Smart tray for dispensing medicaments

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and system that utilizes one or more cassettes or trays, which hold one or more types of medicaments, the cassettes or trays being configured for secure and intelligent dispensing of the medicaments. In one embodiment, a smart tray for dispensing medicaments includes: a housing; a chamber within the housing to store the medicament units; an outlet defined in the housing to dispense the medicament units; and a rotatable disk within the housing and defining at least one radial groove configured to hold at least one medicament unit, the rotatable disk being positioned between the storage chamber and the outlet whereby when the rotatable disk rotates, the at least one radial groove carries the at least one medicament unit from the chamber to the outlet. In a further embodiment, the smart tray includes a memory device within the housing to store information pertaining to the medicament units stored in the tray and/or information pertaining to the status or operation of the tray.

1 . A method of dispensing medicament units from a dispensing tray operationally coupled to a dispensing machine, comprising: 
 receiving a request to dispense at least one medicament unit from the dispensing tray;    scanning the at least one medicament unit to receive characteristic data pertaining to at least one physical characteristic of the at least one medicament unit;    confirming the authenticity of the at least one medicament unit based on the received characteristic data; and    dispensing the at least one medicament unit.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising verifying the validity of the request.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the act of verifying the validity of the request comprises receiving identification information from a person making the request.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the identification information comprises bar code data provided by the person.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the act of verifying the validity of the request comprises comparing the bar code data received from the person with data stored in a memory coupled to the dispensing tray and determining if there is a match.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the bar code data is compared to data stored in a data storage device that is external to the tray.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the identification information comprises biometric information received from the person.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the act of verifying the validity of the request comprises comparing the biometric information received from the person with data stored in a memory coupled to the dispensing tray and determining if there is a match.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the biometric information is compared to data stored in a data storage device that is external to the tray.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the biometric information comprises retinal data received from scanning a retina of the person.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the biometric information comprises finger print data received from scanning a digit of the person.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the act of scanning the at least one medicament unit is performed by a scanning device contained inside the dispensing tray and configured to scan the at least one medicament unit before it is dispensed.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the act of confirming the authenticity of the at least one medicament unit comprises comparing the scanned characteristic data with data stored in a data storage device coupled to the dispensing tray and determining if there is a match.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the act of confirming the authenticity of the at least one medicament unit comprises comparing the scanned characteristic data with data stored in a data storage device located external to the dispensing tray and determining if there is a match.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the characteristic data comprises at least one of: color, shape and size.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the characteristic data comprises a bar code placed onto a surface of the at least one medicament unit.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the act of scanning comprises analyzing the composition of at least one medicament unit and the characteristic data comprises composition data.  
     
     
         18 . A medicament dispensing tray, comprising: 
 a housing for holding a plurality of medicament units;    an outlet defined in the housing for dispensing at least one of the plurality of medicament units; and    a scanner coupled to the housing for scanning at least one medicament unit and generating scanned physical characteristic data, wherein the scanned physical characteristic data is utilized to determine the authenticity of the at least one medicament unit.    
     
     
         19 . The tray of  claim 18  further comprising a data storage device for storing physical characteristic data for the at least one medicament unit, wherein the scanned physical characteristic data is compared to the stored physical characteristic data to determine the authenticity of the at least one medicament unit.  
     
     
         20 . The tray of  claim 18  wherein the scanned physical characteristic data is compared to data stored in a data storage device that is external to the tray.  
     
     
         21 . A medicament dispensing tray, comprising 
 a housing;    a storage chamber within the housing containing a plurality of medicament units;    an outlet defined by the housing for dispensing at least one medicament unit; and    a scanner coupled to the housing for scanning the at least one medicament unit dispensed from the outlet.    
     
     
         22 . The tray of  claim 21  wherein the scanner is located within the housing for scanning the at least one medicament unit prior to dispensing.  
     
     
         23 . The tray of  claim 21  wherein the scanner provides data used to update an inventory count of medicament units stored in the tray.  
     
     
         24 . The tray of  claim 23  wherein the inventory count is stored in a data storage device contained within the housing of the tray.  
     
     
         25 . The tray of  claim 23  wherein the inventory count is stored in a data storage device that is external to the tray.  
     
     
         26 . The tray of  claim 21  wherein the scanner provides data to a medicament dispensing machine, coupled to the tray, thereby allowing the dispensing machine to authenticate the at least one medicament unit.  
     
     
         27 . The tray of  claim 26  wherein the data comprises information pertaining to at least one physical characteristic of the at least one medicament unit, wherein the physical characteristic comprises at least one of: color, shape and size.  
     
     
         28 . The tray of  claim 21  wherein the scanner comprises a spectrometer and the data comprises information used to perform a compositional analysis of the at least one medicament unit.  
     
