Coinfusion support system, determination system, and coinfusion support program

Abstract

To provide a coinfusion support system, a determination system, and a coinfusion support program that can efficiently execute a coinfusion process.SOLUTION: A coinfusion support system comprises an acquisition process unit, a determination process unit, and an output process unit. The acquisition process unit acquires a photographic image of a drug container loaded in a coinfusion device for automatically performing a coinfusion process. The determination process unit determines whether a loaded state of the drug container is appropriate or not, on the basis of the photographic image. The output process unit outputs a determination result of the determination process unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 17

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a compounding support system, a determination system, and a compounding support program for supporting part or all of compounding processing.

Background Art

[0002] There is known a compounding device that performs a compounding process of sucking a drug such as an anticancer agent contained in a drug container such as a vial with a syringe and injecting the drug into an infusion container containing an infusion (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Here, when the drug contained in the drug container is a powder drug, in the compounding process, a stirring step of injecting a dissolution solution such as an infusion into the drug container and stirring the drug in the drug container is performed. Further, the stirring step may be performed when the drug is a liquid.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, when using the compounding device, when injecting the dissolution solution into the drug container or extracting a liquid drug from the drug container, the injection needle of the syringe punctures the rubber stopper at the mouth of the drug container. A removable lid may be attached to the mouth of the drug container. Originally, the drug container should be loaded with the lid removed. However, for example, due to a user's mistake or the like, the drug container may be loaded with the lid still attached. In this case, for example, problems such as the injection needle contacting the lid may occur.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a compounding support system, a determination system, and a compounding support program capable of efficiently performing compounding processing.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] The injection mixing support system according to one aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition processing unit, a determination processing unit, and an output processing unit. The acquisition processing unit acquires a photographed image of a chemical container loaded into an injection mixing device that automatically performs injection mixing processing. The determination processing unit determines the suitability of the loading state of the chemical container based on the photographed image. The output processing unit outputs the determination result of the determination processing unit.

[0007] The determination system according to another aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition processing unit, a determination processing unit, and an output processing unit. The acquisition processing unit acquires a photographed image of a chemical container that can have a lid attached to its mouth. The determination processing unit determines the suitability of the loading state of the chemical container based on the photographed image and an image of the chemical container with the lid removed. The output processing unit outputs the determination result of the determination processing unit.

[0008] The injection mixing support program according to another aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute an acquisition step, a determination step, and an output step. In the acquisition step, a photographed image of a chemical container loaded into an injection mixing device that automatically performs injection mixing processing is acquired. In the determination step, the suitability of the loading state of the chemical container is determined based on the photographed image. In the output step, the determination result of the determination step is output.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an injection mixing support system, a determination system, and an injection mixing support program that can efficiently execute injection mixing processing.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

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BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0011] [First Embodiment] With reference to the attached drawings below, embodiments of the present invention will be described to facilitate understanding of the present invention. Note that the following embodiments are merely examples of embodying the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[0012] [Infusion Mixing Support System 1] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the infusion mixing support system 1 according to the present embodiment includes an infusion mixing control unit 100, a drug loading unit 200, an infusion mixer 300, a storage unit 700, and a stirring device 32. In the infusion mixing support system 1, the operations of the infusion mixer 300 and the storage unit 700 are controlled by the infusion mixing control unit 100 based on preparation data, so that a syringe injects drugs such as anticancer agents indicated in the preparation data from one or more first containers such as ampoules or vials containing a predetermined amount of drugs into a second container such as an infusion bag. The infusion mixing process is executed. The infusion mixing process also includes a process of sucking a drug from a first container such as an ampoule or a vial with a syringe and injecting it into a second container such as another ampoule or vial.

[0013] [Infusion Mixing Control Unit 100] First, the schematic configuration of the infusion mixing control unit 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The infusion mixing control unit 100 includes a first control unit 400 and a second control unit 500 that are communicably connected. The first control unit 400 is provided on the side of the drug loading unit 200, and the second control unit 500 is provided on the side of the infusion mixer 300.

[0014] Note that the processing division of each of the first control unit 400 and the second control unit 500 described in the present embodiment is merely an example, and each processing procedure such as the infusion mixing process may be executed by either the first control unit 400 or the second control unit 500. It is also conceivable as another embodiment that the infusion mixing control unit 100 has only one control unit or three or more control units. Furthermore, part or all of the processing executed by the first control unit 400 and the second control unit 500 may be executed by an electronic circuit such as an ASIC or a DSP.

[0015] The first control unit 400 can also communicate with a higher-level system 600 such as an electronic medical record system or a pharmacy management system that inputs preparation data into the admixture support system 1. The preparation data is preparation data generated based on prescription data or the prescription data itself. The prescription data includes, for example, the prescription date of issue, patient ID, patient name, patient date of birth, drug information (drug code, drug name, dosage, etc.), dosage form information (oral, topical, etc.), usage information (three times a day after meals, etc.), type of medical treatment (outpatient, inpatient, etc.), department of medicine, ward, and room. In addition, the preparation data includes, for example, preparation ID, patient information (patient ID, patient name, etc.), doctor information, drug information, prescribed amount of the drug, type of drug container (ampoule containing liquid medicine, vial containing liquid medicine, or vial containing powder medicine, etc.), preparation content information (type and number of drug containers, syringes, and injection needles used in the admixture process, etc.), preparation procedure information (work content, dissolving drug, solvent, amount of dissolving drug, amount of solvent, extraction amount), preparation date, prescription classification, dosing date, department of medicine, ward, preparation completion designated time (or scheduled start time), required time, etc.

[0016] The first control unit 400 is a personal computer including a CPU 401, a ROM 402, a RAM 403, a data storage unit 404, an operation unit 405, etc. Various electrical components such as a display 203, a barcode reader 204, and an air purification device 205, which will be described later, provided in the drug loading unit 200 are connected to the first control unit 400.

[0017] The CPU 401 is a processor that executes processing according to various control programs. The ROM 402 is a non-volatile memory in which programs such as BIOS executed by the CPU 401 are stored in advance. The RAM 403 is a volatile or non-volatile memory used for the deployment of various control programs by the CPU 401 and the temporary storage of data.

[0018] The data storage unit 404 is a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk that stores various application programs and various data for causing the CPU 401 to execute various processes. For example, the prepared data input from the upper system 600 is stored in the data storage unit 404.

[0019] Note that the first control unit 400 stores, in the data storage unit 404, the identification information of the tray 101 described later corresponding to each piece of the prepared data together with the prepared data input from the upper system 600. For example, the first control unit 400 associates the prepared data with the identification information of the tray 101. It is also conceivable that information indicating the correspondence relationship between the prepared data and the identification information of the tray 101 is input from the upper system 600 to the co-infusion support system 1 together with the prepared data.

[0020] In addition, the data storage unit 404 stores various databases such as a syringe master, a drug master, a patient master, a doctor master, a prescription classification master, a medical department master, and a ward master. In the syringe master, the shape of the tip portion of the syringe is stored for each type of syringe. The shape of the tip portion of the syringe includes the outer diameter of the syringe tube, the angle of the tip, and the length of the cut surface (inclined surface). In the drug master, information such as a drug code, a drug name, a JAN code (or RSS), a drug bottle code, a classification (dosage form: powder, tablet, aqueous solution, external medicine, etc.), a specific gravity, a drug type (ordinary drug, anticancer drug, poison, narcotic, powerful drug, antipsychotic drug, therapeutic drug, etc.), a formulation change, an excipient drug, precautions, the type of drug container (ampoule, vial), the drug volume (predetermined amount) per unit of the drug container, and the weight of the drug container is included. Note that the drug master also includes information such as the type of the infusion bag 12 (soft bag, hard type, AL type), the infusion volume stored in the infusion bag 12, and the liquid volume that can be injected into the infusion bag 12 as information on the infusion bag 12 that stores an infusion such as physiological saline or glucose.

[0021] Furthermore, the data storage unit 404 pre-stores a first co-infusion control program for causing the CPU 401 to execute various processes. Note that the first co-infusion control program may be read from a recording medium such as a CD, DVD, BD, or flash memory by a reading device (not shown) provided in the first control unit 400 and installed in the data storage unit 404.

[0022] The operation unit 405 includes various operation units such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel that receive various user operations in the first control unit 400.

[0023] Here, the CPU 401 of the first control unit 400 has an acquisition processing unit 4011, a determination processing unit 4012, and an output processing unit 4013. That is, the CPU 401 functions as the acquisition processing unit 4011, the determination processing unit 4012, and the output processing unit 4013 according to the first co-infusion control program (co-infusion support program) stored in the data storage unit 404.

[0024] The acquisition processing unit 4011 performs a process of acquiring a captured image captured by a loading confirmation camera 209 described later. The loading confirmation camera 209 acquires a captured image of the chemical container 10 loaded into the co-infusion device 300 that automatically performs co-infusion processing (from the loading confirmation camera 209). The acquisition processing unit 4011 stores the acquired captured image in the data storage unit 404. The captured image may be an image obtained by capturing the equipment loaded into the co-infusion device 300, and the equipment may include not only the chemical container 10 but also a syringe 11 (syringe, injection needle 11c, cap) and an infusion bag 12, etc.

