Prescription bottle imaging system and method

• US 8,571,297 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2012
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Express Scripts Strategic Development, Inc. (The Cigna Group)
• Original Assignee: Express Scripts Incorporated (The Cigna Group)
• Inventors: Eller, Charles E., Youngs, Herbert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Abdi, Amara
• Application Number:
  US13/653,148
• Publication Number:
  US 20130039564A1
• Time in Patent Office: 378 Days
• Field of Search: 382/142, 235/375, 235/383, 356/326
• US Class Current: 382/142
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0036 Checkout procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• 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 70/40 relating to drugs, e.g. their side effects or intended usage

Abstract

The invention is directed to a prescription imaging system for capturing, storing and displaying images of prescription bottles during the prescription fulfillment process to monitor the quality of the fulfillment process. The system includes one or more pill cameras for capturing images of pills dispensed into one or more prescription bottles and one or more label cameras for capturing images of the bottle labels. The images are stored on a storage device in a database record. The images can be used to verify that the pills in each bottle correspond with the associated prescription.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first capture device having a first orientation and positioned above a path to capture first image data of a prescription container at a particular position, the first image data including a prescription drug contained within the prescription container;

a second capture device having a second orientation and positioned adjacent to the path to capture, at least substantially simultaneously with the first image data, second image data of the prescription container at the particular position, the second image data including a prescription drug identifier; and

a lift pusher to lift the prescription container through the path into the particular position,

wherein the second capture device captures the second image data based on operational information associated with the lower lift pusher.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first capture device captures the first image data based on lift pusher data.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the operational information includes rotational information.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first image data includes a two-dimensional image of a curved surface of the prescription container.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the second image data includes a bar code.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the lift pusher includes a rotation mechanism to allow the second capture device to capture the second image data of the prescription container.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the lift pusher includes an encoder to monitor the rotation of the prescription container.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the particular position is a predetermined position.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the lift pusher lifts the prescription container from a pallet into the particular position.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first capture device is affixed in a position above the path and the second capture device is affixed in a position adjacent to the path.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the second image data includes a prescription drug label, the prescription drug label including the prescription drug identifier.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the first capture device is a pill camera and the second capture device is a label camera.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a computing device to store the first image data and the second image data in a record associated with a prescription, the prescription being for prescription drug identified by the prescription drug identifier.

14. A system comprising:

a first capture device having a first orientation and positioned above a path to capture first image data of a prescription container at a particular position, the first image data including a prescription drug contained within the prescription container;

a second capture device having a second orientation and positioned adjacent to the path to capture, at least substantially simultaneously with the first image data, second image data of the prescription container, the second image data including a prescription drug identifier; and

a lower lift pusher to lift the prescription container through the path into the particular position,

wherein the first capture device captures the first image data based on the rotational information associated with the lower lift pusher.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a computing device to store the first image data and the second image data in a record associated with a prescription, the prescription being for prescription drug identified by the prescription drug identifier.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the second image data includes a prescription drug label, the prescription drug label including the prescription drug identifier.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the first image data of the prescription container includes a top view image of the prescription container at the particular position and the second image data of the prescription container includes a side view image of the prescription container.