A SYSTEM TO MANAGE THE SAFE DISTRIBUTION OF MEDICINES AND TO CONTROL HEALTHCARE VARIABLES

Abstract

The present invention deals with an intelligent device, connected to the internet, providing for the safe storage and delivery of medicines in an automatic and controlled manner. In addition, it allows for health checks to be made on the patient using data obtained through peripheral devices, which are not the subject of this invention. Thus it is an electromechanical device together with the necessary software both in the device and in external applications, to improve compliance with pharmacological treatments for patients, also generating reliable information and enabling continuous monitoring of the patient by the responsible person.

Claims

1. A system consisting of the combination of the management, safe dispensing of medicines and the control of patient health parameters, comprising: an electromechanical device, at least one intelligent peripheral device and a method associated with the operation of said system for the loading and delivery of medicines, all controlled by software.

2. The electromechanical device of claim 1 wherein said device (FIG. 1) comprises: An inner disk with same size compartments (C), a mobile gate (A) driven by an electric motor (not shown), an upper cover (B) complemented by a cover (G) and a lower cover (D), control electronics and communication (not shown), container vessels (E), a lid (F) that serves as the upper lid of the container vessels (E) and the barrier preventing the lateral movement of the gate (A), monitoring module and module to control internal environmental conditions (not shown), power source (not shown), backup battery (not shown), two-way audio system via internet (not shown).

3. The inner disk (C) (FIG. 7) of the device of claims 1 and 2, characterized by being driven by an electric motor (not shown), having slots (I) and (H) which detects the position thereof and has compartments capable of storing container vessels (E).

4. The inner disk (C) of the device of claims 1 and 2, characterized by having between 8 and 21 compartments.

5. The inner disk compartments (C) of claims 1 and 2, characterized by having container vessels (E) with magnets.

6. The inner disk compartments (C) of claims 1 and 2, characterized by having magnets that guide the position of the container vessels (E).

7. The mobile gate (A) of the device of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that it has optical sensors for open and closed gate detection, and an optical sensor for detecting the removal of container vessels.

8. The device of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the control and communication electronics comprise a microprocessor with memory and wireless communication modules.

9. The device of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the monitoring and control of the environment is carried out by means of an internal environment control module.

10. The device of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that it is capable of connecting to intelligent peripheral devices through wireless protocols.

11. The device of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the loading of medication can be manual loading, assisted loading, or loading with pre-programmed container vessel.

12. The device of claims 1 and 2, wherein the manual load comprises: Select manual upload in the APP (I); enter the necessary data requested by the APP to perform both the information loading and the physical loading of the medication (II); the pillbox is placed with a free compartment and tells the user the steps to load the medications (III); at the completion of the placing of the medication, the device detects the load and asks the user if it is correct that he has placed the medications in the device (IV); in the event that the user completes the loading, the manual loading procedure ends, otherwise it starts again with the manual loading procedure (V).

13. The device of claims 1 and 2 wherein the assisted loading comprises: Select the assisted loading in the APP; choose a patient in the APP for whom one wants to load a treatment, after selecting the patient (VII) the system presents a series of treatments to be loaded (VIII), and one or more can be selected to load on to the device; select on which device one wants to load the treatment (IX), when one chooses the device it is positioned before a free compartment and guides (X) the user/responsible person in loading the treatments through the APP; on completion it asks the user if they want to load another treatment, if they select no, the loading is finished, otherwise the assisted load starts again from the beginning.

14. The device of claims 1 and 2 wherein the loading of the pre-programmed container vessel comprises: Select in the APP the load with pre-programmed container (XI), the system displays the instructions in the APP to perform the loading; Bring the container towards the RFID sensor or another sensor of the pillbox (XII), the pillbox detects and processes the code of the container and, after consulting the servers, opens the gate for the user to place the pre-programmed container (XIII) in the device; when placing the vessel (XIV), the system asks the user if they want to carry out another loading of the pre-programmed container vessel (XV), if they select no, the loading is finished (XVI); otherwise the loading of the pre-programmed container vessel starts again from the beginning (XII).

15. The device of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the method of delivery of medication can be a scheduled medication delivery or emergency medication delivery.

