Methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for monitoring a transfer of fluid between a syringe and a fluid reservoir

• US 8,400,277 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2009
• Issued: 03/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omnicell Incorporated
• Original Assignee: McKesson Automation Incorporated (Omnicell Inc)
• Inventors: Braun, Patrick Joseph, Greyshock, Shawn T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Young, Wayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): RUSHING, MARK S
• Application Number:
  US12/414,054
• Publication Number:
  US 20100245056A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,450 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10, 340/572, 600/300, 600/301, 604/187, 141/27, 700/231
• US Class Current: 340/10.42
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/10 Bag-type containers
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/1406 Septums, pierceable membranes
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/1425 Snap-fit type
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/1431 Permanent type, e.g. welded or glued
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/1475 Inlet or outlet ports
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/2096 Combination of a vial and a syringe for transferring or mixing their contents
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/74 for weight
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/10 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/60 using magnetic or electronic identifications, e.g. chips, RFID, electronic tags
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/70 Audible labels, e.g. for pre-recorded info or messages
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/6054 Magnetic identification systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/17 delivered via infusion or injection

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer program product are provided for monitoring a transfer of fluid between a syringe and a fluid reservoir. A syringe may include a chamber for holding fluid transferred between the syringe and a fluid reservoir, a distal end comprising a point of attachment for a needle enabling transfer of fluid between the syringe and the fluid reservoir, and a first signaling tag carried by the syringe. The first signaling tag may be positioned to enable the first signaling tag to come within a sufficient proximity of a second signaling tag carried by the fluid reservoir to trigger a state of a signal emitted by at least one of the first signaling tag or second signaling tag to change when the needle is inserted through a membrane of the fluid reservoir.

Claims

1. A syringe comprising:

a chamber for holding fluid transferred between the syringe and a fluid reservoir;

a distal end comprising a point of attachment for a needle enabling transfer of fluid between the syringe and the fluid reservoir; and

a first signaling tag carried by the syringe;

wherein the first signaling tag is positioned such that when the needle is inserted through a membrane of the fluid reservoir for transferring fluid between the syringe and the fluid reservoir, the first signaling tag comes into a sufficient proximity with a second signaling tag carried by the fluid reservoir to trigger a change in state of a signal emitted by at least one of the first signaling tag or second signaling tag, wherein the change in state is indicative of an associative relationship between the syringe and the fluid reservoir.

2. A syringe according to claim 1, wherein:

the first signaling tag comprises a radio frequency tag; and

the second signaling tag comprises a radio frequency tag.

3. A syringe according to claim 1, wherein a signal emitted by the first signaling tag conveys information identifying the syringe and a signal emitted by the second signaling tag conveys information identifying the fluid reservoir.

4. A syringe according to claim 1, wherein:

the first signaling tag comprises an antenna configured to become detuned when the first signaling tag is coupled to another signaling tag due to being in a sufficient proximity of the another signaling tag; and

the change in state triggered when the first and second signaling tags come into a sufficient proximity comprises cessation of emission of a readable signal from the first signaling tag due to coupling of the first and second signaling tags.

5. A syringe according to claim 1, wherein:

the first signaling tag comprises an antenna configured to be detuned when the first signaling tag is not within a sufficient proximity of the second signaling tag, wherein the antenna is further configured to be activated such that the secondary antenna emits a readable signal when the first signaling tag comes within a sufficient proximity of the second signaling tag when the needle is inserted through the membrane of the fluid reservoir; and

the change in state triggered when the first and second signaling tags come into a sufficient proximity comprises emission of a readable signal from the antenna of the first signaling tag.

6. A syringe according to claim 1, wherein:

the first signaling tag is configured to emit a first signal when the first signaling tag is not within a sufficient proximity of the second signaling tag and to emit a second signal when the first signaling tag comes within a sufficient proximity of the second signaling tag when the needle is inserted through a membrane of the fluid reservoir; and

the change in state triggered when the first and second signaling tags come into a sufficient proximity comprises emission of the second signal from the first signaling tag.

