DEVICE FOR MONITORING THE MEDICATION OF A PATIENT

Abstract

The device is adapted to accommodate medication for different days or for different times of a single day such as morning, midday and evening. A pill box with sections may be used for partitioning the medication. The pill box is contemplated to have at least one see-through wall or lid such that one may see medication or a label in the pill box. Pairs of light emitters and light receivers are used to detect medication and a processing unit for receiving output signals of the light receivers is used together with a communications module for transmitting a status signal of the pill box.

Claims

1-13: (canceled)

14. A device for monitoring the medication of a patient, said device comprising: a compartment including a compartment opening configured for accommodating a pill box that is partitioned into a plurality of sections, each of the sections being configured for storing medication corresponding to a different time of day, each of the sections having a bottom; a closure for closing and opening the pill box such that medication may be placed in a respective section and removed from a respective section; a light emitter and a light receiver for each respective section of the pill box for detecting medication in each respective section, each of the respective light emitters being configured for emitting light substantially parallel with the bottom through each respective section, and each of the respective light receivers being configured to receive light emitted from a respective light emitter and transmitted through each respective section, each of the respective light receivers being further configured to emit an output signal in response to the received light; and a processing unit configured for receiving the respective output signal of each of the respective light receivers, and for transmitting a status signal for each respective section of the pill box in response to the output signal of each of the respective light receivers, wherein each respective status signal is indicative of a storage status of medication stored in a respective section of the pill box.

15. The device according to claim 14, further comprising a bottom surface configured for placing the pill box on a horizontal surface during intended use of the device, such that the compartment opening faces upwards.

16. The device according to claim 14, wherein each of the light emitters is configured for emitting light in a substantially horizontal plane.

17. The device according to claim 14, further comprising an array of light emitters and an array of light detectors for each respective section of the pill box.

18. The device according to claim 14, further comprising a wireless communications module configured for communicating via a wireless telecommunications network.

19. The device according to claim 18, further comprising a SIM-card reader.

20. The device according to claim 14, further comprising an accelerometer configured for determining the orientation of said device.

21. The device according to claim 20, wherein the processing unit is further configured to receive an output signal of the accelerometer, and to provide and error signal when the device has a non-horizontal orientation.

22. The device according to claim 14, further comprising a filter configured for passing light of a frequency of the light emitted by the respective light emitters, and for filtering daylight.

23. The device according to claim 14, further comprising a sensor configured for detecting when the pill box is in the compartment.

24. The device according to claim 23, wherein the processing unit is further configured to receive an output signal of the sensor, and to provide an error signal when no pill box is detected.

25. The device according to claim 14, wherein each of the respective status signals is indicative of medication being in each of the respective sections.

26. A device for monitoring the medication of a patient, the device comprising: a pill box partitioned into a plurality of sections, each of the sections being configured for storing medication corresponding to a different time of day, each of the sections having a bottom, the pill box having a closure for closing and opening the pill box such that medication may be placed in each respective section and removed from each respective section; a light emitter and a light receiver for each respective section of the pill box and configured for detecting medication in each respective section, each of the respective light emitters being configured for emitting light substantially parallel with the bottom through each respective section, each of the respective light receivers being configured to receive light emitted from each of the respective light emitters, and transmitted through each respective section, each of the respective light receivers being operable to produce an output signal in response to the received light; and a processing unit configured for receiving respective output signals of each of the respective light receivers, and for transmitting a status signal for each respective section of the pill box in response to each of the output signals, each of the status signals being indicative of a storage status of medication stored in a respective section of the pill box.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0071] The invention will now be further described by the following figures of which:

[0072] FIG. 1 is a is a perspective view of a device comprising a pill box;

[0073] FIG. 2 is schematic drawing of the device without a pill box, showing the compartment into which a pill box is installed;

[0074] FIG. 3 is a perspective drawing of the bottom surface of the device showing the arrays of light emitters and light receivers; and

[0075] FIG. 4 shows the bottom surface (bottom plate) of FIG. 3 provided with a pill box.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0076] The invention may, however, be embodied in different forms than depicted below, and should not be construed as limited to any examples set forth herein. Rather, any examples are provided so that the disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Like elements will, thus, not be described in detail with respect to the description of each figure.

[0077] FIG. 1 shows a device 10 according to the invention comprising pill box 12.

[0078] The device 10, here having dimensions L=145 mm, H=25 mm, W=85 mm, includes a first side wall 14 and a second side wall 16 opposite the first side wall 14.

