WO2007060588A1

WO2007060588A1 - A system for monitoring a medication dispenser

Info

Publication number: WO2007060588A1
Application number: PCT/IB2006/054322
Authority: WO
Inventors: Cornelis W. J. M. Lauwerijssen
Original assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV
Current assignee: Koninklijke Philips NV
Priority date: 2005-11-23
Filing date: 2006-11-17
Publication date: 2007-05-31
Anticipated expiration: 2008-05-23

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for monitoring a medication dispenser. The system (1) comprises a medication dispenser (2) and a monitoring module (8). The medication dispenser (2) comprises one or more compartments (3) which can be filled with a dispensable medication (4). The medication dispenser (2) comprises one or more passive electronic circuits (5). Each circuit (5) can be associated with a compartment (3). The passive electronic circuit (5) contains predetermined characteristic information associated with the medication dispenser (2) and/or the dispensable medication (4). The monitoring module (8) interrogates the electronic circuit (5) and receives a response signal (6). The information contained in the response signal (6) is determined by the monitoring module (8). The monitoring module (8) can store the determined information, so that over time can be monitored when which compartment (3) was emptied. The monitoring module (8) can also send a signal (20) to a third party based on the information contained in the response signal (6).

Description

A system for monitoring a medication dispenser

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a system for monitoring a medication dispenser, a method of monitoring a medication dispenser, a medication dispenser and a monitoring module for a medication dispenser.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART

Patients often take medication prescribed by a physician. Some patients require a combination of more than one medication with an often complex prescription scheme. Patients may have to take one or more pills at certain times during the day or a combination of different pills (medication cocktail) at certain times during the day. Even if the patient carries the pill strips with him, there is a risk of forgetting certain medication doses or getting confused which pill to take when. This especially applies to elderly people, when the prescriptions become more complex, and the doses more frequent. Patient surveys have revealed that 12% of all women over 65 are taking ten or more prescription medications daily and that 55% of all seniors do not take their medication correctly.

The non-compliance with the prescription has consequences for the patient and for the pharmaceutical companies. For the patient the non-compliance can lead to extra nursing visits or hospitalization or even death. This causes an increase in health care costs. For the pharmaceutical company this can have business implications. For example, if a medication is blamed by the patient and/or physician for the extra implications instead of the patient non-compliance, this may cause a loss of revenue when the physician decides to prescribe a different medication brand next time.

Various devices are known which aid the patient to comply with the prescription scheme. US 4 617 557 describes a medication package with a housing mounted thereon containing an electronic circuitry. The laminations of the medication package include a foil layer, which contains conducting pathways connected to the electronic circuitry including a battery for causing a current to flow along the conducting pathways. Each pathway passes over a different blister cavity. By checking whether the conductive pathway is broken or not, the dispensing of the medication can be followed. A reminder is given when the next medication dose should be taken and/or an alert is given when a medication dose is not taken. In US 4 617 557, the blister package is modified, which can be expensive. Further, because the circuit provided on the blister package is an active electronic system, a battery is needed on the blister package itself. A battery on the package itself is not only expensive, but also might give rise to reliability issues (empty battery) and user complications. In US 4 617 557, each blister package has its own housing containing electronic circuitry, so patients having to take different medications from a plurality of different blister packages during the day, need to carry a plurality of housings, each housing comprising its own battery, reminder and alerting systems.

It is an object of the present invention to address those problems encountered in conventional systems for monitoring a medication dispenser.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a monitoring system, which can be used with a plurality of medication dispensers at a time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for monitoring a medication dispenser comprising one or more compartments for housing a dispensable medication, respectively, the medication dispenser comprising one or more passive electronic circuits, wherein each of the one or more circuits has a predetermined characteristic which is indicative of a characteristic of the medication dispenser, wherein the predetermined characteristic of the one or more circuits gives rise to one or more respective characteristic response signals upon interrogation of the circuit by a signal, the system further comprising a monitoring module for determining the one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser on the basis of the one or more characteristic response signals.

