ORAL SYRINGE PACKAGING SYSTEM FOR HOSPITAL PHARMACIES

• US 20120241043A1
• Filed: 09/19/2011
• Published: 09/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Instrument LLC (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: National Instrument LLC (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Perazzo, Nicholas J., Rosen, Robert A., Chopper, John M., Grosskopf, John G. Jr., Bennett, Mark, Cohen, D. Bruce
• Granted Patent: US 9,033,006 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 141/2
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0053 Syringes, pipettes or oral dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 3/003 Filling medical containers such as ampoules, vials, syringes or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 3/006 Related operations, e.g. scoring ampoules
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 3/28 by weighing
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 3/30 by volumetric measurement
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/045 in bags
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 57/02 responsive to absence, presence, abnormal feed, or misplacement of binding or wrapping material, containers, or packages
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 59/003 Arrangements to enable adjustments related to the packaging material
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 7/28 by applying separate preformed closures, e.g. lids, covers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers

Abstract

A semi-automated system suitable for use in a hospital setting for filling patient-specific liquid prescriptions to be administered by oral syringes on a just-in-time basis. The system enables hospital pharmacists to simplify and streamline their task, increasing the number of prescriptions that can be filled in a day, improving patient safety and care by minimizing medication errors and the consequences that ensue.

Claims

1. A system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes with medicines from containers, said oral syringes being of various sizes and types all having a barrel, an annular flange encircling said barrel, a plunger slideably engaged in said barrel, and a flange at distal end of said plunger, and said plurality of containers of medicines being of various sizes and types, the system comprising:

a programmable controller including software for controlling said system;

an adapter cap attached to one of said containers of medicine, said adapter cap having an annular body defined by an aperture through said body, a peripheral exterior flange around said body, and an elastic seal covering said aperture;

a filling station, comprising,

a syringe loading station for loading of a syringe,

a container loading station for manual loading said container bearing said adapter cap, said container loading station including a gripper for gripping said container in an upright orientation by its attached adapter cap and for articulating said container to an inverted filling position; and

a plurality of arms for manipulating said syringe when in said filling position, said plurality of arms including at least a first arm and second arm both terminating in a forked end for engaging the syringe, each arm being independently servo-controlled and articulating along two axes, said first arm adapted to move said syringe until its nozzle penetrates the seal membrane of said adapter cap, and said second arm being adapted to withdraw the plunger of said syringe to fill said syringe with medicine.

2. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 1, wherein said syringe loading station indexes said syringe from said loading position to a filling position.

3. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 1, further comprising a bagging station for bagging said filled syringe and for marking the bag.

4. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 1, wherein said filling station further comprises an inspection station in communication with said controller for determining a fill level of said syringe.

5. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 4, wherein said inspection station comprises a visual inspection station for optically determining a fill volume of said syringe.

6. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 4, wherein said inspection station comprises a scale for determining a fill volume of said syringe by weight.

7. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 1, further comprising a first labeler in communication with said controller for printing a bar-coded label for attachment to said syringe.

8. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 7, wherein said filling station further comprises a first scanner in communication with said controller for scanning the bar-coded label attached to said syringe and one from among a group consisting of a bar-coded label attached to said adapter cap, and a bar-coded label attached to said medicine container.

9. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 1, further comprising a syringe storage bin for retaining a plurality of syringes of different sizes, said storage bin comprising a plurality of compartments each for retaining a plurality of syringes of uniform size.

10. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 1, wherein said syringe loading station comprises a starwheel for indexing said syringe about a circular path to a filling position.

11. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 10, wherein said starwheel comprises a plurality of wells of different sizes for nesting syringes of different sizes.

12. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 1, wherein said syringe loading station comprises a translating block defined by a plurality of pockets for indexing said syringe along a linear path to a filling position.

13. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 1, wherein said syringe loading station comprises a servo-driven pick-and-place mechanism for indexing said syringe to a filling position.

14. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 1, wherein the gripper of said container loading station comprises a stationery half-yoke and a movable half-yoke.

15. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 1, wherein the gripper of said container loading station is adapted to shake said medicine containers to mix the medicine contained therein.

16. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of arms for manipulating said syringe includes at least a first arm, second arm and third arm, all of said arms being independently servo-controlled.

17. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 16, wherein said plurality of arms comprise distal V-shaped fingers.

18. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 1, wherein said filing station further comprises a capping mechanism.

19. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 8, further comprising a second labeler for printing a bar-coded label for attachment to said adapter cap.

20. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 19, further comprising a second scanner in communication with said controller for scanning the bar-coded label attached to said adapter cap.

21. A method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes with medicines from containers, said oral syringes being of various sizes and types all having a barrel, an annular flange encircling said barrel, a plunger slideably engaged in said barrel, and a flange at distal end of said plunger, and said plurality of containers of medicines being of various sizes and types, the method comprising the steps of:

maintaining a database of prescription medicines including information relating to whether said medicines must be shaken and/or refrigerated;

inputting a plurality of medicine prescriptions for oral syringes to a queue of prescriptions to be fulfilled;

sorting said prescription queue by type of medicine;

fulfilling a batch subset of said input medicine prescriptions comprising all the same type of medicine, by the following substeps,

selecting a bulk container of said type of medicine,

scanning a manufacturer barcode on the selected bulk container to confirm which type of medicine it is, and its container size,

attaching an adapter cap to said container of medicine, said adapter cap having an exterior flange, a seal membrane, and a barcode,

associating said adapter cap barcode with said manufacturer barcode in said database,

choosing an oral syringe to fill with said one of said input medicine prescriptions,

attaching a barcode to said syringe,

scanning said syringe barcode for integrity,

manually loading said syringe into a syringe loading station, manually loading the selected bulk container into a container loading station by its

attached adapter cap,

articulating said container to an inverted filling position proximate said syringe filling position,

moving said syringe until its nozzle penetrates the seal membrane of said adapter cap, withdrawing the plunger of said syringe to fill said syringe with medicine.

22. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 21, further comprising a step, after said step of manually loading said syringe into a syringe loading station, of manually indexing said syringe in said syringe loading station to a filling position.

23. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 21, further comprising a step of bagging said filled syringe and bar-coding the bag.

24. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 21, wherein said substep of selecting a bulk container of said type of medicine further comprises verifying that said medication container contains enough medicine.

25. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 21, wherein said substep of selecting a bulk container of said type of medicine further comprises verifying that said medication container has been properly refrigerated.

26. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 21, wherein said substep of selecting a bulk container of said type of medicine further comprises verifying that said medication container has been protected from exposure to light.

27. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 21, wherein said substep of selecting a bulk container of said type of medicine further comprises verifying that said medication container has not passed its expiration date.

28. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 21, wherein said substep of selecting a bulk container of said type of medicine further comprises verifying that said medication container has not been recalled.

29. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 21, wherein said step of articulating said container to an inverted filling position further comprises automatically shaking said container.

30. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 21, wherein said step of manually indexing said syringe in said syringe loading station to a filling position further comprises revolving said syringe around a starwheel.

31. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 21, wherein both said steps of moving said syringe and withdrawing the plunger of said syringe to fill said syringe with medicine are automatically accomplished with a plurality of servo-controlled arms for manipulating said syringe and plunger.

32. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 31, wherein said plurality of servo-controlled arms further comprise at least a first arm and second arm both terminating in a forked end for engaging the syringe, each arm being independently servo-controlled and articulating along two axes.

33. A container neck adapter cap for semi-automated filling of oral syringes of various sizes and types, comprising:

an annular cap body having an internal channel leading to an aperture at one end, and at least one flange exteriorly surrounding said cap;

an elastomeric insert attached to said annular cap body and covering said aperture, said insert further comprising a membrane seal defined by a perforation for passing a nozzle of said oral syringes.

34. The container neck adapter cap according to claim 33, wherein said cap body is formed with an annular outer wall for engagement with exterior threads on necks of medicine containers, and an annular inner wall for interior engagement with the necks of said medicine containers.

35. The container neck adapter cap according to claim 34, wherein said outer wall is spaced from said inner wall by an open channel.

36. The container neck adapter cap according to claim 33, wherein said annular cap body comprises a plurality inwardly protruding circular ribs for engagement with exterior helical threads on necks of medicine containers.