[0025] The determination processing unit 4012 performs a process of determining the loading state of the equipment based on the captured image. The "loading state" referred to here is the loading state of the equipment including the chemical container 10 with respect to the mixing device 300. For example, it includes the position and / or orientation (posture) of the equipment such as the chemical container 10, the syringe 11, and the infusion bag 12. Further, when the chemical container 10 is a vial to be loaded with the lid removed, the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid of the vial is also included in the loading state. That is, the determination processing unit 4012 determines the appropriateness of the loading state of the chemical container 10 using the captured image of the chemical container 10 loaded into the mixing device 300 acquired by the acquisition processing unit 4011.

[0026] The output processing unit 4013 performs a process of outputting the determination result of the determination processing unit 4012. In the present embodiment, the output processing unit 4013 outputs the determination result of the determination processing unit 4012 to the display 203, thereby causing the display 203 to display the determination result. Thereby, the user can know the appropriateness of the loading state of the chemical container 10 by looking at the determination result displayed on the display 203.

[0027] The second control unit 500 is a personal computer including a CPU 501, a ROM 502, a RAM 503, a data storage unit 504, an operation unit 505, and the like. Various electrical components such as a first robot arm 21, a second robot arm 22, a tray transport unit 110, a touch panel monitor 14, an IC reader 101c, an IC reader 15a, a tray confirmation camera 41, and a syringe confirmation camera 42 provided in the mixing device 300 are connected to the second control unit 500.

[0028] The CPU 501 is a processor that executes processes according to various control programs. The ROM 502 is a non-volatile memory in which programs such as BIOS executed by the CPU 501 are stored in advance. The RAM 503 is a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory used for expanding various control programs by the CPU 501 and temporarily storing data.

[0029] The data storage unit 504 is a hard disk or the like that stores various application programs and various data for causing the CPU 501 to execute various processes. Specifically, the data storage unit 504 stores in advance a second dispensing control program for causing the CPU 501 to execute a dispensing process and the like described later. The second dispensing control program may be read from a recording medium such as a CD, DVD, BD, or flash memory by a reading device (not shown) provided in the second control unit 500 and installed in the data storage unit 504. The data storage unit 504 also stores the same chemical master as the data storage unit 404, and the second control unit 500 can refer to the chemical master. As another embodiment, the second control unit 500 may be configured to be able to acquire information on the chemical master via the first control unit 400.

[0030] Note that the present invention may be regarded as an invention of a first dispensing control program, a second dispensing control program, or a dispensing support program integrating the first dispensing control program and the second dispensing control program for causing the CPU 401 and the CPU 501 to execute various processes in the dispensing control unit 100. The present invention may also be regarded as an invention of a computer-readable recording medium recording a first dispensing control program, a second dispensing control program, or a dispensing support program integrating the first dispensing control program and the second dispensing control program. Further, the present invention may be regarded as an invention of a dispensing support method including one or more processing procedures executed in the dispensing support system 1.

[0031] The operation unit 505 includes various operation units such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel that receives various user operations in the second control unit 500.

[0032] [Drug Loading Unit 200] Next, while referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the schematic configuration of the chemical loading unit 200 will be described. Note that FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the main part of the internal configuration of the chemical loading unit 200.

[0033] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the chemical loading unit 200 is a clean bench including a door 201, a work table 202, a display 203, a barcode reader 204, an air cleaning device 205, and the loading confirmation camera 209. Note that the chemical loading unit 200 and the mixing and dispensing device 300 are communicated with each other through a tray loading port 114 (see FIG. 8) and a tray discharge port 701 (see FIG. 12) formed on the side surface of the mixing and dispensing device 300.

[0034] The work table 202 is used to perform preparatory work for the mixing and dispensing process executed by the mixing and dispensing support system 1. The barcode reader 204, the tray 101, etc. are placed on the work table 202. In addition, a tray discharge port 206 that is opened and closed when taking out the tray 101 discharged from the storage unit 700 is provided on the front surface of the work table 202. Further, an IC reader 207 (see FIG. 12) capable of reading information from the IC tag 101b of the tray 101 placed on the work table 202 is provided inside the work table 202. Note that the reading result by the IC reader 207 is input to the first control unit 400.

[0035] The display 203 is a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that displays various types of information in response to a control instruction from the first control unit 400. Specifically, preparation data that is a candidate for compounding in the compounding support system 1 and the like is displayed on the display 203. Further, the barcode reader 204 reads a barcode described in a prescription or a preparation instruction and inputs the content of the barcode to the first control unit 400. The air purifying device 205 supplies air into the chemical loading unit 200 through a predetermined filter. Note that the display 203 may be supported by, for example, a front panel 700A (see FIGS. 9 to 12) provided in the housing unit 700.

[0036] The door 201 is provided in front of the chemical loading unit 200 and is a transparent member that can be opened and closed in the vertical up and down direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the user performs preparatory work for the compounding process executed by the compounding support system 1 with the door 201 slightly opened and the hand put into the chemical loading unit 200. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a chemical container 10 (an example of a first container), the syringe 11, and the infusion bag 12 (an example of a second container) used in the compounding process executed by the compounding support system 1 are accommodated in the tray 101 placed on the work table 202. Note that the infusion bag 12 contains an infusion such as a prescribed amount of physiological saline, glucose, or a high-calorie infusion corresponding to the type of the infusion bag 12. Further, the chemical contained in the chemical container 10 is, for example, an anticancer agent, but may be a chemical other than an anticancer agent. The preparatory work includes, for example, placing the chemical container 10, the syringe 11, and the infusion bag 12 at predetermined positions on the tray 101 and loading the tray 101 into the housing unit 700. Hereinafter, when the chemical container 10 is an ampule, the chemical container 10 may be referred to as an ampule 10A, and when the chemical container 10 is a vial, the chemical container 10 may be referred to as a vial 10B.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 5, the tray 101 has an electronic paper 101a on which characters such as the patient's name and administration are displayed, and an IC tag 101b (an example of a recording medium) such as an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag on which various information can be read and written. The IC tag 101b is provided on the bottom surface of the tray 101, and identification information for identifying the tray 101 is stored in the IC tag 101b.

[0038] In addition, the tray 101 has an equipment placement portion 102 on which the medicine container 10 and the syringe 11 (syringe, injection needle 11c, cap) are placed, and an infusion bag holding portion 103 for holding the infusion bag 12 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). That is, the equipment such as the medicine container 10, the syringe 11, and the infusion bag 12 can be set on the tray 101. The equipment placement portion 102 and the infusion bag holding portion 103 are individually detachable from the tray 101.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 5, the equipment placement portion 102 is provided with a support portion 102A that supports the ampoule 10A in an inclined state. The ampoule 10A is set in a state of being obliquely erected by the support portion 102A. Thereby, no medicine accumulates at the neck portion of the ampoule 10A. In addition to the ampoule 10A, the injection needle 11c with a cap attached is also set in a state of being obliquely erected on the support portion 102A.

[0040] The injection needle 11c includes an injection needle with a syringe filter.

[0041] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the vial 10B and the syringe 11 are set in a state of being laid on the equipment placement portion 102. At this time, the syringe 11 is in a state where the syringe and the injection needle 11c are separated. Of course, the arrangement form in the equipment placement portion 102 described here is an example and is not limited thereto.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 5, the infusion bag holding part 103 is provided with a chuck part 140 for fixing the admixture port (neck part) of the infusion bag 12. In the preparation work, the user sets the infusion bag 12 in the infusion bag holding part 103 while the infusion bag 12 is held by the chuck part 140. Further, the infusion bag holding part 103 is provided with an engagement hole part 103a used when raising and lowering the infusion bag holding part 103.

[0043] Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the tray 101 also has a type of tray 101B that houses the vial 10B as the drug container 10. The tray 101B has a container support part 102B on which the vial 10B is placed instead of the support part 102A. The container support part 102B is detachable from the tray 101B.

[0044] The container support part 102B supports the vial 10B in an inclined state. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the vial 10B has a body part B1 and a mouth part B2. The body part B1 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape and is a part for storing drugs inside. The mouth part B2 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a smaller diameter than the body part B1 and is a part that serves as an extraction port for the drugs inside the body part B1. The mouth part B2 is formed continuously with the body part B1 on one side in the axial direction of the body part B1.

[0045] Furthermore, a stopper B21 and a frame B22 are attached to the mouth part B2. The stopper B21 closes the opening of the mouth part B2, and the frame B22 fixes the stopper B21 to the mouth part B2. The frame B22 is formed in an annular shape when viewed from the axial direction of the mouth part B2, and the stopper B21 is exposed from the opening of the frame B22. The vial 10B is set in the container support part 102B in a state of being obliquely erected with the mouth part B2 facing obliquely upward.

[0046] Also, as shown in FIG. 7, a lid B23 can be attached to the mouth B2 of the vial 10B. In other words, the lid B23 is removably attached to the mouth B2 of the vial 10B. The lid B23 is attached to the mouth B2 so as to cover the stopper B21 and the frame B22. Specifically, the lid B23 is indirectly attached to the mouth B2 by being attached to the frame B22 attached to the mouth B2. However, the attachment mode of the lid B23 is not limited to this mode. For example, the lid B23 may be directly attached to the mouth B2 with the frame B22 omitted. In this case, the lid B23 directly attaches to the mouth B2 so as to cover at least a part of the mouth B2 together with the stopper B21. And in the state where the lid B23 is attached to the mouth B2, at least the stopper B21 will not be exposed to the outside as shown in the upper part of FIG. 7.

[0047] The lid B23 is attached to the vial 10B in an unused state. In principle, the vial 10B is set in the container support portion 102B of the tray 101B with the lid B23 removed from the mouth B2. Therefore, when setting the vial 10B in the tray 101B, the user removes the lid B23 from the mouth B2 and then sets the vial 10B in the container support portion 102B as shown in the lower part of FIG. 7.