16. The device of claims 1 and 2, wherein the scheduled delivery of drugs comprises: The generation of announcements at the scheduled time by the device and the peripheral devices assigned to the patient/user, so that he/she takes the medication/s by bringing their peripheral device (ii) closer to said device or by means of recognition by said device of their devices. Biometric parameters and/or voice recognition will identify it and open the gate (A) in order to access said medication(s), in the case that the medication (s) is not withdrawn, a warning is generated for the responsible person to take the relevant action.

17. The scheduled medication delivery procedure of claim 16, wherein in case there is no patient/assigned user, any person can withdraw the medication (s) from the device without having to provide authentication.

18. The procedure of scheduled medication delivery of claim 16, wherein if the drugs are not collected in time, the responsible person can decide whether to release them or not remotely from the smartphone APP, setting the number of retries allowed to deliver the medication, changing the number of repetitions and the waiting time between notifications.

19. The device of claims 1 and 2, wherein the emergency medication delivery comprises: A request through the APP for the release of emergency medication, for which the user/responsible person selects a pillbox, the medication that they wish to deliver from the list and a patient/user to pick up the medication, who is alerted by the system using their peripheral device.

20. The device of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that it is capable of taking biometric measurements through the peripheral devices and sending alerts to the responsible person through the system.

21. The system of claim 1, characterized in that it is managed by a multiplatform software that allows management of all the functions of the device remotely, to receive and consult biometric measurements of the patients, to see the history of medications administered to the patients, to see treatments and environmental parameters and also the functioning of the device itself.

22. The multiplatform software of claim 21, characterized by being executable in selected platforms of the group of: Android, IOS, MacOS, Windows, Linux, FireFoxOS, Symbian.

23. The device of claims 1 and 2, characterized by the ability to add additional modules.

24. The device of claims 1 and 2, characterized by the ability to respond to voice commands and to perform actions.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0046] FIG. 1 shows a blown up diagram of the device, where its internal components and assembly can be seen.

[0047] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram that reveals the interaction between the sensors and activating components, as well as the software that controls the device and that is carried out in the control unit.

[0048] FIG. 3 shows a diagram of how different parts of the system communicate through the Internet, including backend servers and other devices associated with the ecosystem.

[0049] FIG. 4 is a flowchart for the different types of load that the device contains.

[0050] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing how the system delivers the drugs already loaded and programmed for a specific time and day.

[0051] FIG. 6 describes the procedure by which the system delivers the medication that must be delivered in an emergency to a patient.

[0052] FIG. 7 shows a detail of the inner disk (C) identifying the slots of the same size (I) and the single slot of a different size (H).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0053] The device of the present invention has a mobile gate (A) driven by a motor (not shown), which allows access to medications when the system notifies the patient. At any moment the gate (A) is mechanically closed and it is only possible for the responsible person to open it by using the application or when the system notifies the patient at the appropriate time that the medication should be taken. To do this, the gate (A) has optical sensors for open and closed gate detection and an optical sensor for detection of container vessels.

[0054] An upper lid (B) together with a lower lid (D) close the interior of the device and prevent access to medications. It is only possible to access them when the mobile gate (A) is opened, forcing the patient to keep to the schedules established by the system or to the decision of the responsible person in a case of releasing emergency medications. The upper cover (B) has an opening in which the upper plastic cover (G) is placed, leaving the device closed and preventing access to its interior.

[0055] The top cover (B) has a microphone (not shown) to allow two-way communication between the responsible person/user and the patient, together with a speaker (not shown) located in the lower cover (D), also used to emit sounds that make the patient notice that it is time to take the medication.

[0056] The inner disc (C) contains compartments to hold the container vessels (E) in which the medications that will be delivered to the user are stored. These compartments have magnets that act as guides to facilitate the placement of container vessels (E).

[0057] In an embodiment, the inner disk (C) has 8 compartments, which makes it a portable device, useful for patients who need to transport the drugs.

[0058] In another embodiment, the inner disk (C) has 21 compartments. This device is useful for those patients that require 3 daily doses of medication.

[0059] In both cases, the capacity of the device allows a weekly load.

