An intelligent robotic system for assisting with eye drop administration

Abstract

The application discloses an intelligent robot system for assisting eye drop, aiming at solving the problems of inaccurate operation, poor compliance and inconvenient medicine management when patients with hand dysfunction, visual impairment and cognitive impairment autonomously drop eye drops. The system comprises a medical recliner, an auxiliary mechanical arm, a camera detection unit and a control unit. The camera detection unit comprises a 3D camera module and an eye movement tracking module, which can track the position of the eyeball in real time. The control unit dynamically adjusts the posture of the end of the mechanical arm accordingly, and realizes precise dripping. The system also integrates refrigerated storage, medicine identification, voice and display interaction and remote communication functions, and can automatically execute the whole process of taking medicine, dripping, homing and recording. The application realizes dynamic servo precise drug delivery, ensures the safety and compliance of drug use, and is suitable for long-term management of chronic eye diseases in family and medical scenes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of ophthalmic medical auxiliary device technology, specifically relating to an intelligent robot system for assisting in the instillation of eye drops. Background Technology

[0002] As the most basic method of administering medication to treat eye diseases, the core requirement of using eye drops is to accurately drop the solution into the conjunctival sac of the eyeball. However, for people with hand tremors (such as those with Parkinson's disease), limited joint mobility (such as those with severe arthritis), or significantly impaired vision, it is extremely difficult to perform this simple action of accurately dropping the drops on their own.

[0003] To address this issue, various physical aids have emerged on the market, such as stands or eye masks with openings, designed to assist in bottle positioning by providing a fixed guide track. However, these tools are all based on a static, pre-defined operational assumption. In actual use, the user's head position cannot be absolutely fixed, and the eyeballs may unconsciously shift momentarily due to the instinctive blinking reflex. Static aids are completely unable to cope with these dynamic changes, resulting in medication potentially dripping onto the eyelids, eyelashes, or cheeks, and the reliability of accurate drug delivery has not been fundamentally improved.

[0004] In recent years, with technological advancements, some prototype assistive devices with basic visual functions have emerged. However, when using these devices, users need to adjust their sitting posture and bring their heads close to the device to maintain a specific position, which is not user-friendly for people who are physically weak or have cognitive impairments.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need in this field for a system that can sense the position of the eyeball in real time and dynamically servo control the drug delivery terminal accordingly, while providing users with a stable and effortless operating posture, thereby fundamentally improving the accuracy, safety and applicability of home-based self-medication. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides the following technical solution.

[0007] An intelligent robotic system for assisting in the instillation of eye drops includes a medical reclining chair with an auxiliary robotic arm and a human-computer interaction unit mounted on it. The free end of the auxiliary robotic arm is fitted with a mounting base, which houses a camera detection unit and an eye drop assist unit. The camera detection unit includes a 3D camera module and an eye-tracking module, used to acquire a three-dimensional model of the user's face and track the position of the eyeballs in real time. The system also includes a control unit configured to dynamically adjust the end effector posture of the auxiliary robotic arm based on the eyeball position data output by the eye-tracking module, so as to accurately instill the eye drops into the user's conjunctival sac.

[0008] Furthermore, the eye drop auxiliary unit is a flexible gripper for holding the eye drop bottle.

[0009] Furthermore, the medical recliner includes a base, within which a medicine storage cabinet for storing eye drop bottles is provided. The auxiliary robotic arm is configured to retrieve the eye drop bottle from the medicine storage cabinet at the time of medication administration and to return it after the medication is administered.

[0010] Furthermore, the medicine storage cabinet is equipped with a medicine identification module for identifying eye drop bottles, and is communicatively connected to the control unit.

[0011] Furthermore, the eye drop auxiliary unit includes a cylindrical base, one end of which is equipped with a motor connected to a screw, and a push plate screwed onto the screw. The other end of the cylindrical base has a sleeve for accommodating the eye drop bottle, with the dropper tip of the eye drop bottle extending from the bottom of the sleeve, and the push plate abutting against the bottom of the eye drop bottle. The eye drop bottle is an axially compressible bottle with elastic sidewalls, and the motor drives the push plate to axially compress the eye drop bottle to expel the medication.

[0012] Furthermore, the sleeve includes a cylindrical body, a refrigeration module is sleeved around the outer periphery of the cylindrical body, and the refrigeration module is covered with an insulation layer.