[0048] Here, although the color, material, size, and shape of the vial 10B vary, as an example, the stopper B21 is made of gray rubber (rubber stopper), and the frame B22 is made of silver-white metal. Further, since characters or the like are printed on the frame B22 or the residue of the glue attaching the lid B23 remains, the appearance of the frame B22 varies. Similarly, for the lid B23, the color, material, size, and shape vary, and as an example, it is made of paper, plastic, or metal. Further, the color of the lid B23 also varies, such as blue, yellow, red, green, or white, and characters or the like may be printed on it. Also, in the case of the lid B23, for example, it may have light transmissivity like being semi-transparent, and in this case, even when the lid B23 is attached, the stopper B21 can be visually recognized through the lid B23.

[0049] A plurality of the vials 10B can be simultaneously accommodated in the tray 101B. A plurality of depressions for accommodating the vials 10B are formed in the container support portion 102B, and the vial 10B can be accommodated in the tray 101B up to the maximum number of the depressions. In this embodiment, as an example, as shown in FIG. 6, since four of the vials 10B can be accommodated in two upper and lower stages, a total of eight of the vials 10B can be simultaneously accommodated in the tray 101B.

[0050] Of course, the arrangement form in the equipment placement portion 102 described here is an example and is not limited thereto. For example, it is not essential that a plurality of the vials 10B can be accommodated in the tray 101B, and only one vial 10B may be accommodated in the tray 101B.

[0051] Then, after the user sets the drug container 10, the syringe 11, and the infusion bag 12 on the tray 101, the tray 101 is accommodated in the accommodation unit 700. As will be described later, a plurality of the trays 101 can be accommodated in the accommodation unit 700. Thus, as will be described later, the tray 101 is automatically supplied to the compounding device 300 from the accommodation unit 700 through the tray discharge port 701 and the tray loading port 114 as necessary. After that, after the completion of the compounding process in the compounding device 300, the tray 101 is discharged from the tray discharge port 15 (see FIG. 3) of the compounding device 300 with the infusion bag 12 accommodated therein, or is discharged from the tray discharge port 206 (see FIG. 3) of the drug loading unit 200 via the accommodation unit 700. Note that the compounding device 300 may be provided with a loading port through which the user can directly supply the tray 101 from the drug loading unit 200 to the compounding device 300.

[0052] The loading confirmation camera 209 photographs the drug container 10 and the like in the tray 101. The image photographed by the loading confirmation camera 209 is output to the first control unit 400 of the compounding control unit 100. The loading confirmation camera 209 is attached to the back of the display 203, for example, and photographs the tray 101 accommodated in the accommodation unit 700 passing below the display 203 from an obliquely upper front. Further, in the vicinity of the loading confirmation camera 209, an illumination device for illuminating the imaging area by the loading confirmation camera 209 is installed.

[0053] In the present embodiment, the loading confirmation camera 209 is a near-infrared camera, and the captured image captured by the loading confirmation camera 209 is a near-infrared image. As an example, the loading confirmation camera 209 is a near-infrared camera of about 5 million pixels, and the imaging area is illuminated by flat dome illumination. Thereby, the entire imaging area is uniformly illuminated, and an image with less shadow generation can be captured.

[0054] [Compounding device 300] Next, the schematic configuration of the compound injection device 300 will be described.

[0055] As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, on the front surface of the compound injection device 300, a main door 301, a syringe extraction door 302, a dust collection chamber door 13, a touch panel monitor 14, a tray discharge port 15, etc. are provided.

[0056] The main door 301 is opened and closed, for example, to access the compound injection processing chamber 104 during cleaning etc. inside the compound injection device 300. The syringe extraction door 302 is opened and closed when taking out the syringe 11 from the compound injection processing chamber 104.

[0057] The dust collection chamber door 13 is opened and closed to remove waste such as the chemical container 10 and the syringe 11 after use in the compound injection processing in the compound injection processing chamber 104 from the dust collection chamber 13a where the waste is stored. Also, the tray discharge port 15 is opened and closed to take out the tray 101 on which the infusion bag 12 is placed after the chemicals are compounded in the compound injection processing in the compound injection processing chamber 104.

[0058] The touch panel monitor 14 is a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that displays various information according to a control instruction from the second control unit 500. Also, the touch panel monitor 14 has a touch panel that accepts a touch operation by the user. Images or videos taken by various cameras described later, for example, can be displayed on the touch panel monitor 14.

[0059] Also, as shown in FIG. 4, in the garbage storage chamber 13a, a waste container 13b for discarding liquids such as the infusion solution stored in the infusion bag 12 and a weighing scale 13c for measuring the weight of the waste container are provided. Note that the waste container 13b is detachable from the garbage storage chamber 13a when the garbage storage chamber door 13 is open. Further, on the bottom surface in the admixture processing chamber 104, above the waste container 13b, a communication port (not shown) communicating with the waste container 13b is formed. And the second robot arm 22 described later can operate the syringe 11 to discard the liquid in the syringe 11 into the waste container 13b through the communication port. The weighing scale 13c has, for example, a load cell that inputs an electrical signal corresponding to the weight of the waste container 13b to the second control unit 500.

[0060] Thereby, the second control unit 500 can acquire the amount of the liquid discarded when the liquid is discarded based on the weighing results of the waste container 13b by the weighing scale 13c before and after the liquid is discarded into the waste container 13b.

[0061] [Admixture Processing Chamber 104] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in the admixture processing chamber 104, a first robot arm 21, a second robot arm 22, an ampule cutter 31, the stirring device 32, a placement shelf 33, a drug reading unit 34, a weighing scale 35, a needle bend detection unit 36, an admixture communication port 37, a needle insertion confirmation transparent window 38, a garbage lid 132a, and the like are provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, on the ceiling side of the admixture processing chamber 104, a tray confirmation camera 41, a syringe confirmation camera 42, a syringe needle attachment / detachment device 43, a needle insertion confirmation camera 44, a sterilization lamp 45, and the like are provided.

[0062] [First Robot Arm 21, Second Robot Arm 22] The first robot arm 21 and the second robot arm 22 are drive units having an articulated structure, and are provided in a hanging manner with their base ends fixed to the ceiling side of the co-injection processing chamber 104. In the co-injection support system 1, each work process in the co-injection process is executed by the double-arm type first robot arm 21 and the second robot arm 22.

[0063] Specifically, the second control unit 500 individually drives drive motors provided at each joint of the first robot arm 21 and the second robot arm 22, and causes the first robot arm 21 and the second robot arm 22 to execute each work in the co-injection process. Note that the co-injection device 300 may have a configuration having, for example, one robot arm, a configuration including three or more robot arms, or a configuration not using a robot arm, as long as it can execute the co-injection process.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 8, the first robot arm 21 includes a holding portion 25 capable of holding the equipment such as the chemical container 10 and the syringe 11, and the holding portion 25 can be moved to an arbitrary position within a predetermined movable range. The second robot arm 22 can hold the equipment such as the chemical container 10 and the syringe 11 and move them to an arbitrary position, and includes a holding portion 26 capable of performing operations of sucking and injecting the chemical by the syringe 11. Further, the second robot arm 22 can move the chemical container 10, the syringe 11, etc. to an arbitrary position within a predetermined movable range.

[0065] [Tray transport unit 110] In addition, the co-injection device 300 is provided with a tray transport unit 110 capable of reciprocally transporting the tray 101 between the tray loading port 114 at the right end in FIG. 8 and the tray transport end portion 110a at the left end.

[0066] Then, after the equipment placement unit 102 is lifted by the tray lifting unit, the second control unit 500 performs imaging by the tray confirmation camera 41. The tray confirmation camera 41 images the medicine container 10, the syringe 11, etc. placed on the equipment placement unit 102 from above, which are predetermined. The second control unit 500 executes image recognition processing using the captured image of the tray confirmation camera 41, and determines whether the number of the medicine containers 10 and the syringes 11 (syringe and injection needle 11c) indicated by the preparation data exist on the equipment placement unit 102, etc.

[0067] Also, as shown in FIG. 8, above the tray conveyance end portion 110a, a dome-shaped light 120 for illuminating the infusion bag 12 conveyed to the tray conveyance end portion 110a and an infusion camera 121 are provided. The infusion camera 121 is provided at the center in the dome-shaped light 120 and reads the barcode attached to the surface of the infusion bag 12. Thereby, the second control unit 500 can determine the suitability of the infusion bag 12 according to the information of the barcode read by the infusion camera 121.

[0068] [Stirring device 32] The stirring device 32 is used when a medicine that needs to be dissolved, such as powder medicine (powder drug), is contained in the vial 10B, to inject infusion or medicine into the vial 10B to dissolve the medicine and generate a mixed medicine. Specifically, the stirring device 32 is used in the stirring process of stirring the medicine in the vial 10B.