[0060] Additionally, the inner disk (C) has sensors (not shown), slots (I) and (H) for positioning thereof and a motorized drive (not shown) to place the plate in the desired position according to the programming of the drug that must be delivered

[0061] In each partition of the inner disk (C) there is a container cup (E) that allows the user to easily remove the drugs from the device. In addition, each container cup (E) has a magnet that guides the user/responsible person when inserting the glass into the device. This is of great help to people with motor disorders, since the container vessel as well as the spaces have been designed to simplify extraction by people with these problems.

[0062] The lower cover (D) closes the device completely and contains the necessary electronics, motors (not shown) to move the inner plate (C) as well as the gate (A) and the backup battery (not shown), in addition to the electronics necessary (not shown) to control the device.

[0063] The top cover (G) has an RFID reader chip and/or other proximity sensors such as NFC tags, which allow the patient/user to be identified and only deliver the medicines to the correct person. In addition, it has a fingerprint reader which can be used to identify patients/users/responsible persons. It is also possible to detect the proximity of the wristband (or any device with Bluetooth connection (BT)) using the power of the Bluetooth signal, Wifi or Radio Frequency, transmitted by it and its unique address (MAC) to open the gate (A) when the bracelet (ii) is near the device (i).

[0064] The upper cover (G) can be replaced by different modules (not shown) which add more functionalities to the device such as refrigeration, more compartments, etc. The upper plastic lid (G) contains LED lights (not shown) that allow visual indications to the patient to make him notice that he must use the device to take the medicines.

[0065] The lid (F) fulfills the role of making an upper lid for the container vessels (E) and also functions as a limit to the lateral movement of the gate (A).

[0066] All the components of the device described here can be made of different materials depending on the use that is given to it, such as polymers, aluminum, wood, steel, etc.

[0067] According to FIG. 2, the device contains the control and communication electronics with a microprocessor, memory and wireless communication modules. More specifically, internal sensors (1) provide information to the Control Unit (4) which has a microprocessor (not shown). The sensors (1) provide positioning information on the inner disk (C), the opening and closing of the mobile gate (A) and the open device covers (B and D). The position measurements are used to position the disc (C) at a time to take medication (see internal disc positioning system) and to verify if the device has been opened in an unusual way. All these generate notices to the responsible person in case of an unusual situation or warning.

[0068] The patient/user/responsible person authentication module (2) contains integrated circuits for reading user and/or patient information such as an RFID tag which is used to identify the same and only allow that person to withdraw the medication. In addition, it is possible to use the identification of Bluetooth peripherals (MAC address) to identify the patient/user/responsible person by measuring the power emitted from the Bluetooth signal of the wristband. The device may alternatively have a fingerprint reader or other electronic means of biometric or other identification to allow the user to withdraw the medication.

[0069] The authentication module of the patient/user/responsible party (2) also allows identification of any user of the system, such as those responsible for the patient and other possible users such as nurses, doctors, etc, so that any user of the system can use the identification modules, as these modules fulfil different functions depending on the case. For example, a nurse can be notified through these modules that it is time to collect medications from the device to deliver to a patient.

[0070] The internal check unit of the device (3) is responsible for conducting periodic internal tests and collecting information on the operation of the device to anticipate possible failures thereof and immediately notify the responsible person or health service. The tests consist of making small movements of both the main plate (C) and the mobile gate (A), measuring the current consumption of the motors (not shown) while the movement is made. This allows for comparison of the consumption values against the standard values and warning of a deviation, which would indicate that the device is operating incorrectly, for example, with some obstruction in movement, which would increase the current of the motors. The device also has sensors to measure the temperature and internal humidity of the compartment to know if the medicines inside are in correct conditions and alerting if any limit has been exceeded. As part of the internal tests, the status of the internal battery is also checked to warn of possible deterioration.

[0071] The control unit (4) is equipped with a microprocessor that receives information from all the sensors (1) of the device, as well as commands through the communications unit (5) and performs the electromechanical control of the device, movement of the inner disk (C) and gate (B), validation of authorized persons and registration of the time for delivery of medicines. The unit contains software that performs all the described functions of the device and allows it to be updated remotely in the following way: The device periodically consults the backend servers (iv) to see if there is a new command for the device according to its address logic. If the command is update firmware, the device downloads the new program from an authorized server, copies it to its internal memory and proceeds to execute it, thus continuing to work with a newer version. During the download of the new program, the authenticity of the server is verified through an SSL certificate, thus only allowing a new program to be downloaded from the authorized servers.