In this way, a plurality of medication dispensers can be monitored at a time. The solution may be implemented without much additional steps along the distribution or manufacturing chain, e.g. it may be implemented at the pharmacist.

Since the circuit has a characteristic response, characteristics of the medication dispenser such as the type of medication, date of manufacture, etc. can also be determined by the monitoring module.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the medication dispenser itself is passive. In this way, the monitoring may be done externally with respect to the medication dispenser, so no battery is needed on the medication dispenser, but only, when appropriate in the monitoring module.

In a preferred embodiment, an alerting signal can be sent to the user and/or a third party when a medication dose is not taken within a predetermined time interval. In this way, the system aids the patient in complying with his prescription scheme by monitoring all his medication dispensers stored in one pillbox.

In a preferred embodiment, the system for monitoring a medication dispenser performs scans at certain times. In this way, there can be checked whether a medication is removed or not. So, over time it is exactly known when which medication is taken. In a preferred embodiment, inter alia, one or more characteristics concerning the medication can be collected during the scans, e.g. number of medications remaining in the medication dispenser and the type of medication.

In further embodiments, these data can be stored and transmitted to a third party e.g. patient's physician or pharmacist. In this way, by monitoring the medication dispenser, the dispensing of the patient's medication is monitored easily, since it has been found that 95% of medications which are removed from their dispenser are taken correctly by the patient.

In a preferred embodiment, the monitoring module can be arranged to auto- order a new medicine supply, when medication is being taken by the patient. In this way, the quality of life of the patient is improved. Further, multiple use cases, i.e. where a patient takes a plurality of different types of medication, is made possible.

In a preferred embodiment, the monitoring module can be arranged to send an alerting signal to the user and/or a third party when a medication dose is not taken within a predetermined time interval. In this way, the user and/or a third party is alerted when a certain medication is not taken. In this way, the system further aids the patient in complying with his prescription scheme.

In a further preferred embodiment, the information determined from the one or more response signals can also be shown on a display. In this way, it is easy for a user to see the information concerning the dispensing of his medication. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of monitoring a medication dispenser comprising one or more compartments for housing a dispensable medication, respectively, the method comprising providing one or more passive electronic circuits on the medication dispenser, wherein each of the one or more circuits has a predetermined characteristic which is indicative of a characteristic of the medication dispenser, wherein the predetermined characteristic of the one or more circuits gives rise to one or more characteristic response signals, respectively, upon interrogation of the circuit by a signal. The method further comprises interrogating the one or more circuits with a signal, detecting the one or more characteristic response signals and determining the one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser on the basis of the one or more characteristic response signals.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a medication dispenser comprising one or more compartments for housing a dispensable medication respectively, the medication dispenser comprising one or more passive electronic circuits, wherein each of the one or more circuits has a predetermined characteristic which is indicative of a characteristic of the medication dispenser, wherein the predetermined characteristic of the one or more circuits gives rise to one or more characteristic response signals, respectively, upon interrogation of the circuit by a signal, wherein the one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser can be determined on the basis of the one or more characteristic response signals.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a monitoring module for a medication dispenser comprising a passive electronic circuit, the module comprising a transmitter for sending a signal for interrogating the passive electronic circuit and a receiver for receiving a response signal from the passive electronic circuit, the module further comprising a determining unit for determining one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser on the basis of the response signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the figures in which:

Fig. 1 shows a medication monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows an electronic circuit according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 3 shows a monitoring module according to an embodiment of the invention, and

Fig. 4 shows a cross section of a medication dispenser according to an embodiment of the invention. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figure 1 shows a system 1 for monitoring a medication dispenser 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system 1 comprises a medication dispenser 2 comprising one or more compartments 3, 31, 32, 33 respectively for housing a dispensable medication 4. In one embodiment of the invention, as shown in figure 1, the medication dispenser 2 can be a blister package. The medication dispenser 2 comprises one or more passive electronic circuits 5, 51, 52, 53 disposed on the medication dispenser 2. Each of the one or more circuits 5, 51, 52, 53 has a predetermined characteristic which is indicative of a characteristic of the medication dispenser 2. The predetermined characteristic of the one or more circuits 5, 51, 52, 53 gives rise to one or more characteristic response signals 6 upon interrogation of the circuit 5, 51, 52, 53 by a signal 7.