[0013] Furthermore, the medical recliner includes a base, a seat cushion mounted on the base, a backrest hinged to the seat cushion, and a neck support hinged to the backrest. The auxiliary robotic arm is mounted on the backrest, and the human-machine interface unit is mounted to one side of the base via a connecting arm.

[0014] Furthermore, the human-computer interaction unit is equipped with a voice module and a display module to provide medication reminders, operation guidance, and status feedback.

[0015] Furthermore, the control unit is equipped with a communication module for connecting to a remote terminal to synchronize medication records, receive medication plans, or send alarm information when continuous medication leakage is detected.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, this application has the following beneficial technical effects:

[0017] 1. Using a medical reclining chair as a platform, and integrating 3D vision and real-time eye-tracking technology, the device can dynamically capture the position of the eyeball and control the robotic arm to perform eye drop administration. This ensures that the medication can be stably and reliably dripped into the target area (conjunctival sac), greatly improving the effectiveness and safety of medication administration. It provides a reliable means of self-administering medication for patients with upper limb motor dysfunction, resting tremor, visual impairment, or difficulty in cooperation.

[0018] 2. The system integrates functions such as drug storage, automatic identification, and timed retrieval and return, ensuring the safe storage of medicines. Combined with remote communication capabilities, the system can synchronize medication records to the cloud and allow guardians to remotely monitor or receive alarms, ensuring medication safety. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 Three-dimensional intelligent robot system Figure 1 .

[0020] Figure 2 Three-dimensional intelligent robot system Figure 2 .

[0021] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of the eye drop auxiliary unit in Example 1.

[0022] Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of the eye drop auxiliary unit in Example 2.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view of the eye drop auxiliary unit in Example 2.

[0024] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of the medication administration process for an intelligent robot system.

[0025] Figure 7 This is a system architecture diagram of an intelligent robot system.

[0026] The following is an explanation of the reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0027] 100. Medical recliner; 110. Base; 111. Medicine storage cabinet; 120. Seat cushion; 130. Backrest; 140. Neck support;

[0028] 200. Auxiliary robotic arm; 210. Mounting base; 220. Camera detection unit; 230. Eye drop auxiliary unit; 231. Flexible gripper; 232. Cylinder base; 233. Motor; 234. Screw; 235. Push plate; 236. Sleeve; 237. Cooling module; 238. Insulation layer; 250. Eye drop bottle;

[0029] 300. Human-computer interaction unit; 310. Connecting arm. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0031] In the following embodiments, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar components or components having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0032] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that terms such as center, longitudinal, transverse, length, width, thickness, upper, lower, front, rear, left, right, vertical, horizontal, top, bottom, inner, outer, clockwise, counterclockwise, etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships, are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing and simplifying the description of this invention; therefore, they should not be construed as limiting this invention. Furthermore, terms such as first, second, etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features shown. In the description of this invention, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, terms such as installation, connection, linking, etc., should be interpreted broadly, and those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model according to the specific circumstances.

[0033] Example 1

[0034] refer to Figures 1 to 3 This embodiment provides an intelligent eye drop robot system integrating a flexible gripper 231 and a medicine storage cabinet 111. The system includes a medical reclining chair 100, which comprises a base 110, a seat cushion 120 mounted on the base 110, a backrest 130 hinged to the seat cushion 120, and a neck support 140 hinged to the backrest 130. The angles of the backrest 130 and the neck support 140 are adjustable, allowing the user to receive treatment in a stable and comfortable semi-reclining or supine position, with the head supported by the neck support 140 and the face naturally facing upwards.

[0035] A multi-jointed auxiliary robotic arm 200 is installed in the area of ​​the chair back 130 near the user's head. The auxiliary robotic arm 200 has a mounting base 210 at its end, on which a camera detection unit 220 and a flexible gripper 231 serving as an eye drop auxiliary unit 230 are mounted.

[0036] The camera detection unit 220 includes a 3D vision module and a high-precision eye-tracking module. The 3D vision module is used to quickly build a 3D model of the user's face and accurately locate the cornea, while the eye-tracking module is used to continuously and in real time track the subtle movements of the eyeballs throughout the entire operation.

