C) Strip Package Monitor
The device shown in Figure 1, Strip Package Monitor, shows a monitor design which utilizes commercially available strip packaged medication. The turning mechanism is designed to dispense a prescribed number of pills each time the knob is turned i.e. 2, 3, 4, or 5 pills. This number is chosen by the weight of the patient.
With this design shown in Figure 1, the knobs which advance the medication strip offer an invitation for curious children (and adults) to turn the knobs to see what happens. Since turning a knob advances a medication strip, the strip would be likely to be advanced at times when the medication was not scheduled to be taken. To reduce the chance that this will occur the strip could be advanced by thumb sliders as shown in Figure 2. In this design, there would be one thumb slider on each side of the dispenser. Each time one of the thumb sliders was advanced, one pill would be moved out of the device.
The design illustrated in Figure 2 incorporates an LED which can be used by the caregiver to retrieve the patient's adherence record and can also indicate to the patient whether medication should be dispensed. This indication could be activated by pushing the button shown. If the patient was not supposed to take medication, the LED would flash red to notify the patient he should not take medication. If the patient was supposed to take medication the LED would flash green. In addition, the LED would continue to flash green until the prescribed number of pills was advanced, 2, 3, 4, or 5 depending on the weight of the patient. When the proper number of pills was finally dispensed the LED would flash red. If the patient did not follow these instructions the LED would stop flashing after a reasonable period of time like 2 minutes to save power.
If the patient failed to push the button before he advanced the thumb slider and he was supposed to take medication the LED would flash green and red in the manner described above to guide the patient the patient to take the proper amount of medication.
If the patient failed to push the button before he advanced the thumb slider and was not supposed to take medication at that time, the pill would be advanced and the LED would flash red to advise the patient not to remove and ingest the pill.
To avoid having one pill advanced before it was supposed to be ingested, the button which activates the indicator LED, could also be attached to a mechanism that released a lock designed to prevent medication from being dispensed. This would achieve the objective that the patient saw the red LED before he moved the thumb slider which would advise him not to take medication at that time.
It would also be possible for the design to incorporate a cover to protect the sliders. And, this cover could actuate a switch which could replace the button and accomplish the objective of the locking mechanism described above.
The design shown in Figure 2 includes slits on both sides to allow the patient to visualize how much medication remains in the device and plan when to return for a refill of medication. Alternatively, the cover could be made of transparent material to allow the patient to see how much medication remains. For both of these features the reels would need to be made of transparent material.
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POTENTIAL AND EXISTING MEDICATION MONITOR DESIGNS
I. Cover and Cap Opening Monitors
II. Dose Removal Monitors
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