Communications: electrical – Systems – Timer control
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-09
2001-07-10
Lefkowitz, Edward (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Systems
Timer control
C340S568100, C221S002000, C221S003000, C221S015000, C368S010000, C702S177000, C702S187000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06259356
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a preservation system (herein after referred to as a drug preserver) for appropriately administrating preservation and use of drugs by a patient and for watching development of an abnormal condition in the patient's health.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As a result of promotion of medical supports or services for home treatment (hereinafter referred to as medical home services), the number of patients who may receive such home medical services is rapidly increasing. In most cases where these patients are placed under home medical services, a large part of the home medical service is left in the hands of helpers including a family member and a nursing staff who visit the patients at home periodically, so that the administration of other medical supplies (hereinafter referred to as medicines) is also left in the hands of these helpers. In such cases, therefore, medicines are not prepared daily by a pharmacist and administered by a nursing staff as in a hospital.
Because medicines can be degraded in quality by such environmental conditions as heat and moisture, patients who are recuperating at home often store medicines in the refrigerators. However, proper preservation temperature of medicines normally range from 2 to 8° C., so that the temperatures of the refrigerators are not necessarily appropriate for the medicines.
To meet demands of such home recuperating patients, special types of drug preservers have been distributed on the market, some of which are provided with a detection system for detecting improper preservation conditions and gives a necessary warning.
It should be noted that a patient is often supplied with several kinds of medicines which must be taken regularly in accordance with the prescription, which is difficult for many of the home recuperating patients, under existing home medical service systems because of lack of helpers.
In view of the fact that the number of aged lonely bedridden patients who need home medical services is increasing, this entails a serious problem, in particular when they forget taking the medicines or forget if taken the medicines have been as prescribed. Should the administration of home medical services be neglected, the patients may become worse and face retardation of convalescence.
Thus, it is becoming an increasingly important problem to administrate medicines for the home patient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a drug preserver adapted to administrate medicines, to and monitor the conditions of, the patients.
To this end, according to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a drug preserver, comprising:
a door sensor, mounted on the inside of a door of the drug preserver, for generating a signal indicative of opening the door when the door is opened; and a control unit for determining if the door was opened in a predetermined period of time based on the signal received from the door sensor; and for generating an alarm when the door was not opened in the predetermined period. For example, if the control unit has received no signal from the door sensor for a day, indicating that the door was not opened that day, the controller determines that the medicines have not been properly taken by the patient and generates an alarm signal indicative of the determination.
With this drug preserver, it is possible to determine whether or not the patient has used the drugs properly. Improper dosage of medicines by the patient and a sudden change in the condition of the patient, for example, would be easily found.
The preserver may be provided with an emergency information system which may generate emergency information indicative of an emergency situation when the patient operates an emergency switch of the system in case of an emergency.
With this system, the preserver may administrate not only the patient's dosage of the medicines but also monitor the patient's condition, thereby facilitating emergency medical treatment to the patient.
The drug preserver may be provided with an environmental condition sensor for detecting at least either the temperature or the humidity inside the preserver so that the temperature and/or the humidity may be controlled within a predetermined range based on a signal received from the sensor, thereby enabling the preservation of the medicines in good condition.
The control unit of the preserver may be adapted to generate an alarm signal when the temperature and/or humidity exceeds the predetermined range(s), so that the patient is protected from taking the medicines that might have deteriorated under improper preservation conditions.
The various alarm signals mentioned above may be transmitted to an administrator who is in charge of the drugs and the medical treatments to the patient via a wired or wireless communication system. The remote administrator will be then informed promptly of the emergency condition of the patient, so that necessary help and care can be promptly supplied to the patient.
In another aspect of the invention, the drug preserver is adapted to be controlled to lock and unlock the door by a remote data terminal inputting the control information and transferring it via a wired or wireless communication system, as well as by a data terminal on the site.
With this arrangement of the preserver, the patient is restricted not to open/dose the door of the preserver by him/herself, so that the drugs may be easily administrated by the administrator.
The preserver may be provided therein with a multiplicity of preservation rooms having lockable drawers or small doors, so that the patient is only limited to take the medicines as prescribed.
The apparatus may be provided with a detector for detecting whether the door of a small preservation room were opened in a predetermined period after the small preservation rooms was unlocked, and for informing the administrator of the preserver of the use of the drug in the small preservation room. This will facilitate the administrator at a remote site in controlling and acknowledging the use of the medicines by the patient.
Each of the small preservation rooms may be provided with a sheet or panel mounted on the front end thereof for keeping information regarding the contents or the items stored in the small preservation room, and with a lamp mounted on the backside of the sheet or panel. The lamp is in cooperative association with the lock system of the preserver, so that it is turned on when the small preservation room is unlocked.
In this arrangement, the sheet and the lamp will help the patient to find out the location of the small preservation room and confirm the content of the medicines therein.
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Busujima Hiroki
Nakamura Shigeyuki
Tamaoki Yuichi
Armswtrong, Westerman, Hattori, McLeland & Naughton, LLP
Goins Davetta W.
Lefkowitz Edward
Sanyo Electric Co,. Ltd.
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