In the embodiment shown in figure 1 each compartment 3, 31, 32, 33 has an associated circuit 5, 51, 52, 53. For example as shown in figure 1, a first compartment 31 is associated with electronic circuit 51, a second compartment 32 with circuit 52 and a third compartment 33 with circuit 53. As seen in figure 1, other compartments may also be associated with other circuits. A further circuit 50 may also be associated with the medication dispenser 2. The further circuit 50 is not associated with a particular compartment 3. The electronic circuits 51, 52, 53 have a characteristic corresponding to a predetermined characteristic of the dispensable medication 4. For example, the circuits 51, 52, 53 may have a characteristic which can be used to identify the location of the compartments 31, 32, 33 with which they are associated. Further, circuit 50 may have a characteristic which can be used to identify the type of medication stored in the medication dispenser 2.

As mentioned, the electronic circuit 50 has a predetermined characteristic of the medication dispenser 2, for example the type of medication stored in the medication dispenser 2. In an alternative embodiment, not shown here, the one or more compartments 31, 32, 33 may have a plurality of electronic circuits 50, 51, 52, 53 associated with them for identifying a plurality of characteristics, for example, the location of the compartment and the type of medication housed in a particular compartment. The system 1 further comprises a monitoring module 8 for determining the one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser 2. The determination is on the basis of the one or more characteristic response signals 6.

The characteristic of the medication dispenser 2 determined by the monitoring module 8 includes at least one of a type of medication 4 housed in the medication dispenser 2, a dosage of the medication 4 housed in the medication dispenser 2, an indication of which of the one or more compartments 3 is empty and an indication of a time at which one or more of the compartments 3 is emptied. To determine whether a compartment is empty or full, the one or more circuits 31, 32, 33 are preferably disposed on the package so that, when the medication is taken from a particular compartment 31, 32, 33, the circuit 51, 52, 53, respectively, associated with the particular compartment is broken. In the case where a particular compartment 31 is full, the characteristic response from the associated circuit is received by the monitoring module. If the particular compartment 31 is emptied, the circuit 51 will be broken. If a response signal is not received from a particular circuit, the monitoring module 8 determines that the compartment is empty and that the medication housed in the particular compartment has been taken. As will be described, by sending a signal 7 at predetermined intervals, the time at which the compartment is emptied can also be determined by the monitoring module 8. The monitoring module 8 is described in more detail with respect to figure 4. In the system 1 shown in figure 1, the monitoring module 8 is situated in a pill box 9. However, the invention is not limited in this respect. In an alternative embodiment, the monitoring module may be situated on a pill box 9. In a yet further alternative embodiment, it may be arranged as a separate module. The pill box 9 can receive one or more medication dispensers 2, 200. Where a plurality of medication dispensers 2, 200 are stored in the pill box 9 data with respect to the plurality of the medication dispensers 2, 200 can be gathered by a single monitoring module 8, in contrast to conventional systems, wherein each medication dispenser 8 is provided with its own monitoring system.

The monitoring module 8 interrogates the one or more circuits 5 with a signal 7 and detects the one or more characteristic response signals 6. The one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser 2 are determined on the basis of the one or more characteristic response signals 6. The characteristics determined on the basis of the response signals 6 can be stored in the monitoring module 8 of the system 1.