37. The container neck adapter cap according to claim 34, wherein said outer wall comprises a plurality inwardly protruding circular ribs for engagement with exterior helical threads on necks of medicine containers.

38. The container neck adapter cap according to claim 37, wherein said inner wall comprises at least one outwardly protruding circular rib for engagement with the interior of the necks of medicine containers.

39. The container neck adapter cap according to claim 38, wherein said circular rib s an O-ring.

40. The container neck adapter cap according to claim 38, wherein said at least one outwardly protruding circular rib comprises a plurality of outwardly protruding circular ribs for engagement with the interior of the necks of medicine containers.

41. The container neck adapter cap according to claim 40, wherein said plurality of outwardly protruding circular ribs are resilient.

42. A method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes with medicines from containers, said oral syringes being of various sizes and types all having a barrel, an annular flange encircling said barrel, a plunger slideably engaged in said barrel, and a flange at distal end of said plunger, and said plurality of containers of medicines being of various sizes and types and bearing a manufacturer-applied cap and manufacturer barcode label, the method comprising the steps of:

logging a plurality of bulk medicines in containers by the substeps of,

removing the manufacturer caps from said medicine containers and replacing said manufacturer caps with an adapter cap having a penetrable membrane,

scanning the manufacturer barcode label for medicine information;

automatically printing a new unique barcode label and attaching said barcode label to one of said adapter cap or said medicine container,

automatically assigning a storage location for said medicine containers based on the scanned medicine information, and placing said medicine containers in their assigned storage locations;

compiling a plurality of oral syringe prescriptions to be filled;

sorting said plurality of oral syringe prescriptions into batches, each batch comprising a specified type of medicine;

guiding an operator to retrieve a medicine container containing said specified type of medicine from its assigned storage location;

scanning the attached new unique barcode label to confirm that said retrieved medicine container contains said specified type of medicine;

loading said retrieved medicine container into a fill station;

guiding an operator to retrieve a syringe;

automatically printing a label for the syringe and attaching said label to the syringe;

scanning said printed syringe label;

loading said retrieved syringe into said fill station;

automatically filling the syringe from medicine in said medication container by inverting said medication container, inserting said syringe, and withdrawing a plunger of said syringe.

43. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 42, further comprising a step of inspecting the filled syringe for one of fill weight or volume.

44. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 42, further comprising a step of automatically printing a bag for packaging of said filled syringe.

45. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 44, wherein said step of automatically printing a bag comprises printing a barcode on said bag. for packaging of said filled syringe.

46. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 45, further comprising a step of scanning the bag barcode for integrity.

47. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 44, further comprising a step of placing the filled syringe in the bag and sealing the bag.

48. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 42, wherein said step of automatically filling the syringe comprises automatically shaking said container.

49. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 42, wherein said step of automatically filling the syringe from medicine in said medication container by withdrawing a plunger of said syringe comprises automatically withdrawing a plunger of said syringe with a plurality of servo-controlled arms for manipulating said syringe and plunger.

50. The method for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 49, wherein said plurality of servo-controlled arms further comprise at least a first arm and second arm both terminating in a forked end for engaging the syringe, each arm being independently servo-controlled and articulating along two axes.

51. A system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes with medicines from containers, said oral syringes being of various sizes and types all having a barrel, an annular flange encircling said barrel, a plunger slideably engaged in said barrel, and a flange at distal end of said plunger, and said plurality of containers of medicines being of various sizes and types and each including a manufacturer cap, the system comprising:

a programmable controller including software for controlling said system;

a plurality of adapter caps for replacing said manufacturer caps;

a Medication Container Login &

Orientation Station with an included array of adapter cap storage bins.

a storage facility for storing medication containers;

a storage bin for storage of empty syringes;

a syringe label printer and labeler station;

a filling station, comprising a syringe loading station for loading of a syringe and for indexing said syringe to a filling position, and a container loading station for manual loading of a container bearing said adapter cap, said filling station further comprising a plurality of arms for manipulating said syringe when in said filling position.

52. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 51, further comprising an inspection station for checking one of fill weight or volume of filled syringes.

53. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 51, further comprising a bag printing and sealing station for bagging said filled syringes and for barcoding the bag.

54. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 52, wherein said inspection station comprises a visual inspection station for optically determining a fill volume of said syringe.

55. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 52, wherein said inspection station comprises a scale for determining a fill volume of said syringe by weight.

56. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 51, further comprising a first labeler resident at said Medication Container Login &

Orientation Station and in communication with said controller for printing a bar-coded label for attachment to said adapter caps.

57. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 56, further comprising a first scanner in communication with said controller for scanning the bar-coded label attached to said adapter caps.

58. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 51, further comprising a syringe storage bin for retaining a plurality of syringes of different sizes, said storage bin comprising a plurality of compartments each for retaining a plurality of syringes of uniform size.

59. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 51, wherein said syringe loading station comprises a starwheel for indexing said syringe about a circular path to a filling position.

60. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 59, wherein said starwheel comprises a plurality of wells of different sizes for nesting syringes of different sizes.

61. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 51, wherein said container loading station further comprises a gripper for gripping said adapter cap.

62. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 61, wherein said gripper is articulating to invert said adapter cap and medicine container.

63. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 62, wherein said gripper comprises a stationery half-yoke and a movable half-yoke.

64. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 51, wherein said plurality of arms for manipulating said syringe includes at least a first arm, second arm and third arm, all of said arms being independently servo-controlled.

65. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 51, wherein said filling station further comprises a capping mechanism.

66. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 51, further comprising a labeler for printing a bar-coded label for attachment to said adapter cap.

67. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 66, further comprising a scanner in communication with said controller for scanning the bar-coded label attached to said adapter cap.

68. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 51, wherein said syringe loading station comprises a slide block.

69. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 51, wherein said syringe loading station comprises a rotating carousel.

70. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes according to claim 51, further comprising two robot arms.

71. A container neck adapter cap for semi-automated filling of oral syringes of various sizes and types, comprising:

an annular cap body having an internal channel leading to an aperture at one end;

an elastomeric insert attached to said annular cap body and covering said aperture, said insert further comprising an annular base and seal member protruding axially from said base, both said base and seal member having a passage there through, and said extension member further comprising an elastomeric duck-bill for passing a nozzle of said oral syringes.

72. The container neck adapter cap according to claim 71, wherein said passage is a slit.

73. The container neck adapter cap according to claim 71, wherein said elastomeric insert is formed with a duck-bill protrusion leading to said slit.

74. A method of semi-automated filling of oral syringes, comprising the steps of:

selecting an appropriate syringe size;

selecting a medicine container;

filling the syringe with a predetermined amount of medicine from said medicine container;

labeling the syringe with a label indicating the type and amount of medicine with which it was filled;

capping the syringe;

inspecting the syringe for proper weight and/or volume of medication.

75. The method of claim 74, further comprising the step of storing said medicine container in a refrigerated storage area.

76. The method of claim 75, further comprising the step of storing said medicine container in a light-protected storage area.

77. A system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes with medicines from containers, said oral syringes being of various sizes and types all having a barrel, an annular flange encircling said barrel, a plunger slideably engaged in said barrel, and a flange at distal end of said plunger, comprising:

a cap attached to one of said containers of medicine;

a filling station, comprising,

at least one pair of manually-adjustable syringe gripping arms for gripping a syringe;

at least one pair of manually-adjustable medicine container gripping arms for gripping a medicine container;

said at least one pair of syringe gripping arms and said at least one pair of medicine container gripping arms being mounted on a turret for inversion of a syringe and medicine container mounted therein, and

a plunger actuation mechanism comprising a translating forked-shaped finger for engaging a plunger of said syringe upon rotation of said turret and for automatically withdrawing said plunger to fill said syringe with medicine from said container.

78. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes with medicines from containers according to claim 77, wherein said at least one pair of syringe gripping arms comprises two pair of syringe gripping arms.

79. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes with medicines from containers according to claim 77, wherein said at least one pair of medicine container gripping arms comprises two pair of medicine container gripping arms.

80. The system for semi-automated filling of oral syringes with medicines from containers according to claim 77, wherein said at least one pair of syringe gripping arms and said at least one pair of medicine container gripping arms are open and closed by a manual control knob.