[0069] [Placement shelf 33] As shown in FIG. 4, the placement shelf 33 is used for temporarily placing the medicine containers 10, the syringes 11, etc. in the mixing injection process executed in the mixing injection support system 1. The placement shelf 33 is provided at a position accessible by both the first robot arm 21 and the second robot arm 22. In the placement shelf 33, the vial 10B is placed in a state of being stood upright at a predetermined position. On the other hand, the placement shelf 33 is provided with an inclined holding portion for holding the ampoule 10A in an inclined state, and the ampoule 10A is placed in the inclined holding portion in an inclined state. Further, in the placement shelf 33, a neck holding hole having a predetermined diameter into which the neck portion of the syringe 11 fits is formed, and the syringe 11 is temporarily placed with the neck portion facing downward in a state where the injection needle 11c is not attached. It is desirable that the size of the placement shelf 33 is determined in advance by the number of the trays 101 that can be accommodated in the accommodation unit 700. For example, it is conceivable that the size of the placement shelf 33 is a size that can simultaneously place equipment such as the medicine containers 10 and the syringes 11 used in the mixing injection process corresponding to the number of the trays 101 that can be accommodated in the accommodation unit 700.

[0070] [Medicine reading unit 34] The medicine reading unit 34 reads a barcode described on a label attached to the medicine container 10 such as the ampoule 10A and the vial 10B, and indicating medicine information of the accommodated medicine.

[0071] [Weighing scale 35] The weighing scale 35 is used for measuring the weight of the syringe 11 in the mixing injection process executed in the mixing injection support system 1, and the measurement result by the weighing scale 35 is input to the second control unit 500. The weighing scale 35 is arranged within the movable range of the second robot arm 22, and measures the weight of the syringe 11 placed by the second robot arm 22. Also, separately from the weighing scale 35, it is conceivable that a weighing scale for weighing the medicine container 10 or the syringe 11, etc. is provided on the placement shelf 33.

[0072] [Needle bending detection unit 36] The needle bending detection unit 36 is formed with a long hole into which the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11 can be inserted and moved. Further, the needle bending detection unit 36 includes optical sensors that irradiate and receive detection light with the long hole therebetween and are arranged such that the detection lights thereof are non-parallel to each other. The detection result by the optical sensors is input to the second control unit 500.

[0073] Then, by the second robot arm 22, the injection needle 11c attached to the syringe 11 is inserted into the long hole and moved in the vertical direction. At this time, when the detection light of the optical sensors is blocked by the injection needle 11c, the optical sensors turn off.

[0074] Thereby, the second control unit 500 can detect the bending etc. of the injection needle 11c using the position information of the injection needle 11c when blocking the detection light. It is also conceivable as another embodiment to photograph the injection needle 11c with a camera and detect needle bending etc. by image recognition of the photographed image. And when the injection needle 11c is bent, the second control unit 500 can adjust, for example, the needle tip position when puncturing the rubber stopper of the admixture port of the infusion bag 12 with the injection needle 11c by the second robot arm 22 based on the amount of bending of the injection needle 11c.

[0075] [Admixture communication port 37] As shown in FIG. 3, the admixture communication port 37 is formed in a dome-shaped portion protruding outward on the side wall of the admixture processing chamber 104, and a notch for passing the admixture port of the infusion bag 12 in the vertical direction is formed in the dome-shaped portion. Therefore, when the infusion bag holding unit 103 rises, the admixture port of the infusion bag 12 will be positioned inside the admixture processing chamber 104. Thereby, the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11 held by the second robot arm 22 can be inserted through the admixture port of the infusion bag 12.

[0076] [Needle insertion confirmation transparent window 38] The needle insertion confirmation transparent window 38 is a window through which the infusion bag 12 at the end portion 110a of the tray conveyance can be visually recognized from the compounding device 300, and is used during image capture to confirm the state in which the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11 is inserted into the infusion bag 12.

[0077] [Syringe confirmation camera 42] Also, as shown in FIG. 8, the syringe confirmation camera 42 is disposed on the ceiling portion of the compounding device 300. The syringe confirmation camera 42 is used to capture an image of the syringe 11 in order to confirm the presence and amount of the drug aspirated into the syringe 11. The syringe confirmation camera 42 may capture an image within a pre-fixed imaging range, or may be one whose position and size of the imaging range can be arbitrarily changed by being controlled by the second control unit 500. Also, as will be described later, in the compounding support system 1, the syringe confirmation camera 42 captures the syringe 11 and the drug container 10 at once, and provides a highly reliable inspection image. The second control unit 500 causes the captured image by the syringe confirmation camera 42 to be recorded in the data storage unit 404, the data storage unit 504, or a storage unit such as a hard disk provided outside the compounding support system 1, for example, to inspect the propriety of the compounding process executed in the compounding support system 1 in an image. Then, during the inspection by the user, the second control unit 500 causes the captured image by the syringe confirmation camera 42 to be displayed on a display device such as the touch panel monitor 14 or the display 203.

[0078] [Needle insertion confirmation camera 44] Further, the needle insertion confirmation camera 44 captures an image so that the infusion bag 12 located outside the admixture processing chamber 104 and the syringe 11 in the admixture processing chamber 104 are included in one image. When the rubber stopper of the admixture port of the infusion bag 12 is punctured with the injection needle 11c, the second control unit 500 causes the needle insertion confirmation camera 44 to capture an image in the direction of the needle insertion confirmation transparent window 38. Then, the captured image by the needle insertion confirmation camera 44 is displayed on, for example, the touch panel monitor 14. Thereby, the user can confirm whether or not the tip side of the injection needle 11c is located inside the infusion bag 12 by the captured image. Note that the captured image is stored in a storage unit such as a hard disk provided inside or outside the admixture support system 1 for final inspection, for example. When the OK button is operated by the user on the touch panel monitor 14 on which the captured image is displayed and it is determined that the admixture process has been appropriately completed, the infusion bag 12 is lowered by the bag elevating unit 113 (see FIG. 4) and returned to the tray 101.

[0079] [Sterilization lamp 45] The sterilization lamp 45 is lit, for example, 3 hours before the start of the admixture process. As shown in FIG. 8, one of the two sterilization lamps 45 is provided at a position between the first robot arm 21 and the second robot arm 22.

[0080] [Storage unit 700] Subsequently, the storage unit 700 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12. Note that FIG. 9 is a front view of the drug loading unit 200 and the storage unit 700, FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I in FIG. 9, and FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 9. Further, FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the internal configuration of the storage unit 700. In the following description, the up-down, left-right, front-back directions shown in FIGS. 9 to 12 may be used.

[0081] The storage unit 700 includes a tray loading section 710, a lifting unit 800, a tray conveying section 900, etc., and is controlled by the mixed injection control unit 100. The tray loading section 710 and the lifting unit 800 are arranged behind the work table 202, and the tray conveying section 900 is arranged below the work table 202. A plurality of the trays 101 can be stored in the storage unit 700, and the mixed injection control unit 100 can carry out any of the trays 101 out of the storage unit 700. Note that the specific configuration of the storage unit 700 is not limited to the configuration described here as long as the same functions can be achieved.

[0082] The tray loading section 710 includes a shutter 712 that opens and closes a tray loading port 711 used for loading the tray 101 into the storage unit 700, and a drive section 713 used for opening and closing the shutter 712. The drive section 713 is, for example, a belt conveyor including a motor, gears, a stretched roller, and a belt. When the stretched roller is rotated by the motor and the gears, the shutter 712 connected to the belt is opened and closed. When the shutter 712 is opened, the user can load the tray 101 into the lifting unit 800 of the storage unit 700 by sliding the tray 101 rearward on the work table 202. Note that the tray loading port 711 is arranged at a position vertically spaced from the tray discharge port 206. Specifically, the tray loading port 711 is arranged at a position higher than the tray discharge port 206.

[0083] The lifting unit 800 includes a moving housing 810 that is supported so as to be movable up and down in the vertical direction, a plurality of stages of tray accommodating portions 811 arranged vertically within the moving housing 810, driving portions 812 and 813 used for loading and unloading the tray 101 with respect to the tray accommodating portion 811, and a lifting mechanism 820 that moves the moving housing 810 up and down in the vertical direction. Note that the moving housing 810 is slidably supported in the vertical direction by, for example, a rail portion (not shown) formed on the inner surface of the housing of the accommodating unit 700. The moving housing 810 can move up and down between a state where at least the uppermost tray accommodating portion 811 is at the same height as or above the tray loading port 711 and a state where the lowermost tray accommodating portion 811 is at the same height as or below the tray loading port 711. In particular, the moving housing 810 moves up and down within a range in which each of the tray accommodating portions 811 can be positioned such that the tray 101 can move between the tray accommodating portion 811 and the tray loading portion 710 and such that the tray 101 can move between the tray accommodating portion 811 and the tray conveying portion 900.

[0084] The tray accommodating portion 811 is a belt conveyor including a pair of left and right belts 814 capable of supporting the tray 101, a plurality of tension rollers 815 that support each of the belts 814 so as to be capable of running, and a magnetic gear 816 connected to any one of the tension rollers 815. The driving portions 812 and 813 are motors capable of rotating the magnetic gears 812a and 813a in the forward rotation direction and the reverse rotation direction. The magnetic gears 812a and 813a can synchronously rotate the magnetic gear 816 disposed at the opposing position by magnetic force. That is, the driving force of the driving portions 812 and 813 is transmitted from the magnetic gears 812a and 813a to the magnetic gear 816 of the tray accommodating portion 811 in a non-contact manner. Then, the magnetic gear 816 runs the tension rollers 815 and the belt 814.

[0085] Therefore, even when the lifting unit 800 includes three or more tray storage portions 811, each of the tray storage portions 811 can be driven by using the two drive portions 812 and 813.

[0086] Here, the magnetic gear 812a and the magnetic gear 813a are arranged at different positions in the vertical direction. Specifically, the magnetic gear 812a is arranged at a position facing the magnetic gear 816 of the tray storage portion 811 where the tray 101 can be loaded from the work table 202 through the tray loading port 711. Further, the magnetic gear 813a is arranged below the magnetic gear 812a and at a position facing the magnetic gear 816 of the tray storage portion 811 where the tray 101 can move between the tray storage portion 811 and the tray conveyance portion 900.