[0072] The communications unit (5) handles communications with the backend servers (iv) that manage the information and commands given to the device (i). It uses an integrated communication module (see Modes of communication), connected to the Wi-Fi, 3G or LTE network or similar system of the user to access the servers (iv) from where it receives commands and exchanges information for the operation of the device (i). At the same time, it handles communication via Bluetooth (BLE) with other peripheral devices of the ecosystem, such as the alert/measurement bracelet and other sensors that allow for information about the patient's health to be obtained.

[0073] The device (i) allows programming by means of software that can be executed on any platform such as a smartphone operating system or a web application (6). In this way users program the dosage of their medications, create treatments and allow it to see all the historical information stored.

[0074] To program the treatments, information such as the start and end date thereof, the medications and doses required, and the times between ingestion are inputted. This information will then be used by the system to calculate the timing of the intakes and to verify that there is no interaction between the medications used for this or other treatments of the patient. This information, after removing the personal patient information, will be used to obtain anonymous statistics on the use of medications, for what treatments they are used and the times at which they are taken, among other possibilities.

[0075] The data encryption unit (7) allows all communications to and from the device to be encrypted with TLS/SSL/AES256. Therefore, the system has hardware capable of performing the data encryption and decryption operations in real time. This includes communications related to commands given to the device (i), as well as any information exchanged with the servers (iv) and two-way audio communication (8).

[0076] The audio unit (8) and the two-way communication unit with the patient (11) allow two-way audio communication between the patient and the person in charge or health center, in real time and via the Internet, in an encrypted form. A speaker and microphone mounted on the device, as well as on the wristband, are used to perform this function.

[0077] The positioning system of the internal disk (9) uses the information from an optical sensor (not shown) by which, and via the slots (not shown) of the inner disk, the position of the disk (C) is controlled according to the movements made. The disk (C) has a special slot that is one size larger (H) than the slots of the rest of the positions (I), which allows detection of the zero position of the disk (C) and from there keeps track of the other positions until returning to the zero position. The disc (C), depending on the current position and the desired position, is moved clockwise or anticlockwise by a step motor (not shown), which is used until the desired position is reached.

[0078] The drive for opening and closing the mobile gate (10) has a step motor (not shown) capable of moving the gate (A) to allow the patient/user access to the medicines. It also has an open gate sensor and a closed gate sensor (not shown), to verify its total opening and closing. This is due to the necessity of verifying the correct positioning of the gate, since the delivery of the medication to the patient depends on it. Unlike other existing devices, the advantage of the present system is that it has a single gate for administering medicines, allowing a robust and fail-safe construction, as well as the inclusion of the necessary sensors to detect its correct functioning. In addition, the way in which it is configured allows the container vessels to be removed more quickly and easily.

[0079] Modes of communication: as shown in FIG. 3 the device of the present invention (i) communicates through the protocols Wifi 802.11 b/g/n/e/i using a frequency of 2.4 GHz fully compatible with home and professional devices, additionally protected with the TLS/SSL security protocol. The device (i) communicates through the Internet with the backend servers (iv) which contain the necessary software to communicate in turn with the smartphone of the responsible person/user or administration software of the health center (iii).

[0080] The servers also make use of a database (for example, SQL) (v) that stores information about the interaction between the medicines, the treatments loaded by the users, the times and medicines that the users take, amongst others. The smartphone of the responsible person (iii), or the administration software used (iii) by the health centers, communicates in an encrypted manner with the backend servers, guaranteeing a secure transfer of information between the system components. Also, the servers act as an intermediary to re-transmit the commands given by the responsible person's/user's application (iii) to the managed devices.

[0081] The device (i) of the present invention communicates with one or more peripheral devices (ii) by means of Bluetooth Low Energy, Wifi or other wireless protocols. Peripheral devices such as the bracelet (ii) allow the patient/user to be alerted when it is time to take a medication. The device (i) sends to the wristband registered for the patient/user, the days and hours at which the medication must be taken. In this way constant communication between the wristband (ii) and the device (i) is not necessary, saving energy and consequently battery usage.