7. A method for monitoring a transfer of fluid between a syringe and a fluid reservoir, wherein the syringe comprises a distal end providing a point of attachment for a needle enabling the transfer of fluid and the fluid reservoir comprises a membrane through which the needle is inserted for transferring fluid between the syringe and the fluid reservoir, the method comprising:

detecting a change in state of a signal emitted by at least one of a first signaling tag carried by the syringe or a second signaling tag carried by the fluid reservoir, the change in state of the signal triggered as a result of the first and second signaling tags coming into a sufficient proximity of one another when the needle is inserted through the membrane, wherein the change in state of the signal is indicative of an associative relationship between the syringe and the fluid reservoir;

determining an identity of the syringe based at least in part upon information carried by a signal emitted by the first signaling tag;

determining an identity of the fluid reservoir based at least in part upon information carried by a signal emitted by the second signaling tag;

associating the syringe with the fluid reservoir based at least in part upon the determined identities; and

storing an entry reflecting the association between the syringe and the fluid reservoir in a database.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein:

the fluid reservoir comprises a medication vial containing medication; and

the transfer of fluid between the syringe and the fluid reservoir comprises transferring medication from the medication vial to the syringe.

9. A method according to claim 8, further comprising:

detecting a change in state of a signal emitted by at least one of the first signaling tag or a third signaling tag carried by a second fluid reservoir, the change in state of the signal emitted by at least one of the first signaling tag or the third signaling tag triggered as a result of the first and third signaling tags coming into a sufficient proximity of one another when the needle is inserted through a membrane of the second fluid reservoir, wherein the change in state of the signal emitted by at least one of the first signaling tag or the third signaling tag is indicative of the transfer of the medication from the syringe to the second fluid reservoir;

identifying the syringe based at least in part upon information carried by a signal emitted by the first signaling tag;

identifying the second fluid reservoir based at least in part upon information carried by a signal emitted by the third signaling tag;

associating the syringe with the second fluid reservoir, the association indicative that fluid was transferred from the syringe to the fluid reservoir; and

storing an entry reflecting the association between the syringe and the second fluid reservoir in the database so as to build a history of the medication transferred to the second fluid reservoir.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the second fluid reservoir comprises an intravenous bag or an intravenous line.

11. A method according to claim 8, further comprising:

determining a volume of medication in the medication vial prior to the transfer of medication from the medication vial to the syringe;

determining a volume of medication in the medication vial after the transfer of medication from the medication vial to the syringe; and

determining a volume of medication transferred to the syringe based at least in part upon the volume prior to the transfer and the volume after the transfer;

wherein storing an entry reflecting the association between the syringe and the fluid reservoir in a database further comprises storing an indication of the volume of medication transferred to the syringe.

12. A method according to claim 7, wherein storing an entry reflecting the association between the syringe and the fluid reservoir in a database further comprises storing a time stamp reflecting a time at which the transfer of fluid between the syringe and the fluid reservoir occurred.

13. A method according to claim 7, wherein

the first signaling tag comprises a radio frequency tag;

and

the second signaling tag comprises a radio frequency tag.

14. A computer program product for monitoring a transfer of fluid between a syringe and a fluid reservoir, wherein the syringe comprises a distal end providing a point of attachment for a needle enabling the transfer of fluid and the fluid reservoir comprises a membrane through which the needle is inserted for transferring fluid between the syringe and the fluid reservoir;

wherein the computer program product comprises at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions stored therein, the computer-readable program instructions comprising;

a program instruction for detecting a change in state of a signal emitted by at least one of a first signaling tag carried by the syringe or a second signaling tag carried by the fluid reservoir, the change in state of the signal triggered as a result of the first and second signaling tags coming into a sufficient proximity of one another when the needle is inserted through the membrane, wherein the change in state of the signal is indicative of an associative relationship between the syringe and the fluid reservoir;

a program instruction for determining an identity of the syringe based at least in part upon information carried by a signal emitted by the first signaling tag;

a program instruction for determining an identity of the fluid reservoir based at least in part upon information carried by a signal emitted by the second signaling tag;

a program instruction for associating the syringe with the fluid reservoir based at least in part upon the determined identities; and

a program instruction for storing an entry reflecting the association between the syringe and the fluid reservoir in a database.

