Medical Technology Station and Method of Use

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020315891-A1
Application number	US-202016910988-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 24, 2020
Priority date	Nov 13, 2015
Publication date	Oct 8, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

The invention includes a medical technology station and a method for using the medical technology cart. The station can be a portable cart that can be movable, such as rollable, and has a computer system. Attached to the cart is a housing that communicates with the computer system. Insertable in the housing is a cassette system that includes a series of drawers. The drawers are openable and preferably closeable on command from a user. The drawers have a readable unique drawer identifier that is readable by sensors in the cassette. The cassette also preferably includes proximity sensors, while the drawers contain a target for the proximity sensors. In use, an operator, with proper credentials, can, though the computer system, identify a drawer to be opened by the computer system. The cassette and drawers can be removed from the housing and transported to another location for filling of the drawers with medications or other supplies.

First claim

1 . A station comprising
a movable cart a computer system comprising an input device, a display device, and a processor; said computer system positioned on the cart. computer memory in communication with the processor; a housing mounted on the cart, and at least one portable cassette system removably coupled to the housing, wherein the processor is in electronic communication with the input device, the display device, and the cassette system; and wherein the cassette system further comprises a cassette frame, the cassette frame defining an interior divided into compartments, the cassette system further having: a) at least one or more drawers, each of the drawers occupying and being slidably positioned in at least one of the compartments, whereby the compartments occupied by a drawer define said drawer's position in said cassette frame and each drawer further comprising an electronically readable identifier tag containing a unique drawer identifier; b) one or more electronic identifier readers; whereby each compartment is associated with at least one of the electronic readers and whereby the computer is configured to identify the position of each drawer in said cassette frame based on the position of the electronic reader associated with each drawer and the unique identifier for each drawer.

2 . The station of claim 1 wherein each compartment has an actuator associated therewith in communication with said processor, each actuator associated with an actuator latch that is movable in response to operation of said associated actuator,
each drawer having one of said actuators associated therewith, each drawer is capable of moving from a locked and closed position to an unlocked and almost closed position in response to movement from said associated latch
said station is configured to unlock a specific drawer from a locked position in response to an open drawer command for said specific drawer received from the input device,
whereby in response to said drawer open command, the electrical actuator associated with the specific drawer actuates to thereby move the associated actuator latch, whereby the associated actuator latch moves that specific drawer from the locked and closed position to the unlocked and almost closed position, where the actuator latch thereby disengages from said specific drawer.

3 . The system of claim 2 where the system is configured to automatically close and lock the specific drawer from the almost closed position if said specific drawer remains in said almost closed position for a predetermined period of time.

4 . The system of claim 3 further comprising a series of proximity sensors each in electrical communication with said processor, each of said drawers associated with one of said series of proximity sensors.

5 . The system of claim 4 wherein the system is configured to detect a drawer in said closed or almost closed position based on the output of said proximity sensor associated with said drawer.

6 . The System of claim 1 wherein said electronically readable identifier tag comprises a radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag.

7 . The System of claim 6 wherein said RFID tag also indicates the number of compartments occupied by said drawer.

8 . The system of claim 6 whereby said drawer is in an open position when undetected by the proximity sensor associated with said drawer.

9 . A station comprising:
a portable movable cart; a computer system comprising an input device, a display device, and a processor; said computer system positioned on the cart; computer memory in communication with the processor; a hollow housing mounted on the cart that is in electronic communication with the computer system; one or more electrical actuators, each coupled to an associated actuator latch, each electrical actuator in electronic communication with the processor; and at least one portable cassette system removably coupled to the hollow housing and in electronic communication with the computer system through the hollow housing; wherein the processor is in electronic communication with the input device, the display device, and the cassette system; wherein the cassette system further comprises a cassette frame, the cassette frame defining an interior divided into compartments, each compartment associated with at least one proximity sensor and electrical actuator, the cassette system further having one or more drawers, each of the drawers further comprising a proximity sensor target, wherein the cart is configured to electronically locate one or more drawers in each cassette that is detected by one of the proximity sensors, and, on the display device, to display a cassette configuration map showing the size and location of one or more detected drawers in each cassette.

10 . The system of claim 9 , whereby each drawer further has a series of associated identifiers stored in memory, and said displayed configuration map is configured to include a selected subset of said associated identifiers for each detected drawer.

11 . The system of claim 10 wherein, for each drawer assigned to a user, one of said stored drawer identifiers includes a user barcode identifier for said assigned user.

12 . The system of claim 10 wherein one of said drawers has an identifier which identifies such drawer as a supply drawer.

13 . The system of claim 12 wherein said input device comprises a barcode reader, and wherein the system is configured to allow a user's drawer to open when the barcode input from said barcode reader matches the stored user barcode identifier.

14 . The system of claim 12 wherein each drawer is slidably positioned in at least one of the compartments and capable of moving from a closed position to an open position; each drawer having a status of comprising locked or unlocked with respect to engagement or disengagement of the one or more actuator latches; and where the system is configured to open a specific user's assigned drawer only when all other user assigned drawers are closed and locked.

15 . The system of claim 12 wherein said system includes a series of operator identifiers stored in said memory, and said system is configured to allow no drawers to open unless an operator identifier has been entered into the system using the input device.

16 . A system comprising at least one station, each station comprising:
a movable cart; a computer system comprising an input device, a display device, and a processor, the computer system positioned in part on the cart; computer memory in communication with the processor, a portion of the computer memory having a portion located remotely from the cart and a portion of the computer memory located locally on the cart; said remote memory accessible by said processor; a housing mounted on the cart that is in electronic communication with the computer system, the housing having an interior; at least one portable cassette system that is removably coupled to the housing, wherein the cassette system is in electronic communication with the computer system; wherein the cassette system further comprises a cassette frame, the cassette frame defining an interior divided into compartments, each compartment further comprising an electronic reader; wherein the processor is in electronic communication with the input device, the display device, and the cassette system; wherein the cassette system is configured to receive one or more drawers; wherein each of the drawers further comprises one or more electronically readable tags containing a unique drawer identifier, and a subset of the unique drawer identifiers each be

Assignees

• Humanscale Corp

Inventors

• Volek Robert
• Finnerty Jack
• CHEN Jin
• Sosniak Krzysztof
• Ipince Marcel
• Pfeiffer Charles
• Piotrowski Adam
• Tan Harry

Classifications

• G16H40/63

  for local operation · CPC title

• G16H40/20

  for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms · CPC title

• G16H20/13 Primary

  delivered from dispensers · CPC title

• A61J7/0084

  for multiple medicaments · CPC title

• A61G2205/60

  using magnetic or electronic identifications, e.g. chips, RFID, electronic tags · CPC title