[0082] The bracelet (ii) contains a program that constantly checks the alarm time against the current time, and activates the vibration and visual and audible indications to let the patient/user know that he/she should use the device to remove the medication. In addition, the bracelets (ii) are used to check the patient/user, using the power emitted by the Bluetooth signal and the MAC address thereof, which is unique. The bracelet (ii) permits measurement of health parameters such as heart rate and blood pressure, which can then be seen from the smartphone application or web interface at the health center.

[0083] It is possible to connect other peripheral devices (ii) to the device (i) such as meters of different health parameters and allow the responsible persons or health centers to access the information they provide.

[0084] The software (iii) that runs on the smartphone of the responsible person permits registration of treatments indicated by the doctor, using the name of the medication, the number of hours between each intake, the start and end dates of the treatment, the attending physician and a comment field. After creating one or several treatments, the person in charge can choose to load the device selecting one of the previously loaded treatments. The loading of the treatments is done by the user/responsible person assisted by the application.

[0085] In manual loading the responsible person can choose to load each medication, or insert a container (E) preloaded into the device (i) that can be carried out by a pharmacy or health center. The loading of the medications is done by the user/responsible person assisted by the application. During loading, medications are entered through the mobile gate (A) as explained in the Drug Loading section.

[0086] Functioning:

[0087] Method for Loading Medications:

[0088] As shown in FIG. 4, the user has three options for loading the medications in the device: manual loading, assisted loading or loading with pre-programmed container.

[0089] Manual Loading:

[0090] After selecting the manual load (I), the APP requests entry of the necessary data to carry out both the loading of information and the physical loading of the medication (II). Then the pillbox is placed in a free compartment and it tells the user the steps necessary to load the medications (III). At the end of the placing of the medication, the device detects the load and asks the user if it is correct that he has placed the medications in the device (IV). In the event that the user carries out the loading, the manual loading procedure ends, otherwise it starts again with the manual loading procedure (V). All the steps are guided by the system via the APP.

[0091] Assisted Loading:

[0092] In order for the user to select the assisted loading (VI), he must have previously entered a treatment (see Loading of Treatments). Once the user selects the assisted loading, the system asks to choose a patient for whom they want to load a treatment. After selecting the patient (VII), the system presents a series of treatments to be loaded (VIII) on the screen, of which one or more can be selected to be loaded on the device.

[0093] This loading contains information on the name of the medication, after how many hours it should be taken, the dose required, the start and end date of the treatment and the doctor in charge if applicable.

[0094] When selecting treatments, the user must choose on which device he wants to load the treatment (IX). When the device has been chosen, it is positioned with a free compartment and guides (X) the user/responsible person in order to load the treatments using the APP. At the end it asks the user if he wants to load another treatment. If no is selected, the loading is finished, otherwise the assisted load starts again from the beginning.

[0095] All the steps are guided by the system via the APP; in this way, the system suggests the best schedules trying to avoid interaction between the drugs, according to the technical information stored in a system database. It is also possible for the user to schedule the delivery times of medications manually.

[0096] Loading Per Container:

[0097] In the customised container vessel loading mode, the controller simply brings the closed container vessel (E) to the device (i) and recognizes it thanks to an RFID, BT or any other radio frequency reader (not shown), obtaining the data of its contents, as well as date and time, correlating it to the treatment previously entered by a pharmacy, health center or responsible person. This prevents the user from entering all the information again, making the loading of medicines faster. The personalized container cup (E) also helps the medicines maintain their storage conditions and ensures that the patient ingests them together.

[0098] When selecting the load per preprogrammed container (XI), the system displays the loading instructions in the APP. Then the user brings the vessel close to the RFID sensor or another on the pillbox (XII). The pillbox detects and processes the code of the container and after consulting the servers opens the gate for the user to place the preprogrammed container (XIII) in the device. When placing the vessel (XIV), the system asks the user if he wants to carry out another loading of the preprogrammed container (XV). If no is selected, the loading is finished (XVI). Otherwise the loading of the preprogrammed container starts from the beginning (XII).

[0099] Control of Medicinal Interactions:

[0100] The interaction check consists of verifying the medicines that are being administered to the patient against a database prepared by health professionals (v), whatever their mode of loading. Upon detecting that the loaded medications interact in some way, a warning is issued to the responsible person to review them together with the medical body involved.