     
         29 . The tray of  claim 21  wherein the scanner comprises: 
 a first reflective surface for reflecting incident light;    a first series of angular reflective surfaces for reflecting light received from the first reflective surface;    a second series of angular reflective surfaces for reflecting light received from the first series of angular reflective surfaces; and    a second reflective surface for reflecting light received from the second series of angular reflective surfaces.    
     
     
         30 . The tray of  claim 29  wherein: 
 the first reflective surface comprises a first set of multiple facets configured to divide an incident light beam into multiple reflected beams each traveling a different path toward the first series of angular reflective surfaces; and    the second reflective surface comprises a second set of multiple facets configured to reflect multiple reflected beams received from the second series of angular reflective surfaces and direct the multiple reflected beams toward a common direction.    
     
     
         31 . The tray of  claim 30  wherein the first reflective surface comprises a first holographic reflective surface and the second reflective surface comprises a second holographic reflective surface.  
     
     
         32 . The tray of  claim 30  further comprising: 
 a first fiber optic cable for providing the incident light to the first reflective surface;    a first port for coupling the first fiber optic cable to a light source external to the tray;    a second fiber optic cable for receiving the multiple reflected beams from the second reflective surface; and    a second port for coupling the second fiber optic cable to an external device configured to receive and process the multiple reflected beams received from the second reflective surface.    
     
     
         33 . The tray of  claim 21  further comprising: 
 a first fiber optic cable configured to provide light to the scanner, thereby enabling the scanner to scan the at least one medicament unit;    a first port coupling the first fiber optic cable to a light source external to the tray;    a second fiber optic cable configured to receive at least one reflected light beam from the scanner; and    a second port coupling the second fiber optic cable to an external device configured to receive and process the at least one reflected light beam received from the scanner.    
     
     
         34 . The tray of  claim 21  further comprising: 
 a rotatable disk assembly having at least one groove defined therein for receiving and carrying at least one medicament unit from the storage chamber to the outlet; and    a latch coupled to the rotatable disk assembly for engaging the scanner and initiating a scanning function by the scanner.    
     
     
         35 . The tray of  claim 34  wherein the scanner comprises: 
 a rotatable reflecting surface;    a spring, coupled to the rotatable reflecting surface, for returning the rotatable reflecting surface to an original position; and    an arm, coupled to the rotatable reflecting surface, wherein the latch is located near a peripheral edge of the rotatable disk assembly such that, as the disk assembly rotates, the latch engages the arm to rotate the reflecting surface.    
     
     
         36 . The tray of  claim 35  further comprising: 
 a first fiber optic cable configured to provide an incident light beam onto the rotatable reflecting surface; and    a second fiber optic cable configured to receive a reflected light beam from the rotatable reflecting surface.    
     
     
         37 . A medicaments dispensing tray, comprising: 
 a housing containing a plurality of medicament units; and    an outlet defined by the housing to dispense the plurality of medicament units;    wherein the housing comprises a bottom casing and a top casing configured to fit together with the bottom casing thereby providing a hermetically sealed encasing for the plurality of medicament units, the walls of the bottom and top casing being between 0.005 and 0.100 inches in thickness and reinforced with a plurality of embossments.    
     
     
         38 . The tray of  claim 37  further comprising a spring-loaded door configured to open the outlet when at least one medicament unit is being dispensed and automatically close and seal the outlet when no medicament units are being dispensed.  
     
     
         39 . The tray of  claim 37  further comprising: 
 a compressible medium located within the housing for moving the plurality of medicament units contained in the housing so as to facilitate dispensing of at least one medicament unit;    wherein the compressible medium further comprises at least one guide element configured to move linearly in a corresponding at least one embossment located on the housing such that the corresponding at least one embossment serves as guide rail for the at least one guide element, thereby holding the compressible medium in alignment during compression and decompression of the compressible medium.    
     
     
         40 . A medicaments dispensing tray, comprising: 
 a housing containing a plurality of medicament units; and    an outlet defined by the housing to dispense the plurality of medicament units; and    a compressible medium located within the housing for moving the plurality of medicament units contained in the housing so as to facilitate dispensing of at least one medicament unit.    
     
     
         41 . The tray of  claim 40  wherein the compressible medium is configured to be partially expanded within the housing during transportation of the tray, thereby reducing movement and breakage of medicament units contained within the housing during transportation.  
     
     
         42 . The tray of  claim 40  wherein the compressible medium is configured to be expanded so as to occupy substantially all of an interior chamber within the housing that stores the plurality of medicament units, thereby facilitating dispensation of a last one of the plurality of medicament units stored in the chamber.  
     
     
         43 . An adjustable medicament dispensing tray, comprising: 
 a housing;    a chamber within the housing for storing a plurality of medicament units;    an outlet defined by the housing for dispensing a medicament unit; and    an adjustable transportation medium disposed in the housing and including at least one adjustable holder configured to receive the medicament unit and transport the medicament unit from the chamber to the outlet, wherein the adjustable holder is adjusted in accordance with a physical dimension of the medicament unit.    
     