The monitoring system shown in figure 1 comprises a display 10. The display 10 provides a display on the basis of the one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser 2 determined by the monitoring module 8. The display 10 can be situated in or on the pillbox. Alternatively, the display may be a separate object of the monitoring system, which may be located remotely from the pill box 9. For example, the display may be located at a pharmacy or medical institution, such as a hospital or surgery. In the embodiment shown in figure 1, the display 10 is mounted on the pillbox. The pill box 9 may be provided with a power supply (not shown).

Figure 2 shows an electronic circuit 5 according to an embodiment of the invention. The electronic circuit 5 in this embodiment comprises an LC resonator 11. The LC resonator 11 comprises an inductor 12 and a capacitor 13. It is a passive electronic circuit which receives a signal 7 and reflects a response signal 6. The predetermined characteristic of the LC resonator 11 is a predetermined resonant frequency. The electronic circuit may comprise passive polymer electronics. In a further embodiment, the passive electronics may be a passive radio frequency identification (RFID) circuit, which might be inductively powered for storing information on the blister package itself. The LC circuit 11 may be printed directly on the medication dispenser. Alternatively, it may be printed as a sticker which may be applied to the medication dispenser subsequent to its manufacture, for example, by a pharmacist, medical staff member, the patient, etc. Depending on the values chosen for the inductor 12 and the capacitor 13, the circuit will have a resonant frequency f in accordance with Equation 1.

/ = Equation 1,

where f is the resonant frequency, L is the inductance of the inductor 12 in Henries and C is the capacitance of the capacitor 13 in Farads. By selecting the values of the capacitor and the inductor, the LC circuit 11 can be tuned to provide a response signal 6 to identify the circuit 11 to the monitoring module 8. By knowing which response signal 6 comes from which circuit 50, 51, 52, 53, data concerning the compartments 31, 32, 33 and other data concerning the medication dispenser 2 can be determined by the monitoring module. The coding of the characteristic of the medication dispenser with respect to the response frequency of each circuit is predetermined. It may be stored in a look up table to which a processor 17 has access.

The resonant frequency is typically chosen to be in the radio frequency range, in which range, Equation 2 may apply.

LC=255330.3/f² Equation 2, where f is the frequency in Megahertz, L is the inductance in micro Henries and C is the capacitance in Pico Farads.

Figure 3 shows a monitoring module 8 according to an embodiment of the invention. The monitoring module 8 comprises a scanning device 14 which transmits a signal 7. The scanning device 14 scans the predetermined characteristics of the circuits 5 at certain time intervals. The scanning device 14 may be a radio transmitter that produces a radio signal over a range of frequencies corresponding to the resonant frequencies of the one or more circuits 50, 51, 52, 53. The response signal 6 is received by a receiving module 15. The receiving module 15 may be a radio receiver that is arranged to receive radio signals over the frequency range of the response signals 6. The processor 17 determines the characteristics of the medication 4 and/or the medication dispenser 2 on the basis of the characteristic of the response signal 6, for example, the processor determines the characteristic on the basis of the frequencies of the response signal 6 or signal 7. The processor 17 has access to a look up table in which the correspondence between each characteristic and each response signal 6 is stored. For example, the table stores that response frequency fl originates from the circuit 51 associated with compartment 31, etc.

The look up table may be stored in storing module 18. Alternatively, it may be remotely accessible by the processor 17.

