Wireless medication compliance sensing device, system, and related methods

• US 9,904,885 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2015
• Issued: 02/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Promed Innovations LLC
• Original Assignee: Vypin LLC
• Inventors: Sengstaken, Jr., Robert W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Backer, Firmin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Aziz, Adnan
• Application Number:
  US14/686,916
• Publication Number:
  US 20150286852A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,049 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/035 Blister-type containers blisters in general B65D75/36
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/30 Compliance analysis for taking medication
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/04 Arrangements for time indication or reminder for taking medicine, e.g. programmed dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0436 resulting from removing a drug from, or opening, a container
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0454 for dispensing of multiple drugs
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0472 of the count-down type, i.e. counting down a predetermined interval after each reset
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0481 working on a schedule basis
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/049 automatically changing in response to a schedule deviation by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0716 at least one of the integrated circuit chips comprising a sensor or an interface to a sensor

Abstract

A system and related methods for wireless medication compliance sensing is provided. The system includes a housing having a plurality of medication compartments. A breakable substrate is positioned on at least one side of the housing, wherein the breakable substrate covers an opening to the plurality of medication compartments. A sensor array is positioned on the at least one side of the housing. The sensor array has a plurality of resistors, wherein one of the plurality of resistors is positioned across one of the openings of the plurality of medication compartments. A wireless tag is connectable to the sensor array, the wireless tag comprising a transmitter, an accelerometer, and a sensing circuit, wherein the sensing circuit is adapted to scan the sensor array upon activation of the accelerometer, and wherein the transmitter transmits a signal having scanned sensor array data externally from the wireless tag.

Claims

1. A system for wireless medication compliance sensing, the system comprising:

a housing having a plurality of medication compartments;

a breakable substrate positioned on at least one side of the housing, wherein the breakable substrate covers an opening of at least one of the medication compartments;

a sensor array positioned on the at least one side of the housing and comprising;

a plurality of conductive traces arranged in a matrix and comprising;

a first conductive trace in a first row of the matrix; and

a second conductive trace in a first column of the matrix, wherein the second conductive trace is electrically isolated from the first conductive trace; and

a resistor positioned across the opening of the at least one of the medication compartments and coupled to the first conductive trace and the second conductive trace, wherein the resistor is configured to be broken in expelling contents of the at least one of the medication compartments; and

a wireless tag connectable to the sensor array and comprising;

a transmitter;

a processor configured to communicate with the transmitter;

an accelerometer configured to communicate with the processor; and

a sensing circuit configured to scan the sensor array upon activation of the accelerometer;

wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit a first signal externally from the wireless tag in response to receipt of a second signal from the processor, the first signal including scanned sensor array data, and the second signal increasing a transmission rate of the first signal by the transmitter.

2. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 1, wherein the wireless tag is removably connectable to the sensor array with a spring clip.

3. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 1, wherein the wireless tag further comprises an alignment guide configured to align the wireless tag to the sensor array.

4. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 1, wherein the wireless tag further comprises a battery configured to provide a quantity of power to the transmitter and the accelerometer, wherein the accelerometer is configured to use less than 10 μ

Ah of the quantity of power.

5. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the first signal including scanned sensor array data using short-wavelength UHF radio waves in an ISM band of between 2.4 GHz and 2.485 GHz.

6. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 1, wherein the breakable substrate comprises a printable substrate, and wherein the sensor array is printed on the printable substrate using a conductive ink.

7. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 1, wherein the first signal including the scanned sensor array data includes data pertaining to at least one of an identification of the wireless tag and a functioning state of the wireless tag.

8. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 1, wherein:

the sensor array comprises a plurality of resistors; and

the first signal including the scanned sensor array data includes data pertaining to a state of each of the plurality of resistors.

9. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 1, wherein:

the sensor array comprises a plurality of resistors; and

the sensing circuit is adapted to scan the sensor array to sense an operation of each of the plurality of resistors individually.

10. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit a status signal at predetermined intervals externally from the wireless tag.

11. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of medication compartments is arranged in an array comprising a quantity of rows and a quantity of columns; and

a quantity of the plurality of conductive traces is equal to a sum of the quantity of rows and the quantity of columns.

12. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 11, wherein the sensor array further comprises at least one of a control row and a control column, and wherein the at least one of the control row and control column is used for sensing a size of the sensor array.

13. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 1, further comprising a perforation within the housing between at least a portion of the medication compartments, wherein the portion of the medication compartments is separable from the housing.

14. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 1, further comprising:

an external server configured to communicate with the wireless tag through an external network; and

an interface device configured to interface the communication between the external server and the wireless tag.

15. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 14, wherein the interface device comprises at least one of:

a hardware device;

an application on a mobile device; and

an application on a home automation device.

16. The system for wireless medication compliance sensing of claim 14, wherein a timestamp of receipt of the first signal including scanned sensor array data is recorded on the external server.

17. A method for wirelessly sensing medication compliance, the method comprising:

providing a housing having a plurality of medication compartments, the housing having a breakable substrate positioned on at least one side thereof, wherein the breakable substrate covers an opening of at least one of the medication compartments;

interfacing a sensor array with the breakable substrate on the at least one side of the housing, wherein the sensor array comprises;

a plurality of conductive traces arranged in a matrix and comprising;

a first conductive trace in a first row of the matrix; and

a second conductive trace in a first column of the matrix, wherein the second conductive trace is electrically isolated from the first conductive trace; and

a resistive trace positioned across the opening of the at least one of the medication compartments and coupled to the first conductive trace and the second conductive trace, wherein the resistive trace is configured to be broken in expelling contents of the at least one of the medication compartments; and

connecting a wireless tag to the sensor array, the wireless tag comprising;

a transmitter;

a processor configured to communicate with the transmitter;

an accelerometer configured to communicate with the processor; and

a sensing circuit configured to scan the sensor array upon activation of the accelerometer;

wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit a first signal externally from the wireless tag in response to receipt of a second signal from the processor, the first signal including scanned sensor array data, and the second signal increasing a transmission rate of the first signal by the transmitter;

scanning the sensor array with the sensing circuit upon activation of the accelerometer; and

transmitting the first signal including scanned sensor array data externally from the wireless tag with the transmitter.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein scanning the sensor array with the sensing circuit upon activation of the accelerometer comprises:

sensing a break in the breakable substrate and the resistive trace over the opening of the at least one of the medication compartments with the wireless tag connectable to the sensor array.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

sensing a size of the sensor array using at least one of a control row and a control column of the sensor array.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the sensor array comprises a plurality of resistive traces; and

scanning the sensor array with the sensing circuit upon activation of the accelerometer comprises;

scanning the sensor array to sense an operation of each of the plurality of resistors individually.