Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Liquid collection
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-17
2001-10-16
Nasser, Robert L. (Department: 3736)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Liquid collection
C604S071000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06302855
ABSTRACT:
This invention comprises a medical apparatus for use by a patient for medical self treatment of diabetes, the treatment including a first operation and at least a second operation, the apparatus comprising a first device for performing the first operation and a second device for performing the second operation.
For a number of years it has been possible to purchase various devices for the treatment of diabetes, e.g. for injecting insulin, for measuring blood sugar (such a device is referred to as BGM below), for withdrawing blood samples, and other accessories, the purpose of which is to enable the patient to nurse his disease discretely and with a high standard of hygiene. Many diabetic patients are elderly people who can easily get insecure with respect to the medical equipment, but also many young people need to assure themselves that the equipment is in order, i.e. that everything is there. Or as one must often say to one's children: You have got it all, haven't you?
It has also been attempted to build several of the necessary devices together to a single integral unit, see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,249. This is not the ideal solution either, because such multi-functional devices are normally difficult to operate. A patient holding a gadget in his hand may not be entirely secure and convinced that he has set the apparatus to precisely the function to be performed by means of programmable computers. The more complicated the apparatus, the greater the risk of malfunction, meaning that two such multi-functional devices should actually be on hand.
The individual devices may be arranged for various respective functions relevant to the treatment of diabetes, such as: a lancet device, a body fluid analyzer, and a dosing apparatus for administering a predetermined dose of medication to the patient. Further, there are a number of other aids which the diabetic patient uses, e.g. test strips for the blood analyzer, napkins for wiping off blood, extra insulin carpoule, glucose tablets, waste containers, etc.
It is not common to build two individual devices together, as manufacturers within the field have tended to specialize in a single device. However, U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,110 discloses a lancet device and a simple form of BGM (the calorimetric measuring principle) which may be mutually interconnected to a single portable unit.
The object of the invention is to make the individual devices physically interconnectible with a view to optimizing self-treatment of diabetes.
Another object is to construct the individual interconnectible devices such that the optimum treatment is as independent as possible of the specific situation of the user.
A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the present type for self-treatment of diseases, where, on one hand, the user is certain that he has all the devices which will be relevant for a future span of time, and on the other hand, is confident about the use of the apparatus.
The object is achieved by making at least a BGM and an insulin doser interconnectible to a single device. Precisely this combination promotes the insulin treatment, as it will be more obvious to the user to adjust the insulin balance if he has just measured his blood sugar; or if the user knows that he is soon to take insulin, it will be more obvious to check the blood sugar content first. This combination departs from the common view where these two devices do not belong together, presumably because the manufacturers have specialized within either the one or the other device.
The invention is not restricted to the combination of BGM and insulin doser devices, as these devices may be coupled with other devices which are used in the insulin treatment.
The fact that the individual devices may be combined so that the apparatus covers precisely a given need, means that the apparatus takes up as little space is possible, it being simultaneously easy, even for visually handicapped users, to identify each individual device, so that they will be quite confident that the units fit together. When the devices fit together physically, the users will also be confident that, e.g., the measuring units used are the same. This improves the confidence of using the apparatus of the invention.
A blood sugar measuring device normally comprises a temperature monitoring device, and in a preferred embodiment the latter device is arranged such that it is close to the insulin carpoule when the blood fluid analyzer and the insulin injecting device are coupled together according to the invention. The temperature monitoring device may hereby be used not only for adjusting the blood sugar measurement, but may also be used to warn the user if the apparatus has been in a too hot environment and the insulin has been destroyed. This is a particular technical advantage by combining precisely the BGM and the doser.
In addition to the possibility of coupling various devices together as needed, it is also possible for one or more of the devices to have several sizes. This may be relevant particularly for the insulin injecting device and for a storage device, enabling the user to combine precisely the devices of the relevant size which will be needed in a given situation, such as an evening party, a working day, a weekend or on a holiday. The optimum treatment achieved by the apparatus of the invention is thereby more independent of the specific situations in which the user may be, and in which the treatment would be inconvenient with the known separate devices.
In the invention, the devices have their own easily recognisable functions which are well-known to the user. The invention does not exclude the use of others of the user's older (i.e. well-known and secure) devices in combination with the invention, which, however, inspires the user to extend his self-treatment apparatus with units which fit together according to the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5489414 (1996-02-01), Schreiber et al.
patent: 5665065 (1997-09-01), Colman et al.
Lav Steffen
Munk Jens Aage
Ritsing Brian
Nasser Robert L.
Novo Nordisk A S
Wingood Pamela
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