The processor 17 may be a central processing unit (CPU). The processor 17 and scanning device 14 may comprise or be in communication with a clock 23. In this way, the scanning device 14 may carry out scans at predetermined time intervals. Further, the processor 17 can determine characteristics at predetermined time intervals. Further, the processor 17 may determine the time of arrival of a particular response signal in order to ascertain, for example, at which time a compartment 31, 32, 33 was emptied. The data-collecting module 16 collects a plurality of data corresponding to the characteristics of the medication dispenser 2 as determined by the processor 17. One or more of the characteristics may be stored in the storing module 18 of the monitoring module 8. The monitoring module 8 shown in figure 3 comprises a data transfer module 19 to send a signal 20 to inform a user and/or a third party on the basis of the one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser 2 and/or the dispensable medication 4. This signal 20 may be an alerting signal 21 to alert a user or a third party. The data transfer module 19 may send a signal 20 to a display 10. Alternatively, or in addition, the data transfer module 19 may send a signal 20 to a user or a third party. The user may be the patient, or the physician, or the pharmacist, or a family member of the patient etc. The alerting signal 21 may be at least one of an SMS, an e-mail or other messaging or paging system. The signal 20 can be sent , for example, by means of a telephone and/or broadband connection with or without a home server, or by means of a direct long range radio frequency, for example on a license-free frequency to make the installation as simple as possible. For example, if a patient forgets to take medication, which is due to be taken from compartment 31 at a particular time, once that time has elapsed an alerting signal may be sent at least to the patient or a user of the monitoring system.

The scanning device 14 has a range such that it is not necessary for the medication dispenser 2 to be returned to the pill box 9 in order for a scan to take place. However, in one embodiment, when a medication dispenser 2 is disposed in the pill box 9, a scan is performed. A scan may also be performed when a medication 4 is expected to be taken, to check if the medication 4 has been removed from the dispenser 2. In this way, also the timing can be determined and stored in the storage module 18 or communicated to a user or third party. In this way, the timing of the emptying of each compartment 30, 31, 32, 33 for each medication dispenser 8 can be determined. The range of the scanning device 14 may be selected so that it only scans within the range of the pill box 9. In this way, if medication dispenser 2 is not put back in the pill box 9 an alert signal may be issued.

Further, since the type of medication 4 from a plurality of medication dispensers 2 can be determined by the monitoring module 8, a user of the monitoring system, for example, a doctor or a pharmacist can identify whether the patient may be at risk from taking a particular combination of medications 4.

Figure 4 shows a cross section of a medication dispenser 2 according to an embodiment of the invention. The medication dispenser 2 comprises one or more compartments 3 for housing a respective dispensable medication 4. The compartments 3 are sealed with a foil 22. In figure 4 one compartment 3 of the medication dispenser 2 is shown. The compartment 3 is filled with a dispensable medication 4. In the embodiment shown, the medication 4 is a pill. In the embodiment shown, the compartment 3 houses one pill. However, in an alternative embodiment, a plurality of medications 4, such as pills may be housed in one compartment 3. The medication dispenser 2 comprises one or more passive electronic circuits 5. Each compartment 3 is associated with a circuit 5. In figure 4 the circuit 5 is situated on the compartment 3. In particular, in an embodiment in which it is determined which compartments are empty or full, the circuit 5 is located so that when the medication 4 is removed from the compartment 3, the circuit 5 is broken. For example, the circuit may be located over the compartment 3. The circuits 5 are designed to provide a predetermined response signal 6 which is linked to a predetermined characteristic, such as, but not limited to, the manufacturer, type of medication, pill number, of the medication dispenser 2. The predetermined characteristic of the one or more circuits 5 gives rise to one or more characteristic response signals 6, respectively, upon interrogation of the circuit 5 by a signal 7. One or more characteristics of the medication dispenser 2 can be determined on the basis of the one or more characteristic response signals 6.

In the embodiments described, the circuit 5 is a passive polymer circuit, in particular, an LC circuit. However, the invention is not limited in this respect, the circuit 5 may also comprise an electromagnetic tag. For example, radio-frequency identification (RFID) may be used.

The invention relates to a system for monitoring a medication dispenser. The system comprises a medication dispenser and a monitoring module. The medication dispenser comprises one or more compartments which can be filled with a dispensable medication. The medication dispenser comprises one or more passive electronic circuits. Each circuit can be associated with a compartment. The passive electronic circuit contains predetermined characteristic information associated with the medication dispenser and/or the dispensable medication. The monitoring module interrogates the electronic circuit and receives a response signal. The information contained in the response signal is determined by the monitoring module. The monitoring module can store the determined information, so that over time can be monitored when which compartment was emptied. The monitoring module can also send a signal to a third party based on the information contained in the response signal.

