Method supporting administration of a prescribed drug and implementing said method

• US 6,625,518 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2002
• Issued: 09/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CSEM Centre Suisse D'Electronique et de Microtechnique SA
• Original Assignee: CSEM Centre Suisse D'Electronique et de Microtechnique SA
• Inventors: Depeursinge, Yves
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi H.
• Application Number:
  US10/253,535
• Publication Number:
  US 20030023345A1
• Time in Patent Office: 363 Days
• Field of Search: 700/231, 700/237, 700/242, 700/243, 368/10, 221/2, 221/3, 221/15
• US Class Current: 700/242
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers

Abstract

A support procedure for administering prescription drugs which does not require patient action while avoiding erroneous patient manipulation in order to carry out error-free home treatment, wherein the procedure includes the following steps:

STEP 1

prior preparation of one or more drug doses,

programming and storing identifying parameters in a computer (1),

STEP 2

individual insertion of each dose in a pack (2) which is subsequently sealed, and

entering the parameters on an arbitrary storage substrate (3) applied to the pack (2),

STEP III:

integrating the pack into a dispenser (4) of which the operation is programmable and which includes a means for reading the parameters.

Claims

1. A device supporting the administration of prescription drugs and free of patient intervention, wherein it comprises:

a pack receiving from the pharmacist at least one drug dose prepared beforehand by said pharmacist upon a physician'"'"'s prescription, the pack then being sealed hermetically in order to be transmitted to the patient or to medical personnel, the pack consisting of a container divided into a plurality of compartments each of which receives beforehand at least one tablet corresponding to taking the given drugs to be ingested by the patient at a given dosage, a given time and at a given time interval,

a storage substrate linked to the pack and bearing all the patient'"'"'s identifying parameters, and the preparation relating to the prescribed drug, name of drugs, drug dosages, schedule of administration,

a programmed dispenser which initially is locked and can be automatically or manually unlocked to dispense one or more drug doses as a function of the parameters stored in the storage substrate of the pack,

means identifying and reading said parameters related to the dispenser and activated when said dispenser cooperates with the pack containing the drug doses to be administered, wherein the container constituting the pack is a compartmentalized drawer of overall parallelipipedic shape.

2. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compartmentalized drawer constituting the pack is covered by a hermetically sealed plastic foil which is transparent at least at the top.

3. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compartmentalized drawer lacks a bottom, while the plastic film includes local tear-off means and totally encloses the drawer so as to constitute the upper and lower closing and protective walls which can be destroyed using the local tear-off means at the time of drug administration.

5. Device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the container includes apertures and the tear-off means of the protective foil of the container constituting the dispenser consist of manually or automatically driven doors situated in the apertures of the container and hinging relative to the sides of the apertures in such manner that, by selectively pushing them inward, they shall cause tearing in the upper and lower surfaces of the foil enclosing the compartments of the drawer, thereby releasing the drug dose contained in a given compartment.

6. Device as claimed in claim 5, further comprising an electronic clock wherein the doors of the dispenser mechanically inter-connected and are driven by a preset and remote-controlled computer program to assure locking and unlocking the doors in a selected sequence and as a function of the preset time intervals managed by the electronic clock.

7. Device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the doors are fitted with means automatically returning them into their initial positions in order to resume closure entailing inaccessibility.

8. Device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the computer program comprises a function detecting a unique user.

9. Device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the computer program comprises an error-detecting function able to block the dispenser.

10. Device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the computer program comprises an unlocking function for a predetermined time T of one of the doors of the dispenser and corresponding to a compartment holding the dose to be ingested at that time T, the other compartments remaining locked.

11. Device as claimed in claim 6, wherein an acoustic and/or luminescent and/or radio signal shall be emitted to draw the attention of the patient or of the medical personnel remote from the premises in case of error or in case of forgetting drug administration.

4. A device supporting the administration of prescription drugs and free of patient intervention, wherein it comprises:

a pack receiving from the pharmacist at least one drug dose prepared beforehand by said pharmacist upon a physician'"'"'s prescription, the pack then being sealed hermetically in order to be transmitted to the patient or to medical personnel, the pack having compartments,

a storage substrate linked to the pack and bearing all the patient'"'"'s identifying parameters, i.e. name, address, social security number etc. and the preparation relating to the prescribed drug;

name of drugs, drug dosages, schedule of administration etc.,

a programmed dispenser which initially is locked and can be automatically or manually unlocked to dispense one or more drug doses as a function of the parameters stored in the storage substrate of the pack,

means identifying and reading said parameters related to the dispenser and activated when said dispenser cooperates with the pack containing the drug doses to be administered, wherein the dispenser consists of a container having a shape corresponding to that of the pack constituting a drawer in such manner as to allow housing the drawer by sliding it once it has been filled with a predetermined drug dose and enclosed by a protective film, the container comprising at least at its upper or lower surfaces apertures and having as many apertures as there are compartments in the drawer-pack, the apertures being present opposite the compartments so as to allow removing from a given compartment a drug dose to be taken, namely by tearing open the protective foil which is situated opposite both the given aperture of the container and a corresponding cell.