[0101] Method of Delivery of Medicines:

[0102] Medicines Programmed for a Specific Date and Time:

[0103] FIG. 5 details the procedure by which the system delivers loaded and scheduled medications for a specific time and day.

[0104] When the system detects that drugs must be taken, the system checks whether said medications have an assigned patient/user. In the case of having an assigned patient/user, the pillbox, by means of lights and sounds, generates announcements for the patient/user to withdraw the medication. In case of there being no patient/assigned user, any person can withdraw the medication from the device without having to provide authentication.

[0105] If the medications have a patient/assigned user, in addition to alerting by means of lights and sounds from the pillbox, the system generates warnings by means of vibration, sound, visual indications, etc. in the peripheral device assigned to the patient/user.

[0106] To withdraw the medications, the patient/user must bring their peripheral device (ii) (a bracelet or similar device) towards the pillbox which will identify it and open the gate (A) to remove the medication. In this way only the correct patient/user can access the medication.

[0107] In the event that the medication is not withdrawn, the system generates a warning to the responsible person to take the pertinent action.

[0108] In all cases if the medicines are not collected in time, the person in charge can decide whether to release them or not remotely from the smartphone APP. In any case, it is possible to configure the number of retries to permit delivery of the medication, changing the number of repetitions and the waiting time between warnings. All system warnings are configurable for both the patient/user and the responsible party.

[0109] Delivery of Medicines in Emergencies:

[0110] FIG. 6 describes the procedure by which the system delivers to a patient/user medications that were previously identified for emergency delivery. The user/responsible person requests via the APP release of an emergency medication. The user selects a pill dispenser that he/she has permission to manage and the system displays all the medicines present in it for a manual delivery. The user/responsible person selects the medication that he wishes to deliver from the list and a patient to pick up the medication. In the case that no particular patient/user is selected, the pillbox, by means of lights and sounds, generates announcements for the patient/user to withdraw the medication without requesting any identification. In the event that the medication is not withdrawn, a warning is generated to the person responsible to take the pertinent action. If the user/responsible person assigns a patient when requesting emergency delivery, in addition to alerting by means of lights and sounds in the pillbox, the system generates warnings by means of vibration, sound, visual indications, etc. in the peripheral device (ii) assigned to the patient/user. To withdraw the medication the patient/user must bring their peripheral device towards the pillbox which will identify them and open the gate so that only the patient/assigned user can withdraw this medication. In this way only that patient/user can access the medication. In the event that the medication is not withdrawn, the system generates a warning to the person responsible to take the pertinent action. In all cases if the medicines are not collected in a timely manner, the responsible party can decide whether to release them or not. It is also possible to configure the number of retries to deliver the medication, entering the number of repetitions allowed and the waiting time between notifications. All notices from the system are configurable for the patient, user or responsible person.

[0111] Warnings Given by the System:

[0112] Warnings to Take Medicines:

[0113] When the scheduled time to take a medication arrives, the device (i) turns on its LED indicators (not shown) to make the patient/user notice that he/she should approach it to withdraw the medications. It also emits sounds and vibration to the bracelet (ii) if it is configured for this.

[0114] When the patient/user approaches with his bracelet (ii), the device recognizes it and opens the gate (A) so that he can extract the medication. This gate (A) only opens upon recognition of the bracelet (ii), biometric parameters/voice or by command of the responsible person by using the Smartphone or Web application. If the user does not approach the device to take the medication for a pre-configured amount of time, a notification is issued to the responsible person, either to his Smartphone or another application, to make him notice the deviation in the treatment. The person in charge can then contact the patient/user using integrated two-way audio communication to request the medication.

[0115] Warning of Unauthorised Opening of Device:

[0116] When the top cover of the device is opened, if it was not done following the normal opening protocol by request from the application, the device issues an alert to the responsible person's application notifying them. This can avoid situations in which someone wants to alter the interior of the device, or access all medications at the same time.

[0117] Emergency Warnings from Bracelet:

[0118] The bracelet (ii) has an emergency button that the patient can press so that the responsible person/user or health center receives an emergency notification. The next thing that should be done after receiving a notification of this type is that the person in charge will communicate with the patient using integrated two-way audio communication to know what has happened and to be able to assist him/her.