[0087] Thereby, in the storage unit 700, the area below the work table 202 can be effectively utilized to convey the tray 101, for example, between the tray storage portion 811 and the tray conveyance portion 900. Hereinafter, the position of the tray storage portion 811 where the tray 101 can be carried into the tray storage portion 811 from the work table 202 may be referred to as the first movement position, and the position of the tray storage portion 811 where the tray 101 can move between the tray storage portion 811 and the tray conveyance portion 900 may be referred to as the second movement position.

[0088] The lifting mechanism 820 is a belt conveyor including a motor 821, a pair of left and right belts 822, and a plurality of tension rollers 823. The motor 821 drives the tension rollers 823 to run each of the belts 822 in the vertical direction. Each of the belts 822 is connected to the moving housing 810. Then, the lifting mechanism 820 moves the moving housing 810 in the vertical direction by running each of the belts 822 in the vertical direction by the normal rotation or reverse rotation of the motor 821.

[0089] The tray conveying unit 900 includes a first conveying unit 910, a second conveying unit 920, an IC reader 930, and a third conveying unit 940. The first conveying unit 910 can convey the tray 101 in the front-rear direction, and the second conveying unit 920 can convey the tray 101 in the left-right direction. For example, each of the first conveying unit 910, the second conveying unit 920, and the third conveying unit 940 is a belt conveyor including a motor, a gear, a tension roller, a belt, etc., and the belt is driven by the motor, the gear, and the tension roller, so that the tray 101 held on the belt can be conveyed.

[0090] More specifically, the first conveying unit 910 can convey the tray 101 accommodated in the tray accommodating portion 811 toward the tray discharge port 206. Also, the first conveying unit 910 can accommodate the tray 101 in the tray accommodating portion 811. The second conveying unit 920 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction, and can move between a usable state in which the tray 101 placed on the first conveying unit 910 can be conveyed in the left-right direction and a retracted state (see FIG. 12) in which it is retracted downward from the usable state. The third conveying unit 940 can convey the tray 101 between the second conveying unit 920 and the tray discharge port 701 when the second conveying unit 920 is in the usable state.

[0091] For example, when the second conveying unit 920 shifts from the retracted state to the usable state, it moves upward while holding the tray 101 placed at a predetermined position on the first conveying unit 910, so that the tray 101 can be conveyed between the second conveying unit 920 and the third conveying unit 940. Also, when the second conveying unit 920 shifts from the usable state to the retracted state, it moves downward relative to the first conveying unit 910 while holding the tray 101 placed on the second conveying unit 920, and transfers the tray 101 to the first conveying unit 910.

[0092] As a result, in the usable state, the second transfer unit 920 can transfer the tray 101 discharged from the tray storage unit 811 onto the first transfer unit 910 to the third transfer unit 940. Further, in the usable state, the second transfer unit 920 can receive the tray 101 supplied from the dispensing device 300 through the tray discharge port 701 via the third transfer unit 940 and transfer it to the first transfer unit 910.

[0093] The IC reader 930 can read information from the IC tag 101b of the tray 101 placed on the first transfer unit 910 of the tray transfer unit 900. The identification information of the tray 101 read from the IC tag 101b by the IC reader 930 is input to the second control unit 500.

[0094] As another embodiment, the dispensing support system 1 may further include a stock shelf capable of accommodating a plurality of the trays 101, and a configuration in which the storage unit 700 can arbitrarily carry the tray 101 into the stock shelf and carry the tray 101 out of the stock shelf is also conceivable. Thereby, a large number of the trays 101 can be temporarily stocked in the stock shelf and automatically discharged as needed.

[0095] Further, it is conceivable that the stock shelf is provided with a keyed door that is opened and closed to take out the tray 101 from a position different from the storage unit 700 side with respect to the individual storage units in which the trays 101 are individually stored.

[0096] [Mixing process] Next, an example of the basic processing procedure of the admixture process executed by controlling the admixture device 300 by the admixture control unit 100 in the admixture support system 1 will be described. In the admixture process, as described below, the second control unit 500 controls the first robot arm 21, the second robot arm 22, etc., to suck the drug from one or more of the drug containers 10 with the syringe 11 based on the preparation data and inject the drug from the syringe 11 into another container such as the infusion bag 12.

[0097] [Admixture process using vial 10B] Here, when the drug contained in the vial 10B is a liquid drug (drug solution), the basic operation of the admixture process when injecting the drug into the infusion bag 12 and mixing it with the infusion will be described.

[0098] When the tray 101 (101B) is supplied to the tray conveyance unit 110, the second control unit 500 reads the identification information of the tray 101 from the IC tag 101b of the tray 101 by the IC reader 101c. Then, when the identification information of the tray 101 matches the identification information pre-associated with the preparation data of the admixture process, the second control unit 500 opens the shutter. After that, the second control unit 500 raises the equipment placement unit 102 of the tray 101 by the tray lifting unit of the tray conveyance unit 110 to expose it to the admixture processing chamber 104.

[0099] Next, the second control unit 500 photographs the equipment placement unit 102 with the tray confirmation camera 41. Then, the second control unit 500 grasps the positions and orientations of equipment such as the vial 10B and the syringe 11 placed on the equipment placement unit 102 by performing image recognition processing based on the photographed image by the tray confirmation camera 41. In particular, each time the second control unit 500 takes out the vial 10B or the syringe 11 from the equipment placement unit 102, the second control unit 500 photographs the equipment placement unit 102 with the tray confirmation camera 41, and grasps the positions and orientations of the latest vial 10B and syringe 11 from the photographed image.

[0100] Subsequently, the second control unit 500 temporarily places the syringe 11 placed on the equipment placement unit 102 exposed in the admixture processing chamber 104 on the placement shelf 33 by the first robot arm 21. Further, the second control unit 500 sets the vial 10B placed on the equipment placement unit 102 on the drug reading unit 34 by the first robot arm 21. Then, the second control unit 500 reads information such as the type of drug contained in the vial 10B by the drug reading unit 34.

[0101] Next, when the second control unit 500 takes out all the equipment on the equipment placement unit 102, the second control unit 500 lowers the equipment placement unit 102 by the tray lifting unit of the tray transport unit 110 and returns it to the tray 101. Note that the second control unit 500 confirms whether all the equipment on the equipment placement unit 102 has been taken out by performing image recognition processing based on the photographed image by the tray confirmation camera 41.

[0102] Thereafter, the second control unit 500 closes the shutter and causes the tray transport unit 110 to transport the tray 101 to the tray transport end portion 110a. Next, the second control unit 500 positions the infusion port of the infusion bag 12 held by the infusion bag holding unit 103 of the tray 101 at the admixture communication port 37 formed in the admixture processing chamber 104 by the bag lifting unit of the tray transport unit 110.

[0103] Then, the second control unit 500 moves the vial 10B set in the chemical reading unit 34 to the placement shelf 33 by the second robot arm 22. On the other hand, in parallel with this movement process, the second control unit 500 sets the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11 placed on the equipment placement unit 102 to the injection needle attachment / detachment device 43 by the first robot arm 21 with the cap still attached.

[0104] Next, the second control unit 500 takes out the syringe 11 from the placement shelf 33 by the first robot arm 21 and sets it to the second robot arm 22. Subsequently, the second control unit 500 moves the syringe 11 to the injection needle attachment / detachment device 43 by the second robot arm 22 and sets the injection needle 11c to the syringe 11. After that, the second control unit 500 moves the syringe 11 to the needle bend detection unit 36 by the second robot arm 22 and detects whether the injection needle 11c is bent. It is also conceivable that the syringe 11 is set on the tray 101 with the injection needle 11c attached to the syringe of the syringe 11. In this case, the step of setting the injection needle 11c to the syringe 11 is omitted.

[0105] Subsequently, the second control unit 500 takes out the vial 10B placed on the placement shelf 33 by the first robot arm 21. Then, the second control unit 500 brings the vial 10B and the syringe 11 closer to each other by the first robot arm 21 and the second robot arm 22, and punctures the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11 into the stopper B21 of the mouth B2 of the vial 10B. After that, the second control unit 500 operates the plunger by the second robot arm 22 to suck the amount of chemical (chemical solution) indicated by the preparation data from the vial 10B. At this time, the postures of the syringe 11 and the vial 10B are such that the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11 is directed vertically downward and the mouth of the vial 10B is directed vertically upward.

[0106] After that, the second control unit 500 controls one or both of the first robot arm 21 and the second robot arm 22 to move the vial 10B after the chemical is aspirated and the syringe 11 in the state where the chemical is aspirated into the imaging range of the syringe confirmation camera 42. Then, the second control unit 500 captures the vial 10B and the syringe 11 at once with the syringe confirmation camera 42, and records the captured image as an inspection image in the data storage unit 504. For example, the syringe confirmation camera 42 captures the predetermined imaging range. On the other hand, it is also conceivable that the second control unit 500 can change the imaging range of the syringe confirmation camera 42 so that the vial 10B and the syringe 11 after being moved by the first robot arm 21 and the second robot arm 22 can be captured at once.