     
         44 . The tray of  claim 43  wherein the adjustable transportation medium comprises a rotatable disk assembly having at least one adjustable radial groove defined therein, wherein the adjustable holder comprises the at least one adjustable radial groove.  
     
     
         45 . The tray of  claim 44  wherein the rotatable disk assembly comprises: 
 a first rotatable disk having a first radial groove defined therein;    a second rotatable disk, coupled to and coaxially aligned with the first rotatable disk, having a second radial groove defined therein;    wherein the at least one adjustable radial groove is defined by an overlapping space between the first radial groove and the second radial groove, the at least one adjustable radial groove being adjusted by rotating the first rotatable disk with respect to the second rotatable disk, thereby adjusting the amount of overlap between the first and second radial grooves.    
     
     
         46 . The tray of  claim 45  wherein the first rotatable disk is positioned above the second rotatable disk and a distance between a bottom surface of the first rotatable disk and a top surface of the second rotatable disk is adjustable.  
     
     
         47 . The tray of  claim 46  further comprising a third disk positioned below and coaxially aligned with the second rotatable disk wherein a distance between a bottom surface of the second rotatable disk and a top surface of the third disk is adjustable.  
     
     
         48 . The tray of  claim 47  wherein the distance between the bottom surface of the first rotatable disk and the top surface of the second rotatable disk is adjusted to approximately 50% of a physical dimension of the medicament unit.  
     
     
         49 . The tray of  claim 48  wherein the distance between the bottom surface of the second rotatable disk and the top surface of the third disk is adjusted to approximately 50% of a physical dimension of the medicament unit.  
     
     
         50 . The tray of  claim 47  wherein the distance between the bottom surface of the first rotatable disk and the top surface of the second rotatable disk and the distance between the bottom surface of the second rotatable disk and the top surface of the third disk are each adjustable using a single adjustment tool.  
     
     
         51 . The tray of  claim 47  further comprising a living hinge adjustably coupled to the third disk, wherein a position of the living hinge is adjustable so as to vary the size of an opening through which the at least one medicament unit can pass to be dispensed by the outlet.  
     
     
         52 . The tray of  claim 51  wherein the position of the living hinge is adjusted to allow only a single medicament unit to be dispensed at one time.  
     
     
         53 . A method for dispensing of medicament units from a medicament container, comprising: 
 transferring at least one medicament unit from a storage chamber of the medicament container to a rotatable disk housed in the medicament delivery tray, the rotatable disk having at least one radial groove for holding at least one medicament unit;    imparting a force on the rotatable disk thereby causing rotational motion of the rotatable disk, wherein when the rotatable disk assembly rotates, the radial groove carries the at least one medicament unit from the chamber to an outlet port; and    dispensing the at least one moved medicament unit from the outlet port.    
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 53  wherein the force is provided by a first gear configured to engage a second gear coupled to the rotatable disk.  
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 53  wherein the force is an electromagnetic force.  
     
     
         56 . A method of dispensing medicament units from a dispensing tray operationally coupled to a dispensing machine, comprising: 
 receiving a request to dispense at least one medicament unit from the dispensing tray;    verifying the validity of the request by accessing information stored in a memory coupled to the dispensing tray; and    dispensing the at least one medicament unit if the request is validated.    
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 56  wherein the memory is contained within the dispensing tray.  
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 56  wherein the act of verifying the validity of the request comprises receiving identification information from a person making the request and comparing the identification information with information accessed from the memory.  
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 58  wherein the identification information comprises bar code data provided by the person.  
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 58  wherein the identification information comprises biometric information received from the person.  
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 60  wherein the biometric information comprises retinal data received from scanning a retina of the person.  
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 60  wherein the biometric information comprises finger print data received from scanning a digit of the person.  
     
     
         63 . A medicaments dispensing tray for dispensing medicament units, comprising: 
 means for storing one or more medicament units;    means for discharging the one or more medicament units from the medicaments dispensing tray;    moving means housed in the medicament dispensing tray for moving the one or more medicament units;    means for transferring at least one medicament unit from the means for storing to the moving means;    wherein the moving means comprises means for moving at least one medicament unit to the means for discharging such that the at least one medicament moved by the moving means is dispensed from the medicaments dispensing tray.    
     
     
         64 . A medicaments dispensing tray for dispensing medicament units, comprising: 
 moving means housed in the medicament dispensing tray for moving one or more medicament units in the medicament dispensing tray;    outlet means for dispensing the one or more medicament units from the medicaments dispensing tray;    wherein the moving means comprises means for moving at least one medicament unit to the outlet means such that the at least one medicament moved by the moving means is dispensed from the medicaments dispensing tray.