Whilst specific embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be appreciated that the invention may be implemented differently than described. The description is not intended to limit the invention. Any reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A system for monitoring a medication dispenser, the system (1) comprising: a medication dispenser (2) comprising one or more compartments (3) for housing a respective dispensable medication (4), the medication dispenser (2) comprising one or more passive electronic circuits (5), wherein each of the one or more circuits (5) has a predetermined characteristic which is indicative of a characteristic of the medication dispenser (2), wherein the predetermined characteristic of the one or more circuits (5) gives rise to one or more characteristic response signals (6), respectively, upon interrogation of the circuit by a signal

(V), the system further comprising a monitoring module (8) for determining the one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser (2) on the basis of the one or more characteristic response signals (6).

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic of the medication dispenser (2) determined by the monitoring module (8) includes at least one of a type of medication housed in the medication dispenser (2), a dosage of the medication housed in the medication dispenser (2), an indication of which of the one or more compartments (3) is empty and an indication of a time at which one or more of the compartments (3) is emptied.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein the monitoring module (8) comprises a data collection module (16) for collecting a plurality of data corresponding to the characteristics of the medication dispenser (2) determined by the monitoring module (8).

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein the monitoring module (8) comprises a data transfer module (19) for transferring the collected data to at least one of a user and a third party.

5. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more circuits (5) is an LC resonator (11).

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined characteristic of the

LC resonator (11) is a predetermined resonant frequency.

7. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the circuit (5) comprises passive polymer electronics.

8. A system according to any one of the preceding claims 5-7, wherein the monitoring module (8) comprises a scanning device (14) for scanning the predetermined resonant frequencies of the one or more circuits (5) at predetermined time intervals.

9. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the monitoring module (8) is arranged to send an alerting signal (21) to at least one of a user and a third party on the basis of the one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser (2) determined by the monitoring module (8).

10. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the monitoring module (8) is situated in or on a pillbox.

11. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a display (10) for providing a display on the basis of the one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser (2) determined by the monitoring module (8).

12. A method of monitoring a medication dispenser (2) comprising one or more compartments (3) for housing a dispensable medication (4), respectively, the method comprising providing one or more passive electronic circuits (5) on the medication dispenser (2), wherein each of the one or more circuits (5) has a predetermined characteristic which is indicative of a characteristic of the medication dispenser (2), wherein the predetermined characteristic of the one or more circuits (5) gives rise to one or more characteristic response signals (6), respectively, upon interrogation of the circuit (5) by a signal (7), the method further comprising: interrogating the one or more circuits (5) with a signal (7), detecting the one or more characteristic response signals (6), determining the one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser (2) on the basis of the one or more characteristic response signals (6).

13. A method according to claim 13, comprising: storing a correspondence between the one or more characteristics of a medication dispenser (2) and the one or more characteristic response signals (6), respectively.

14. A medication dispenser (2) comprising one or more compartments (3) for housing a dispensable medication (4) respectively, the medication dispenser (2) comprising one or more passive electronic circuits (5), wherein each of the one or more circuits (5) has a predetermined characteristic which is indicative of a characteristic of the medication dispenser (2), wherein the predetermined characteristic of the one or more circuits (5) gives rise to one or more characteristic response signals (6), respectively, upon interrogation of the circuit (5) by a signal (7), wherein the one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser (2) can be determined on the basis of the one or more characteristic response signals (6).

15. A monitoring module (8) for a medication dispenser (2) comprising a passive electronic circuit (5), the module (8) comprising a transmitter (14) for sending a signal (7) for interrogating the passive electronic circuit (5) and a receiver (15) for receiving a response signal (6) from the passive electronic circuit (5), the module (8) further comprising a determining unit (17) for determining one or more characteristics of the medication dispenser (2) on the basis of the response signal (6).