[0107] Then, the second control unit 500 punctures the rubber stopper of the infusion port of the infusion bag 12 conveyed to the tray conveyance end portion 110a with the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11, and injects the chemical in the syringe 11 into the infusion bag 12. Thus, when the chemical is a liquid, in the mixing process, an injection step of extracting the chemical from the vial 10B with the syringe 11 and injecting the chemical from the syringe 11 into the infusion bag 12 is executed.

[0108] On the other hand, the second control unit 500 opens the dust lid 132a, and drops the vial 10B into the dust storage chamber 13a by the first robot arm 21 for disposal. Further, the second control unit 500 moves the syringe 11 to the injection needle attaching / detaching device 43 by the second robot arm 22, attaches the cap to the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11, and then drops the syringe 11 into the dust storage chamber 13a for disposal.

[0109] After that, the second control unit 500 executes a preparation inspection process for inspecting the result of the compounding process after the completion of the compounding process. In the preparation inspection process, the second control unit 500 causes the touch panel monitor 14 to display various captured images taken in the compounding process, for example, and accepts an operation for completing the inspection of the compounding process. As a result, the user can inspect the appropriateness of the compounding process while looking at the touch panel monitor 14. Then, when the second control unit 500 accepts the operation for completing the inspection, it conveys the tray 101 to the tray discharge port 15 to make the tray 101 removable.

[0110] Also, it is conceivable that the drug contained in the vial 10B is a drug such as a powder that needs to be dissolved. The compounding process in this case includes a dissolution step and a stirring step. Regarding the compounding process when the drug contained in the vial 10B is a powder, mainly, the differences from the compounding process when the drug contained in the vial 10B is a liquid drug will be described below.

[0111] The second control unit 500 punctures the rubber stopper of the infusion port of the infusion bag 12 conveyed to the tray conveyance end portion 110a with the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11, and aspirates the amount of infusion indicated by the preparation data from the infusion bag 12. On the other hand, the second control unit 500 takes out the vial 10B placed on the placement shelf 33 by the first robot arm 21.

[0112] Then, the second control unit 500 causes the first robotic arm 21 and the second robotic arm 22 to bring the vial 10B and the syringe 11 closer to each other, respectively, and punctures the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11 into the vial 10B. After that, the second control unit 500 operates the plunger with the second robotic arm 22 to inject the infusion solution in the syringe 11 into the vial 10B. Thus, when the drug is a powder drug, in the admixture process, the dissolution step of extracting the infusion solution from the infusion bag 12 with the syringe 11 and injecting the infusion solution from the syringe 11 into the vial 10B is executed. Thereby, the drug in the vial 10B is dissolved in the infusion solution.

[0113] Next, the second control unit 500 sets the vial 10B into which the infusion solution has been injected on the stirrer 32 with the first robotic arm 21. Thereby, in the stirrer 32, the stirring step of stirring the drug and the infusion solution in the vial 10B is executed. The stirring time in the stirring step is determined in advance, for example, according to the type of the drug. Also, the stirring time may be determined in advance for each combination of the drug and the infusion solution, and may be changed according to the amount of the drug in the vial 10B. When the stirring step by the stirrer 32 is completed, the second control unit 500 takes out the vial 10B from the stirrer 32 with the first robotic arm 21.

[0114] Here, after the completion of the stirring step, the second control unit 500 executes a stirring inspection process for inspecting the stirring result by the stirring step. In the stirring inspection process, the second control unit 500 controls the first robot arm 21 to move the vial 10B to a posture and position where the bottom or side surface of the vial 10B is visible to the user, and waits for a confirmation operation by the user on the touch panel monitor 14 or the like. Further, the second control unit 500 controls the first robot arm 21 in response to a predetermined operation on the touch panel monitor 14, and executes a swinging process for moving the vial 10B to a plurality of states (posture and position) in which the user can view the bottom or side surface of the vial 10B from different angles. Thereby, the user can confirm the solubility of the drug in the vial 10B from different angles.

[0115] After that, when the confirmation operation is performed, the second control unit 500 advances the processing step of the mixing process to the next step. On the other hand, when a predetermined remixing operation is performed, the second control unit 500 does not advance the processing step of the mixing process, but resets the vial 10B to the stirring device 32 again and re-executes the stirring step. Note that, in the stirring inspection process, the second control unit 500 may display a captured image such as the bottom or side surface of the drug container 10 captured after the stirring step on the touch panel monitor 14.

[0116] Then, the second control unit 500 approaches the vial 10B and the syringe 11 by the first robot arm 21 and the second robot arm 22, respectively, and punctures the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11 into the vial 10B. After that, the second control unit 500 operates the plunger by the second robot arm 22 to suck the mixed drug in the vial 10B with the syringe 11.

[0117] Note that even when the drug contained in the vial 10B is a liquid, the stirring step may be executed depending on the type of the drug.

[0118] [Pre-stirring function] Incidentally, the stirring step that may be executed in the dispensing process may require a relatively long time, and the waiting time until the stirring step is completed may hinder the efficiency of the dispensing process. In contrast, the dispensing support system 1 according to the present embodiment has a pre-stirring function that can execute the stirring step in the dispensing process in advance before the start timing of the execution of the dispensing process. Specifically, the dispensing control unit 100 realizes the pre-stirring function by executing a loading preparation process and a dispensing control process described later according to the first dispensing control program or the second dispensing control program using the first control unit 400 or the second control unit 500. Here, the dispensing control unit 100 when executing the loading preparation process and the dispensing control process is an example of a pre-stirring processing unit. Note that the first control unit 400 and the second control unit 500 may effectively set the pre-stirring function when the chemical container 10 is the vial 10B.

[0119] [Loading preparation process] First, an example of the loading preparation process executed by the dispensing control unit 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 13.

[0120] <Step S1> In step S1, the first control unit 400 waits for a loading preparation start operation using the operation unit 405 by the user (S1: No). For example, when the selection operation of the preparation data is executed by the user, the first control unit 400 determines that the loading preparation start operation has been performed. When the loading preparation start operation is performed (S1: Yes), the process proceeds to step S2.

[0121] Incidentally, the first control unit 400 can receive, as the loading preparation start operation, an operation to immediately execute the mixing process based on the preparation data, and can also receive a reservation of a scheduled completion time indicating the completion time or completion time zone of the mixing process for the preparation data. When the completion time zone is reserved, a reservation in units of one hour, such as between time T1 and time T2, is received as the time range within which the mixing process should be completed. For example, the first control unit 400 can set a reservation for the preparation data equal to or less than a preset maximum number of reservations that is the same as the number of the tray storage units 811. Note that the processing of this reservation may be executed not only at the start of the loading preparation process but also at the end of the loading preparation process.

[0122] When the scheduled completion time is set, the first control unit 400 automatically estimates the required time for the mixing process based on the preparation data, and sets the timing of the start of execution of the mixing process as the time obtained by subtracting the required time from the scheduled completion time. For example, the required time is calculated based on the required time table information stored in the data storage unit 404. In the required time table, the required time for each step of the mixing process and the like are preset for each content of the mixing process as information for calculating the required time according to the content of the mixing process.

[0123] Further, the first control unit 400 may be able to accept a reservation of a scheduled start time indicating, for the preparation data, not only the scheduled completion time but also the start time or the completion time zone of the admixture process. When the start time zone is reserved, a reservation in units of one hour, such as between time T1 and time T2, is accepted as the time range when the admixture process should be started. For example, when the scheduled start time is set for the preparation data, the first control unit 400 sets the scheduled start time as the execution start timing of the admixture process. Further, as the time range from the start to the completion of the admixture process, it is also conceivable that a reservation of the execution time zone is accepted in units of one hour, such as between time T1 and time T2. When the execution time zone is set for the preparation data, the first control unit 400 sets the execution start timing of the admixture process so that the admixture process is completed within the execution time zone. Note that the first control unit 400 may be able to reserve only the admixture process for one piece of the preparation data. Further, the reservation target is not limited to the scheduled completion time, the scheduled start time, or the execution time zone of the admixture process, and the scheduled completion time, the scheduled start time, or the execution time zone of the injection step of injecting the chemical solution collected from the chemical container 10 into the infusion bag 12 in the admixture process may be reservable.

[0124] <Step S2> In step S2, the first control unit 400 executes a process of associating the selected preparation data with the identification information of the tray 101. Specifically, the first control unit 400 reads the identification information of the tray 101 from the IC tag 101b of the tray 101 placed on the work table 202 using the IC reader 207 provided on the work table 202. Then, the first control unit 400 stores the identification information read from the IC tag 101b in the data storage unit 404 as the identification information of the tray 101 corresponding to the selected preparation data. For example, the correspondence between the preparation data and the identification information of the tray 101 is managed by table information. In addition, the first control unit 400 also transmits information indicating the correspondence between the preparation data and the identification information of the tray 101 to the second control unit 500 and stores it in the data storage unit 504. Thereby, the first control unit 400 and the second control unit 500 can recognize the correspondence between the preparation data and the identification information of the tray 101 based on the correspondence.

[0125] <Step S3> Thereafter, in steps S3 to S8, the first control unit 400 executes a process for assisting the work of setting the medicine containers 10, the syringes 11, the infusion bags 12, etc., required for the mixing and dispensing process based on the preparation data, on the tray 101. Specifically, first, in step S3, the first control unit 400 causes the display 203 to display a message, an image, etc., for instructing the reading of identification information such as a GS1 data bar attached to the infusion bag 12, together with information including the type of the infusion bag 12 included in the preparation data. Then, when the identification information of the infusion bag 12 is read by the barcode reader 204 and the collation result with the preparation data matches, the process proceeds to step S4. Note that when the collation result between the identification information of the infusion bag 12 and the preparation data does not match, the first control unit 400 displays an error message, for example.

