Interactive drug dispenser

• US 4,748,600 A
• Filed: 07/31/1987
• Issued: 05/31/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Aprex Corporation
• Original Assignee: Aprex Corporation
• Inventors: Urquhart, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Miska, Vit W.
• Application Number:
  US07/080,344
• Time in Patent Office: 305 Days
• Field of Search: 368/10, 368/107-113, 221/2-8, 221/15, 340/309.15, 340/309.4, 364/569
• US Class Current: 368/10
• 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 7/0409 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 7/0445 for preventing drug dispensing during a predetermined time period
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/049 automatically changing in response to a schedule deviation by the patient

Abstract

An interactive drug dispenser which actively controls the pattern in which doses of one or more pharmaceutical preparations are administered to a patient. The dispenser is programmed with information concerning an initial dosing regimen, and monitors deviations from that regimen. The dispenser is adapted to calculate from the dosage deviation a dosing error correction factor which corrects a patient'"'"'s measured plasma drug concentration for deviations from a prescribed dosing regimen, so as to distinguish the effects of patients'"'"' dosing errors from suboptimal prescribed dosage regimens.

Claims

1. An interactive drug dispenser for dispensing a drug to a patient, comprising:

a time counter capable of recording one or more starting times and of measuring at least one elapsed time period from the one or more starting times;

means for recording a prescribed dispensing regimen, said regimen including information concerning the times for taking doses in a specified sequence;

means for recording the actual dispensing times;

means for comparing the actual dispensing times with the prescribed dispensing regimen and deriving the actual deviation from the prescribed regimen; and

means for providing from the deviation a dosing error correction factor.

2. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 1, further comprising a means for controlling the delivery of the dose of the drug to a patient.

3. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 1, further comprising a means for recording the times at which a dose is requested.

4. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 3, further comprising a means for recording the times at which a dose is delivered.

5. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 1, wherein the dosing error correction factor is calculated so that the regimen-standardized drug concentration may be approximated from the measured concentration thereof.

6. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 5, wherein the measured concentration when multiplied by the dosing error correction factor gives the regimen-standardized concentration.

7. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 5, wherein the dosing error correction factor is provided by coupling the dispenser to a RDP module that computes and displays the factor.

8. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 7, wherein the coupling is electrical.

9. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 7, wherein the coupling is optical.

10. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 7, wherein the coupling is acoustic.

11. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 7, wherein the coupling is magnetic.

12. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 5, wherein the dispenser is programmed so as automatically to compute and display the dosing error correction factor.

13. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 5, wherein the dispenser is programmed to compute and display a continuing projection of a patient'"'"'s drug concentration.

14. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 13, wherein the dispenser is further programmed to display the populational averages of actual drug concentration at a given point in a dosing regimen.

15. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 14, wherein the dispenser is further programmed to display the populational upper and lower limits of actual drug concentration at a given point in a dosing regimen.

16. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 13 wherein the continuing projection of the patient'"'"'s drug concentration is presented in relation to the projected peak and trough concentrations that occur in the course of the dose cycle.

17. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 5, further including a means for computing and displaying the effect of a particular dosage deviation on plasma drug concentration.

18. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 5, wherein the prescribed regimen is modifiable.

19. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 14, further including a means for allowing the patient to input current information relating to specific physiological symptoms, whereby the information may be used by the physician to optimize the prescribed regimen.

20. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 19 wherein the means for allowing the patient to input current information includes means for interrogating the patient.

21. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 20 wherein the means for interrogating the patient affects the interrogation at times selected to correspond with projected maxima and minima in the drug concentration.

22. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 1, further including a means for contacting an individual in a hierarchy of people, said individual selected on the basis of said derived actual deviation.

23. The interactive drug dispenser of claim 1 further comprising means for recording the time the patient'"'"'s blood is sampled for measuring blood levels of the drug being dispensed to the patient.

24. An improved interactive drug dispenser for controlling the dispensing of a drug to a patient, comprising:

a time counter capable of recording one or more starting times and of measuring at least one elapsed time period from the one or more starting times;

means for recording a prescribed dispensing regimen, said regimen including information concerning the times for taking doses in a specified sequence and information regarding acceptable deviations therefrom;

means for relating the start of said dispensing regimen to a time recorded or measured by the time counter;

means for determining when the patient requests to take a dose of the drug;

means for calculating the deviation of the actual dispensing times from the prescribed regimen; and

means for informing the patient'"'"'s health care professional as to said deviation;

wherein the improvement comprises providing a dosing error correction factor from said deviation.

25. A method of correcting measured drug concentration in plasma for deviation from a prescribed dosing regimen, comprising the steps of:

(a) recording in a patient-portable memory unit a prescribed dispensing regimen, said regimen including information concerning the times for taking doses in a specified sequence and information regarding acceptable deviations therefrom;

(b) determining the times when a patient requests to take a dose of a drug;

(c) comparing the actual dispensing times with the prescribed dispensing regimen and calculating the deviation of the actual times from the prescribed regimen; and

(d) deriving from the deviation a dosing error correction factor.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the dosing error correction factor is calculated so that the projected regimen-standardized drug concentration may be approximated from the measured drug concentration.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the measured concentration when multiplied by the dosing error correction factor gives the projected regimen-standardized drug concentration.