[0119] Warning of Internal Defect:

[0120] The system performs internal functional tests periodically (see Internal Function Test). If it detects an operational problem, it will issue a notification to the responsible person or assistance center, thereby anticipating any possible failure. Once the notice has been received from the responsible person or health center, the person in charge should contact the patient through the two-way audio communication to resolve the problem or take palliative actions to ensure that the patient receives the medication.

[0121] Release of Medication on Demand:

[0122] The user/responsible person, through the application of a Smartphone or web interface, can request the release of medicines remotely at any time that the device (i) is connected to the internet. For this, the medications must have been defined and loaded in any of the disc compartments (C) of the device and defined by means of the APP as a delivery compartment on demand. This covers emergency situations in which the patient/user is required to pick up a specific medication, but does not want to leave it to the patient to decide freely. In addition, it is recommended that emergency medications for children with chronic diseases are controlled, to ensure that they receive the medications when the adults in charge consider it necessary. Also, this function can be used as an emergency kit allowing controlled access to medications.

[0123] Measurement of Pulse/Pressure or Other Health Parameters Using Peripheral Devices:

[0124] The responsible person, through the software, such as a smartphone user or web interface (iii), can request that peripheral devices of the patient (ii) perform a measurement of heart rate, pressure or other physical tests supported by the peripheral device, remotely, obtaining the result in seconds. These health measurements are an approximation analysis that can be used by health centers or responsible persons to estimate the patient's condition remotely.

[0125] Measurement of Movement from Accelerometer Bracelet:

[0126] The responsible person, through the use of a smartphone or web interface (iii), can request the bracelet (accelerometer) provide historical information saved on the device. In an emergency situation or inability to contact the patient by other means, this functionality of the bracelet allows the responsible person or the health center to know if the patient has vital signs (movement, heart rate, etc.)

[0127] Means of Use:

[0128] Domiciliary: The described device can be used in a home environment, where the responsible person can be a relative of the patient and administer the loading of the medications in the device, or it can be the patient themselves, if they are sufficiently lucid to carry out the tasks. In this modality, the device has 21 compartments (C), which may contain medications for different family members, and/or emergency medications to be released by the responsible person when deemed appropriate. In this mode the device is also useful to control the taking of medicines by the family, especially children, allowing controlled access and historical information on the consumptions of each member. The device enables different modules to be placed by removing the upper plastic cover (G). For example, a refrigerant module (not shown) which allows control of temperature and humidity of the drugs inside the device. This functionality is very useful in climate zones where the ambient temperature compromises the stability of the medicines.

[0129] Portable: The portable device contains less distribution units and is designed to be lightweight and smaller (for example for 5 to 7 deliveries), allowing patients/users to take the medicines in the aforementioned pillbox and remind them when it is necessary to take the medicines. It's use is also recommended for children who must be medicated, and allows for release of medicines in an emergency by the responsible person.

[0130] Refrigerated laptop: The portable refrigerated device is similar to the portable one, but it contains less distribution units for storing medicines and it works with a temperature control system in order to guarantee the storage of the medicines in suitable conditions. It is specially designed for critical medicines that need to be stored in a refrigerated environment or used in climate zones with high temperatures. In this mode, the device registers the temperature periodically so that the person in charge can verify that the medicines are in adequate conditions.

[0131] Geriatric institutions: Use in geriatric institutions, where there are older people taking multiple medication is particularly convenient. It is possible for a single user/responsible person (for example, a nurse) to administer the medications in several pillboxes and for several patients, controlling the administration at the time indicated for each patient without effort. In addition, it is possible to generate reports for relatives of patients with statistical information about the delivery of medications. By allowing sensors to be attached to the device (for pressure, glycaemia, cholesterol, etc.) one can have a more accurate control of patients in real time, avoiding human errors.

[0132] Hospitals and home internment: The use of the device the object of the invention in hospitals allows one to keep the drugs under control, registering who has made a withdrawal, for what patient it was used and at what time. This information is of vital importance so that hospitals can maintain the traceability of medicines at all times. The same functions as for home hospitalization mode are available as if the patient were in the same location, but it is the person in charge from the hospital who enables delivery of the medicines remotely.