[0126] <Step S4> In step S4, the first control unit 400 causes the display 203 to display a message, an image, etc. for guiding the placement of the infusion bag 12 in the tray 101. As a result, the user can easily place the infusion bag 12 at a predetermined position within the tray 101.

[0127] <Step S5> In step S5, the first control unit 400 causes the display 203 to display a message, an image, etc. for instructing the reading of identification information such as a GS1 data bar attached to the drug container 10, together with information including the type of the drug container 10 included in the preparation data. Then, when the identification information of the drug container 10 is read by the barcode reader 204 and the collation result with the preparation data matches, the process proceeds to step S6. Note that when the collation result between the identification information of the drug container 10 and the preparation data does not match, for example, an error message is displayed.

[0128] <Step S6> In step S6, the first control unit 400 causes the display 203 to display a message, an image, etc. for guiding the placement of the drug container 10 in the tray 101. As a result, the user can easily place the drug container 10 at a predetermined position within the tray 101. When a plurality of the drug containers 10 are required, steps S5 to S6 are repeatedly executed.

[0129] <Step S7> In step S7, the first control unit 400 causes the display 203 to display a message, an image, etc. for guiding the placement of the syringe 11 in the tray 101. As a result, the user can easily place the syringe 11 at a predetermined position within the tray 101. When a plurality of the syringes 11 are required, step S7 is repeatedly executed.

[0130] <Step S8> When all the guidance for all the equipment necessary for the compound injection process based on the preparation data is completed, in the subsequent Step S8, the first control unit 400 displays that the loading preparation for the preparation data is completed and also displays an operation key or the like for receiving a confirmation operation to that effect.

[0131] <Step S9> In Step S9, the first control unit 400 determines whether or not the confirmation operation has been performed. If the confirmation operation has been performed (S9: Yes), the process is shifted to Step S10, and if not (S9: No), the process waits at Step S9 until the confirmation operation is performed.

[0132] <Step S10> In Step S10, the first control unit 400 opens the shutter 712 of the storage unit 700. Specifically, the first control unit 400 transmits an instruction to open the shutter 712 to the second control unit 500. Thereby, the second control unit 500 controls the storage unit 700 to open the shutter 712.

[0133] Note that before opening the shutter 712, the second control unit 500 controls the position of the moving housing 810 so that the unused tray storage unit 811 is disposed at the first movement position. For example, it is conceivable that the second control unit 500 controls the storage unit 700 so that the unused tray storage unit 811 is disposed at the first movement position while the storage unit 700 is on standby (non-operating). Further, after receiving the opening instruction in step S10, the second control unit 500 may move the moving housing 810 to dispose the unused tray storage unit 811 at the first movement position. Note that when there are a plurality of unused tray storage units 811, the second control unit 500 may select the tray storage unit 811 that requires the least movement amount of the moving housing 810 for movement to the first movement position among the plurality of tray storage units 811 and move it to the first movement position.

[0134] For example, the data storage unit 504 stores accommodation table information indicating whether each of the tray storage units 811 is in use. In the accommodation table information, identification information of the tray 101 stored in each of the tray storage units 811 is stored in association with each of the tray storage units 811, and the tray 101 for which the corresponding identification information of the tray 101 is not stored is unused. Then, the second control unit 500 updates the accommodation table information when loading the tray 101 into the tray storage unit 811 and when discharging the tray 101 from the tray storage unit 811.

[0135] <Step S11> Then, in step S11, when the tray 101 is received in the tray storage unit 811 of the storage unit 700, the second control unit 500 executes a process of associating the identification information of the tray 101 with the tray storage unit 811. Specifically, the second control unit 500 updates the storage table information stored in the data storage unit 504 based on the correspondence relationship between the identification information of the tray 101 and the tray storage unit 811. Thereby, the second control unit 500 can recognize the tray storage unit 811 as the storage destination of each of the trays 101 based on the storage table information. Note that whether the tray 101 is received in the tray storage unit 811 is detected by an optical sensor (not shown) provided in the tray storage unit 811 or the like.

[0136] <Step S12> Next, in step S12, the second control unit 500 controls the storage unit 700 to execute a confirmation operation of confirming the correspondence relationship between the tray 101 received in the tray storage unit 811 and the preparation data. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the wrong tray 101 from being received in the tray storage unit 811.

[0137] Specifically, the second control unit 500 moves the moving housing 810 downward so that the tray housing portion 811 determined to accommodate the tray 101 in step S11 is disposed at the second movement position. Thereafter, the second control unit 500 discharges the tray 101 accommodated in the tray housing portion 811 to the first transport unit 910 of the tray transport unit 900, and reads the identification information of the tray 101 from the tag 101b of the tray 101 by the IC reader 930 provided in the first transport unit 910. Then, the second control unit 500 collates the identification information of the tray 101 read by the IC reader 930 with the identification information of the tray 101 corresponding to the preparation data received from the first control unit 400. Here, if the collation result is a match, the second control unit 500 returns the tray 101 to the tray housing portion 811, ends the series of the loading preparation processes, and returns the process to step S1. On the other hand, if the collation result does not match, the second control unit 500 notifies an error to the display 203 or the like via the first control unit 400 and discharges the tray 101 toward the tray discharge port 206. Thereby, the user can take out the tray 101 from the tray discharge port 206.

[0138] [Mixing control process] Subsequently, with reference to FIG. 14, an example of the mixing control process will be described.

[0139] <Step S21> In step S21, the second control unit 500 determines whether the execution start timing of the mixing process has arrived. Specifically, the second control unit 500 determines that the execution start timing of the mixing process has arrived when receiving an execution start request from the first control unit 400. When it is determined that the execution start timing has arrived (S21: Yes), the process proceeds to step S211, and if the execution start timing has not arrived (S21: No), the process proceeds to step S22.

[0140] For example, when the user performs a selection operation of the preparation data and an immediate start operation of the mixing process based on the preparation data using the operation unit 405, the first control unit 400 transmits a request to start the execution of the mixing process for the preparation data to the second control unit 500. Further, when the execution start timing of the mixing process based on the preparation data is reserved, the first control unit 400 transmits a request to start the execution of the mixing process for the preparation data to the second control unit 500 when the execution start timing arrives.

[0141] Note that the execution start request includes, for example, the execution procedure of the mixing process based on the preparation data. It is also conceivable that the execution procedure of the mixing process based on the preparation data is transmitted from the first control unit 400 to the second control unit 500 in advance and stored in the data storage unit 504, and the execution start request includes the identification information of the preparation data.

[0142] <Step S22> In step S22, the second control unit 500 determines whether there is preparation data that is a target of pre-stirring processing for executing the stirring process in advance in the preparation data reserved by the first control unit 400. Specifically, in the chemical master, a pre-stirring target flag indicating whether it is a target of the pre-stirring processing is stored in association with each chemical. Then, when the chemical set as the target of the pre-stirring processing by the pre-stirring target flag is included in the preparation data, the second control unit 500 determines that the preparation data is a target of the pre-stirring processing. Further, the second control unit 500 may determine whether it is a target of the pre-stirring processing according to the combination of the chemical in the chemical container 10 stirred in the stirring process and the infusion solution in the infusion bag 12. Note that when a user operation for selecting any of the preparation data as a target of the pre-stirring processing has been performed in advance, the second control unit 500 may also determine that the selected preparation data is a target of the pre-stirring processing. When it is determined that there is a target of the pre-stirring processing (S22: Yes), the process proceeds to step S23, and when it is determined that there is no target of the pre-stirring processing (S22: No), the process returns to step S21.

[0143] <Step S23> In step S23, the second control unit 500 determines whether the pre-stirring process can be executed. For example, the second control unit 500 may determine whether the mixing process is being executed, and it may be considered that the pre-stirring process can be executed when the mixing process is not being executed. Further, the second control unit 500 may also consider that the pre-stirring process can be executed in a specific time period such as a preset night or late night. Note that the determination index for whether the pre-stirring process can be executed is not limited to what is described here. When it is determined that the pre-stirring process can be executed (S23: Yes), the process proceeds to step S24, and when it is determined that the pre-stirring process cannot be executed (S23: No), the process returns to step S21. Note that when a user operation for selecting the preparation data and starting the pre-stirring process is performed by the second control unit 500, the pre-stirring process for the preparation data may be executed.

[0144] Also, in step S23, it is also conceivable that the second control unit 500 determines to execute the pre-stirring process on the condition that the required time of the stirring process associated with the drug in the drug container 10 in the drug master is equal to or longer than a predetermined lower limit required time. That is, when the required time of the stirring process is less than the lower limit required time, it is excluded from the target of the pre-stirring process. As a result, the pre-stirring process is executed only when the stirring process requires a long time, and it is suppressed that the pre-stirring process is executed unnecessarily. Note that the second control unit 500 can arbitrarily set the lower limit required time according to a user operation. On the other hand, it is also conceivable that the second control unit 500 determines to execute the pre-stirring process on the condition that the required time of the stirring process associated with the drug in the drug container 10 in the drug master is less than a predetermined upper limit required time. That is, when the required time of the stirring process is equal to or longer than the upper limit required time, it is conceivable that it is excluded from the target of the pre-stirring process. In this case, the pre-stirring process is executed only when the stirring process does not require a long time, and it is suppressed that the mixing process based on the other preparation data is delayed due to the pre-stirring process. Note that the second control unit 500 can arbitrarily set the upper limit required time according to a user operation.