[0079] The pill box 12 is provided with a closure 18 which is slidable along the length or horizontal direction “L” of the device 10.

[0080] The pill box 12 is partitioned in four sections 20, 22, 24, 26 for storing medication in the form of pills 28.

[0081] A label is provided in the pill box (not shown).

[0082] The closure 18 is transparent thus enabling to immediately visualize whether pills 28 are present in a given section and how many.

[0083] Closure 18 shows also a directional sign in the form of a triangle/arrow to indicate to the user in which direction to slide closure 18 when using the device 10—the pills are placed and removed from a respective section without accidentally falling out while storing the pills.

[0084] At a first end of the device there is provided a stop 30 that fixes the pill box 12 into place. The stop 30 may be integral with the first side wall 14 of the device 10.

[0085] The stop also ensures that the pill box is placed correctly into the device.

[0086] It is contemplated that the stop may include an overhang that extends over the closure at least in part so that the ribs of the closure prevent the pill box from being inserted into the device, because the ribs come into contact with the overhang.

[0087] This may also prevent the pill box from being inserted into the device with the sections in a wrong order, i.e. so that the processing unit thinks that the first section is night where it should have been morning for example.

[0088] The pill box may be an integral part of the device, i.e. so that it is not removable.

[0089] FIG. 2 is a perspective view from the top of the device 10 without the pill box 12, showing a compartment 32.

[0090] The compartment 32 has a hole/compartment opening facing upwards so as to receive the pill box 12.

[0091] Light-emitting diodes 34, 36 are arranged in the top flat (horizontal) face of the device 10. The light-emitting diode 34 provides a signal in the form of a red light when the pill box 12 is not present in the device 10, or the user e.g. patient has forgotten to take a pill due for a given time of the day, or if the device 10 is in a vertical orientation. Light-emitting diode 36 provides a signal when e.g. the battery of the device 10 is low.

[0092] The function of the LEDs may be exchangeable, and their sizes and amount of light output may also vary. In addition the device may have a loud speaker for outputting a sound signal such as an alarm when the battery is low or when it is time to take a medication or when a medication has been missed etc.

[0093] FIG. 3 shows bottom surface 40 of the device 10. The bottom surface 40 includes a processing unit 42 and power supply in the form of batteries 44. The processing unit 42 may advantageously include or incorporate a wireless communications module, which may optionally include a SIM card reader.

[0094] Bottom surface 40 is adapted to accommodate the pill box (not shown), so that the pill box 12 is placed on a horizontal surface during intended use of said device.

[0095] The bottom surface 40 includes arrays of light emitters 50 (e.g., LEDs) and light detectors (light receivers) 52 as shown by the arrows. An array of light emitters and an array of light detectors is provided for each respective section of the pill box, in the figure illustrated as four sections. The section in the left correspond to the breakfast section 20, followed in the right direction by the lunch section, then the dinner section and lastly at the right the bed time section.

[0096] However, all of the LEDs 50 may be distributed at a substantially even distance between each other. If the emitters and receivers are arranged as integrated units, a reflector may be present on the opposite side.

[0097] The light emitters are configured for emitting light in a substantially horizontal plane 46 during intended use of said device 10. The light receivers 52 may advantageously be configured or operable with a filter that passes only light with the frequency of the light emitters 50, whereby daylight, for example, may be filtered out.

[0098] A sensor 48 which is connected to any of light diodes 34 36 is also provided in the bottom surface 40 to detect whether the pill box 12 is present or not.

[0099] The device 10 may advantageously include an accelerometer 56 configured for determining the orientation of the device. It is desirable for the device to be oriented horizontally; thus, the accelerometer enables avoiding the placement of the device in a tilted or vertical orientation. In a particular embodiment, the processing unit 42 is configured to receive an output signal of the accelerometer, and to provide an error signal when the device has a non-horizontal orientation.

[0100] FIG. 4 shows the bottom surface 40 of FIG. 3 with the pill box 12 adapted therein and corresponding sections 20, 22, 24, 26.

[0101] Ribs at the opposite end of the closure are provided to facilitate the sliding of the closure, i.e. the ribs constitute finger grips for contacting a finger such that it may be easier to remove/slide the closure.

[0102] Each respective section 20, 22, 24, 26 intended to store medication in the form of pills 28 has a bottom for supporting a label (not shown).