[0037] The flexible gripper 231 employs a gripping mechanism with a flexible coating material, enabling it to securely and gently grasp the eye drop bottle, preventing slippage or damage. Inside the base 110 of the medical recliner 100, a temperature-controlled medicine storage cabinet 111 is integrated. This cabinet may include independently controlled refrigerated and ambient temperature storage compartments, used to store eye drops requiring low-temperature storage (e.g., 2-8°C) and those requiring only room temperature storage, respectively. The medicine storage cabinet 111 also contains a medicine recognition module (e.g., an image recognition camera) for automatically identifying medicine information.

[0038] The system's core is a control unit, which integrates a processor, memory, and drive circuitry. The control unit is electrically connected and communicates with the camera detection unit 220, auxiliary robotic arm 200, flexible gripper 231, medicine storage cabinet 111, and medicine identification module. The human-machine interface unit 300 is mounted on the side of the base 110 via an adjustable connecting arm 310, and it features a display screen and voice interaction module. The control unit also has a built-in wireless communication module for data exchange with a remote monitoring terminal.

[0039] refer to Figure 6 and Figure 7 The system operates as follows: After the user lies down, the system provides voice and visual prompts, guiding the user to focus on a preset visual reference point on the device (such as a glowing mark or a fixed indicator on the display screen) to keep the eyeballs in a relatively stable initial position. The control unit, according to the medication plan, directs the robotic arm to move to the medication storage cabinet 111 to retrieve the medication, which is verified by the medication identification module. Subsequently, the camera detection unit 220 is activated to complete facial scanning and eye-tracking calibration. The robotic arm carries the medication bottle to the peri-eye area. During this process, the control unit dynamically adjusts the trajectory of the robotic arm's end effector based on the real-time eye coordinates fed back by the eye-tracking module. When the optimal instillation point is reached, the gripper performs a squeezing action, dripping the medication into the conjunctival sac. After completion, the robotic arm returns the medication bottle to its original position, and the system records the medication information and can synchronize it to a remote terminal via the network. To ensure absolute safety, the system remains in a voice command monitoring state throughout the entire process. If the user feels uncomfortable or notices any abnormality at any stage, they can immediately interrupt all robotic arm movements by speaking a preset emergency command (such as "pause" or "stop"), and the system will enter a standby safety state.

[0040] Example 2

[0041] The main difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 lies in the specific structure of the eye drop auxiliary unit 230; the rest of the system can be the same or adapted.

[0042] refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5In this embodiment, the eye drop auxiliary unit 230 installed at the end of the robotic arm includes a cylinder base 232, one end of which is equipped with a micro motor 233. The motor 233 drives a screw 234, and a movable push plate 235 is connected to the screw 234. A sleeve 236 is fixed to the other end of the cylinder base 232 to accommodate an axially compressible eye drop bottle 250. The bottle body is made of elastic material, and its nozzle extends from the bottom of the sleeve 236, with the bottom of the bottle abutting against the push plate 235. By controlling the step angle or the number of rotations of the motor 233, the advancing displacement of the push plate 235 can be precisely controlled, thereby achieving precise control of the bottle body's compression deformation. This ensures that a single drop of medication can be extruded stably and repeatedly in each operation, solving the problem of excessive dosage caused by uneven force during manual extrusion and ensuring the safety and consistency of drug treatment.

[0043] The working process of this embodiment is as follows: Before instillation, a dedicated compressible eye drop bottle 250 is pre-loaded into the sleeve 236 and kept refrigerated. During instillation, after the robotic arm is dynamically positioned under visual guidance, the control unit commands the motor 233 to start, driving the screw 234 to push the push plate 235, thereby axially and evenly squeezing the elastic bottle body and accurately squeezing out the medicine.

[0044] Furthermore, a cooling module 237 (such as a semiconductor cooling chip) is integrated into the outer wall of the sleeve 236, which is then wrapped with an insulation layer 238. A temperature sensor connected to the control unit can also be installed inside the sleeve 236, forming a closed-loop temperature control circuit. This design allows the eye drop bottle 250 to remain in a refrigerated environment even on the robotic arm performing the instillation task. This ensures that the temperature-sensitive active ingredients of the eye drops remain stable throughout the entire process from the first use to the last use when the eye drops are exhausted, completely eliminating the risk of efficacy degradation caused by temperature fluctuations during the dosing interval.

[0045] The intelligent robot system of this invention is designed with both personal care and multi-user care modes, and can be configured and switched between the two main operating modes according to the actual application environment. In home or dedicated care mode, the system serves a single user, with its hardware deeply bound to a specific user account. It strictly executes all operations according to the user's personalized medication plan and generates a complete medication record and data trajectory. This mode emphasizes ensuring user privacy and security, direct and convenient operation, and personalized customization of the experience, perfectly adapting to the privacy needs of home environments or private hospital rooms.

