and configured to receive the identification data provided by the data carriers;

a predetermined required inventory list of medical articles for the storage container;

a non-volatile memory on which is stored the predetermined required inventory list of the storage container;

a processor programmed to receive the identification data of the storage container and the identification data of the article in the storage container, locate the predetermined required storage container inventory list in the memory through the identification of the storage container, locate the details of the medical article identified in the storage container in the memory through the identification data of the medical article, and compare the details of the medical article against the required inventory list of the storage container to manage the inventory of the container.

2. A medical container re-supply system of claim 1 wherein the processor is also configured to determine if the article in the storage container is expired through locating the details of the medical article, including its expiration date, from the memory, comparing that expiration date to the present date, and providing a notice of expiration if the two dates match or if the expiration date of the medical article preceded the present date.

3. A medical container re-supply system of claim 1 wherein the memory includes a database in which the details of recalled items are contained;

and

the processor further being programmed to compare the details of the medical article in the storage container to the recalled article database on the memory, and if the comparison shows that the medical article is recalled, to provide an indication of such recall status.

4. A method of re-supplying a medical container by reading a data carrier that is attached to the medical container and a data carrier attached to a medical article located in the storage container to manage the inventory of the storage container, the data carrier having a specified operation frequency f₁ in response to which the data carrier provides identification data, the medical container and medical article being located within an internal storage area of a metallic enclosure, the metallic enclosure further having electrically conductive walls that completely surround the internal storage area and any medical article with associated data carrier placed therein, the metallic enclosure having a natural frequency of resonance f₂ which is a frequency other than the specified operation frequency f₁ of the data carrier, the method comprising:

positioning a storage container within the internal storage area of the enclosure, the storage container having a data carrier identifying the container, the container containing a medical article with an associated data carrier identifying that medical article, both data carriers being responsive to EM at frequency f1 but not operationally responsive to frequency f2;

injecting electromagnetic (“

EM”

) energy of a frequency f₁ into the metallic enclosure from a location within the enclosure, the injecting location being selected in relation to the metallic walls so that reflected energy of frequency f₁ within the metallic enclosure is in phase at the location of injection to thereby optimize power transfer of EM energy at frequency f₁ into the enclosure;

actively matching an impedance associated with injecting the EM energy into the metallic enclosure to more closely match an impedance of the metallic enclosure at frequency f₁;

receiving identification data provided by a data carrier located within the internal storage area of the metallic enclosure by means of an antenna disposed within the metallic enclosure;

storing a predetermined required inventory list of the storage container on a non-volatile memory;

receiving the identification data of the storage container and the identification data of the article in the storage container by a processor, locating the storage container predetermined required inventory list in the memory by the processor through the identification of the storage container, locating the details of the medical article in the storage container by the processor in the memory through the identification data of the medical article, and comparing the details of the medical article against that inventory list of the storage container to manage the inventory of the container.

5. The method of re-supplying a medical container of claim 4 further comprising determining by the processor if the article in the storage container is expired through locating the details of the medical article, including its expiration date, from the memory, comparing that expiration date to the present date, and providing a notice of expiration if the two dates match or if the expiration date of the medical article preceded the present date.

6. The method of re-supplying a medical container of claim 4 further comprising comparing the details of the medical article in the storage container to a recalled article database on the memory, and if the comparison shows that the medical article is recalled, providing an indication of such recall status about the medical article.