15. A computer program product according to claim 14, wherein:

the fluid reservoir comprises a medication vial containing medication;

the transfer of fluid between the syringe and the fluid reservoir comprises transferring medication from the medication vial to the syringe; and

the program instruction for storing an entry comprises instructions for storing an entry reflecting that medication was transferred from the medication vial to the syringe.

16. A computer program product according to claim 15, further comprising:

a program instruction for detecting a change in state of a signal emitted by at least one of the first signaling tag or a third signaling tag carried by a second fluid reservoir, the change in state of the signal emitted by at least one of the first signaling tag or the third signaling tag triggered as a result of the first and third signaling tags coming into a sufficient proximity of one another when the needle is inserted through a membrane of the second fluid reservoir, wherein the change in state of the signal emitted by at least one of the first signaling tag or the third signaling tag is indicative of the transfer of the medication from the syringe to the second fluid reservoir;

a program instruction for identifying the syringe based at least in part upon information carried by a signal emitted by the first signaling tag;

a program instruction for identifying the second fluid reservoir based at least in part upon information carried by a signal emitted by the third signaling tag;

a program instruction for associating the syringe with the second fluid reservoir, the association indicative that fluid was transferred from the syringe to the fluid reservoir; and

a program instruction for storing an entry reflecting the association between the syringe and the second fluid reservoir in the database so as to build a history of the medication transferred to the second fluid reservoir.

17. A computer program product according to claim 16, wherein the second fluid reservoir comprises an intravenous bag or an intravenous line.

18. A computer program product according to claim 15, further comprising:

a program instruction for determining a volume of medication in the medication vial prior to the transfer of medication from the medication vial to the syringe;

a program instruction for determining a volume of medication in the medication vial after the transfer of medication from the medication vial to the syringe;

a program instruction for determining a volume of medication transferred to the syringe based at least in part upon the volume prior to the transfer and the volume after the transfer; and

wherein the program instruction for storing an entry reflecting the association between the syringe and the fluid reservoir in a database includes instructions for storing an indication of the volume of medication transferred to the syringe.

19. A computer program product according to claim 14, wherein the program instruction for storing an entry reflecting the association between the syringe and the fluid reservoir in a database further comprises instructions for storing a time stamp reflecting a time at which the transfer of fluid between the syringe and the fluid reservoir occurred.

20. A computer program product according to claim 14, wherein:

the first signaling tag comprises a radio frequency tag; and

the second signaling tag comprises a radio frequency tag.

21. A first fluid reservoir comprising:

a first fluid transfer point; and

a first signaling tag carried by the first fluid reservoir;

wherein the first signaling tag is positioned such that when the first fluid transfer point comes into contact with a second fluid transfer point of a second fluid reservoir for transferring fluid between the first fluid reservoir and the second fluid reservoir, the first signaling tag comes into a sufficient proximity with a second signaling tag carried by the second fluid reservoir to trigger a change in state of a signal emitted by at least one of the first signaling tag or second signaling tag, wherein the change in state is indicative of an associative relationship between the first fluid reservoir and the second fluid reservoir and wherein the change in state is detectable by a tag reader that is positioned remotely from both the first fluid reservoir and the second fluid reservoir.

22. A first fluid reservoir according to claim 21, wherein the second fluid reservoir comprises a syringe.

23. A first fluid reservoir according to claim 21, wherein the first fluid reservoir comprises an intravenous bag and the second fluid reservoir comprises an intravenous line.