INTERACTIVE ADHERENCE DRUG DISPENSING AND COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM

• US 20150347713A1
• Filed: 10/01/2013
• Published: 12/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Inventors: Seeger, Mark Elard
• Granted Patent: US 9,760,691 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/30 Compliance analysis for taking medication
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/70 Audible labels, e.g. for pre-recorded info or messages
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0084 for multiple medicaments
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/02 Pill counting devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0409 with timers
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0418 with electronic history memory
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0436 resulting from removing a drug from, or opening, a container
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0463 for multiple patients
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

Technologies are generally described for providing a pill dispensing device with adherence monitoring and alerting features, as well as communication capabilities. A pill pack may be integrated within a housing of the pill dispensing device, where removal of each pill in the pill pack may be monitored through a conductive trace or comparable mechanism. Timing of the removal, remaining pills, and similar information may also be detected by the pill dispensing device and provided along with additional information such as health status of the consumer monitored by one or more sensors to a health care provider or similar entity over wired and/or wireless networks. The pill dispensing device may include audio and/or visual output device(s) to provide alerts and health/medication related information to the consumer. A display technology may employed enabling continuous display with low power usage such as ink display while providing color and/or video capabilities.

Claims

1. A pill dispensing device, comprising:

a memory adapted to store instructions;

a processor adapted to execute the instructions stored on the memory;

a communication module coupled to the processor and configured to facilitate communication with one or more sources for exchanging pill consumption and user data;

a printed circuit board adapted to support one or more of the memory, the processor, and circuitry associated with operations of the pill dispensing device;

a display in electronic communication with the memory, the processor, and the circuitry;

a pill pack that includes a plurality of pharmaceutical pills, wherein the processor is adapted to monitor a removal of the pharmaceutical pills from the pill pack; and

a housing that includes one or more of the memory, the processor, the communication module, the printed circuit board, the display, and the pill pack.

3. The pill dispensing device of claim 1, wherein one or more of the memory, the processor, the circuit board, the display, and the housing include a biodegradable compound selected from:

plastics, polymers, starch-based materials, wood, plant based fiber products, or paper products, and wherein a common feature of the compound includes being compostable.

5. The pill dispensing device of claim 1, further comprising:

a trigger device configured to activate a signal to destroy user data stored on the pill dispensing device and/or to accelerate biodegradation of the pill dispensing device.

9. The pill dispensing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is preprogrammed by a distributor with one or more of user specific data and a customized notification application.

11. The pill dispensing device of claim 1, wherein the pill dispensing device is configured to collect one or more of pill consumption information about the user and medical information about the user via input by the user or communication with one or more health monitoring devices.

14. The pill dispensing device of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more of;

an RFID tag, a QR code, and a bar code to track the pill dispensing device over its lifecycle.

15. The pill dispensing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to execute a geo-aware function to determine and report a location of the pill dispensing device based on one or more of a global positioning service and a network based location determination.

17. The pill dispensing device of claim 1, wherein the pill dispensing device includes biometric identification features to verify an identity of a user interacting with the pill dispensing device.

19. The pill dispensing device of claim 1, wherein a plurality of holes are formed in the housing to match a location of each pill within the pill pack.

2. (canceled)

4. (canceled)

6-8. -8. (canceled)

10. (canceled)

12-13. -13. (canceled)

16. (canceled)

18. (canceled)

20-21. -21. (canceled)

22. A communication system of a pill dispensing device to facilitate communication with one or more sources, the communication system comprising:

an audiovisual component integrated within the pill dispensing device comprising;

an electronic ink display configured to provide a graphic user interface (GUI); and

one or more speakers;

a processor of the pill dispensing device configured to collect and store data associated with one or more of pill consumption and a user, and

a server in electronic communication with the audiovisual component, the server configured to;

notify the processor to display information to the user through the GUI and/or another computing device associated with the user, wherein the displayed information includes one or more of an alert to remind the user to consume a pill, an instruction associated with the pill, and information received from a third party; and

provide at least a portion of user information received from the processor to the third party.

30. The communication system of claim 22, wherein a timing and a type of the alert is preprogrammed based on an observed behavior analysis of the user.

31. The communication system of claim 22, wherein the server is configured to automatically alert the third party if a user fails to remove a pill from a pill pack at a predetermined time and when the pill pack is one or more of:

almost empty and expired.

36. The communication system of claim 22, wherein the electronic ink display includes charged particles dispersed in a liquid that are deposited on a back side of the display between two parallel conductive plates.

39. The communication system of claim 36, wherein the conductive plates are divided into pixels to enable polarization of the charged particles pixel by pixel to form text and images on the display upon application of a voltage to the conductive plates.

23-29. -29. (canceled)

32-35. -35. (canceled)

37-38. -38. (canceled)

40-41. -41. (canceled)

42. A pill consumption detection system integrated with a pill dispensing device, the detection system comprising:

a trace diagram comprised of one or more conductive ink traces printed on a pill pack configured to detect a modification to the pill pack, wherein a location of each pill in the pill pack is tagged with a conductive ink trace;

an electronic connection from the trace diagram to circuitry of the pill dispensing device; and

a processor in electronic communication with the circuitry of the pill dispensing device configured to collect pill consumption information about a user.

44. The detection system of claim 42, wherein a connection of the one or more conductive ink traces is severed and a new connection is established when a pill is removed from the pill pack.

46. The detection system of claim 42, wherein one of a resistance change in the one or more conductive ink traces is measured or optical sensing and/or pressure sensing are employed to detect when a pill is removed from the pill pack.

49. The detection system of claim 42, wherein the conductive ink is one of printed on a substrate and the substrate is attached to the pill pack or printed directly on a backing of the pill pack.

53. The detection system of claim 42, wherein a tag is employed to track removal of each pill from the pill pack.

54. The detection system of claim 53, wherein each pill is placed over one or more conductive traces and a magnet is incorporated on an opposite side of the conductive traces to maintain the tags in place and to resist a spring effect.

43. (canceled)

45. (canceled)

47-48. -48. (canceled)

50-52. -52. (canceled)

55-62. -62. (canceled)