[0046] When applied to scenarios requiring large-scale services, such as nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, or hospital ophthalmology clinics, the system can be upgraded and deployed as a multi-user collaborative service network. In this centralized management mode, the device, through intelligent user identification and data management, can safely and systematically provide personalized eye drop services to multiple users. Specifically, each user authenticates themselves via an electronic wristband or biometrics (such as facial recognition). The system control unit then retrieves the user's pre-set personalized medication file from the associated database, including the required medication type, dosage, eye type, and specific medication schedule. The robotic arm accurately dispenses the corresponding medication according to system instructions. After completing the instillation and recording the data, the device performs a self-cleaning procedure (such as replacing disposable contact parts or activating ultraviolet disinfection), and is then ready to serve the next verified user. This mode significantly improves the efficiency and ease of management of the device in public care settings.

[0047] In summary, this invention solves the problem of precise drug administration by combining real-time eye tracking with dynamic robotic arm servo control, and provides flexible technical solutions for different medication needs, offering safe, reliable and humane self-medication assistance for special patient groups.

[0048] The scope of protection of this invention includes, but is not limited to, the above embodiments. The scope of protection of this invention is defined by the claims. Any substitutions, modifications, or improvements to this technology that are easily conceived by those skilled in the art fall within the scope of protection of this invention.

Claims

1. An intelligent robot system for assisting in the application of eye drops, characterized in that, The device includes a medical reclining chair (100), on which an auxiliary robotic arm (200) and a human-computer interaction unit (300) are provided; the free end of the auxiliary robotic arm (200) is equipped with a mounting base (210), on which a camera detection unit (220) and an eye drop auxiliary unit (230) are provided; the camera detection unit (220) includes a 3D camera module and an eye tracking module, used to acquire a three-dimensional model of the user's face and track the position of the eyeballs in real time; The system also includes a control unit configured to dynamically adjust the end effector posture of the auxiliary robotic arm (200) based on the eye position data output by the eye tracking module, so as to accurately drip eye drops into the user's conjunctival sac.

2. The intelligent robot system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The eye drop auxiliary unit (230) is a flexible gripper (231) for holding the eye drop bottle.

3. The intelligent robot system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The medical recliner (100) includes a base (110) with a medicine storage cabinet (111) for storing eye drop bottles inside the base (110); the auxiliary robotic arm (200) is configured to take the eye drop bottle from the medicine storage cabinet (111) at the time of medication and put it back after the medication is applied.

4. The intelligent robot system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The medicine storage cabinet (111) is equipped with a medicine identification module for identifying eye drop bottles and is connected in communication with the control unit.

5. The intelligent robot system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The eye drop auxiliary unit (230) includes a cylindrical base (232), one end of which is provided with a motor (233), the motor (233) is connected to a screw (234), and a push plate (235) is screwed onto the screw (234); the other end of the cylindrical base (232) is provided with a sleeve (236) for accommodating an eye drop bottle (250), the dropper of the eye drop bottle (250) extends from the bottom of the sleeve (236), and the push plate (235) abuts against the bottom of the eye drop bottle (250); The eye drop bottle (250) is an axially compressible bottle with elastic sidewalls, and the motor (233) drives the push plate (235) to squeeze out the medicine by axially pressing the eye drop bottle (250).

6. The intelligent robot system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The sleeve (236) includes a cylinder body, and a refrigeration module (237) is sleeved on the outer periphery of the cylinder body. The outer periphery of the refrigeration module (237) is covered with a heat insulation layer (238).

7. The intelligent robot system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The medical recliner (100) includes a base (110), a seat cushion (120) mounted on the base (110), a backrest (130) hinged to the seat cushion (120), and a neck brace (140) hinged to the backrest (130); the auxiliary robotic arm (200) is mounted on the backrest (130), and the human-machine interaction unit (300) is mounted on one side of the base (110) via a connecting arm (310).

8. The intelligent robot system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The human-computer interaction unit (300) is equipped with a voice module and a display module, which are used to provide medication reminders, operation guidance and status feedback.

9. The intelligent robot system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control unit is equipped with a communication module for connecting to a remote terminal to synchronize medication records, receive medication plans, or send alarm information when continuous medication leakage is detected.

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