
US Patent No: 5,412,372
Number of patents in Portfolio can not be more than 2000
Article dispenser for monitoring dispensing times
Stats
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May 2, 1995
Issued date -
Sep 21, 1992
filing date -
07/948,208
serial no -
Expired
status
Importance
Abstract
A portable medication dispenser aids and monitors regimen-conforming use of medications provided in standard as-marketed blister packages. A standard blister package and a separate, disposable sensor sheet are simply and easily loaded into a compact housing containing supervisory electronics, visual indicators, and an audible alarm. The sensor sheet consists of electrical or optical sensing regions corresponding to each individual compartment of the blister package. A compliant, electrically conductive or optical connector in the dispenser housing allows periodic scanning of the sensor sheet circuitry by the control circuitry in the dispenser housing without adding connector components to the low cost, disposable sensor sheet. When a medication is ejected through the backing layer of the standard blister package, an electrical or optical parameter associated with a corresponding region of the sensor sheet is altered, thereby permitting the control circuitry to monitor the dispensing event. Stored patient compliance data may then be reported remotely through an optical or electrical interface between the dispenser and an external system for review by the pharmacist/physician.
First Claim
Related Publications
International Classification(s)
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Cited Art
| Patent Info | (Count) | # Cites | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
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| 4,526,474 Device for storing and dispensing drug doses | 98 | 1984 | |
| 4,617,557 Medication compliance aid for unit dose packaging | 103 | 1984 | |
| 4,660,991 Device for storing and signalling the time for taking drugs | 55 | 1986 | |
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| 4,939,705 Drug dispensing event detector | 93 | 1988 | |
| 4,971,221 Drug dispenser having means for detecting dispensing events | 75 | 1988 | |
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| 4,616,316 Medication compliance monitoring device having conductive traces upon a frangible backing of a medication compartment | 102 | 1983 | |
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| 4,717,042 Medicine dispenser for home health care | 107 | 1986 | |
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| 5,181,189 Device for the storage and time-regulated dispensing of drugs | 75 | 1987 | |
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| 4,572,403 Timed dispensing device for tablets, capsules, and the like | 98 | 1984 | |