[0145] <Step S24> In step S24, the second control unit 500 controls the mixing device 300 and the storage unit 700 to execute the pre-stirring process. When a plurality of pieces of the preparation data to be the target of the pre-stirring process are reserved, in steps S21 to S24, the preparation data to be the processing target is sequentially selected and the pre-stirring process is executed.

[0146] Note that the order of the preparation data selected as the object of the pre-stirring process is not limited to the order based on time elements such as the scheduled completion time or the execution start timing preset corresponding to the preparation data. For example, it is also conceivable as other embodiments that the preparation data is selected in the order of reception from the upper system 600, or that the preparation data is randomly selected. Further, it is conceivable that the preparation data including the drug with a long required time for the preset stirring process is preferentially selected, or that the order of the preparation data is determined so that the preparation data using the same drug or infusion is continuous. Furthermore, an index value indicating the ease of coagulation after the execution of the stirring process is stored in the drug master, and it is also conceivable that the preparation data is selected in order from the drug that is difficult to coagulate based on the index value.

[0147] Here, a specific example of the pre-stirring process will be described.

[0148] First, the second control unit 500 controls the storage unit 700 to automatically transfer the tray 101 associated with the preparation data selected as the object of processing from the tray storage unit 811 of the storage unit 700 to the tray transfer unit 110 of the dispensing device 300. Note that the second control unit 500 identifies the tray storage unit 811 in which the tray 101 corresponding to the preparation data is stored based on the storage table information.

[0149] Thereafter, the second control unit 500 controls the first robot arm 21 to set the medicine container 10 placed on the tray 101 in the stirring device 32 and execute the stirring process of stirring the medicine in the medicine container 10 by the stirring device 32.

[0150] Specifically, when the tray 101 is supplied to the tray conveyance unit 110, the second control unit 500 reads the identification information of the tray 101 from the IC tag 101b of the tray 101 by the IC reader 101c. Then, when the identification information of the tray 101 matches the identification information pre-associated with the preparation data of the admixture process, the second control unit 500 opens the shutter. Thereafter, the second control unit 500 raises the equipment placement portion 102 of the tray 101 by the tray lifting portion of the tray conveyance unit 110 to expose it to the admixture processing chamber 104.

[0151] Next, the second control unit 500 photographs the equipment placement portion 102 with the tray confirmation camera 41. Then, the second control unit 500 grasps the positions and orientations of equipment such as the medicine container 10 and the syringe 11 placed on the equipment placement portion 102 by image recognition processing based on the photographed image by the tray confirmation camera 41. In particular, each time the second control unit 500 takes out the medicine container 10 or the syringe 11 from the equipment placement portion 102, the second control unit 500 photographs the equipment placement portion 102 with the tray confirmation camera 41 and grasps the positions and orientations of the latest medicine container 10 and syringe 11 from the photographed image.

[0152] Subsequently, the second control unit 500 temporarily places the syringe 11 placed on the equipment placement portion 102 exposed in the admixture processing chamber 104 on the placement shelf 33 by the first robot arm 21. Also, the second control unit 500 sets the medicine container 10 placed on the equipment placement portion 102 on the medicine reading unit 34 by the first robot arm 21. Then, the second control unit 500 reads information such as the type of medicine contained in the medicine container 10 by the medicine reading unit 34.

[0153] Next, when the second control unit 500 takes out all the equipment on the equipment placement unit 102, the equipment placement unit 102 is lowered by the tray lifting unit of the tray conveyance unit 110 and returned to the tray 101. Note that the second control unit 500 confirms whether all the equipment on the equipment placement unit 102 has been taken out by image recognition processing based on a captured image by the tray confirmation camera 41.

[0154] After that, the second control unit 500 closes the shutter and conveys the tray 101 to the tray conveyance end portion 110a by the tray conveyance unit 110. Next, the second control unit 500 positions the infusion port of the infusion bag 12 held by the infusion bag holding unit 103 of the tray 101 at the infusion communication port 37 formed in the infusion processing chamber 104 by the bag lifting unit 113 of the tray conveyance unit 110.

[0155] Then, the second control unit 500 moves the medicine container 10 set in the medicine reading unit 34 to the placement shelf 33 by the second robot arm 22. On the other hand, in parallel with this movement process, the second control unit 500 sets the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11 placed on the equipment placement unit 102 in the injection needle attaching / detaching device 43 by the first robot arm 21.

[0156] Next, the second control unit 500 takes out the syringe 11 from the placement shelf 33 by the first robot arm 21 and sets it in the second robot arm 22. Subsequently, the second control unit 500 moves the syringe 11 to the injection needle attaching / detaching device 43 by the second robot arm 22 and sets the injection needle 11c in the syringe 11. After that, the second control unit 500 moves the syringe 11 to the needle bending detection unit 36 by the second robot arm 22 and detects whether the injection needle 11c is bent.

[0157] Subsequently, the second control unit 500 uses the second robotic arm 22 to puncture the rubber stopper at the infusion port of the infusion bag 12 transported to the tray transport end portion 110a with the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11, and aspirates the amount of infusion indicated by the preparation data from the infusion bag 12. On the other hand, the second control unit 500 uses the first robotic arm 21 to take out the medicine container 10 placed on the placement shelf 33.

[0158] Then, the second control unit 500 uses the first robotic arm 21 and the second robotic arm 22 to bring the medicine container 10 and the syringe 11 closer to each other, and punctures the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11 into the medicine container 10. After that, the second control unit 500 operates the plunger with the second robotic arm 22 to inject the infusion in the syringe 11 into the medicine container 10.

[0159] Note that a dedicated container containing the infusion used in the pre-stirring process is housed in the admixture processing chamber 104, and in the pre-stirring process, the infusion in the dedicated container may be injected into the medicine container 10. Also, a plastic ampoule containing the infusion used in the pre-stirring process and the like may be set in advance on the tray 101, and it is also conceivable that the infusion in the plastic ampoule is used in the pre-stirring process.

[0160] Next, the second control unit 500 uses the first robotic arm 21 to set the medicine container 10 into which the infusion has been injected on the stirring device 32. As a result, in the stirring device 32, a stirring process is executed in which the medicine and the infusion in the medicine container 10 are stirred. When the stirring process by the stirring device 32 is completed, the second control unit 500 uses the first robotic arm 21 to take out the medicine container 10 from the stirring device 32.

[0161] Then, the second control unit 500 controls the first robot arm 21 to move the chemical container 10 to the placement shelf 33 in the admixture device 300 and place it thereon, and associates the position of the chemical container 10 on the placement shelf 33 with the identification information of the preparation data and stores the same in the data storage unit 504. Note that the placement shelf 33 is an example of a first placement unit on which a plurality of the chemical containers 10 can be placed, and the second control unit 500 when executing a process for placing the chemical container 10 after the execution of the stirring process on the placement shelf 33 is an example of a first placement processing unit. Further, the second control unit 500 controls the first robot arm 21 and the second robot arm 22 to move the syringe 11 to the placement shelf 33 in the admixture device 300 and place it thereon, and associates the position of the syringe 11 on the placement shelf 33 with the identification information of the preparation data and stores the same in the data storage unit 504. Thereby, the second control unit 500 can specify the positions of the chemical container 10 and the syringe 11 used in the admixture process based on the preparation data. Note that the syringe 11 used in the pre-stirring process may be provided in advance on the placement shelf 33 for each type of infusion as a dedicated syringe used in the pre-stirring process.

[0162] On the other hand, the second control unit 500 controls the tray conveyance unit 110 to return the infusion bag 12 to the tray 101 and move the tray 101 from the tray conveyance end portion 110a to the tray conveyance start portion 110b. Thereafter, the second control unit 500 controls the belt conveyor (not shown) provided at the tray conveyance start portion 110b of the tray conveyance unit 110 and supplies the tray 101 to the housing unit 700 side through the tray loading port 114. Then, the second control unit 500 controls the housing unit 700 to house the tray 101 in the tray housing portion 811. The tray housing portion 811 used at this time is associated with the identification information of the tray 101 in the housing table information. Also in this case, the second control unit 500 collates the correspondence relationship between the identification information of the tray 101 and the preparation data using the IC reader 101c and the IC reader 930. Thus, in the pre-stirring process, the tray 101 moves from the housing unit 700 to the side of the compounding device 300, but the tray 101 is returned to the housing unit 700 without being carried into the compounding processing chamber 104. Therefore, contamination of the tray 101 in the pre-stirring process is prevented, and contamination of the tray housing portion 811 on which the tray 101 returned from the compounding device 300 is placed is prevented.

[0163] In the mixing injection support system 1, the dedicated syringe 11, the plastic ampule, etc. used in the pre-stirring process can be placed on the placement shelf 33, and the pre-stirring process may be executed using the dedicated syringe 11, the plastic ampule, etc. For example, in the mixing injection support system 1, when a replenishment request operation for the dedicated syringe 11 or the plastic ampule, etc. used in the pre-stirring process is performed, and a tray loaded with the dedicated syringe 11 or the plastic ampule, etc. used in the pre-stirring process is placed on the mixing injection device 300, the second robot arm 22 is controlled to set the syringe 11 or the plastic ampule on the placement shelf 33. Further, the dedicated syringe 11 or the plastic ampule used in the pre-stirring process may be placed by the user at a predetermined position on the placement shelf 33.

[0164] Incidentally, when there are a plurality of pieces of the preparation data currently under reservation and having common combinations and concentrations of the chemicals and the dissolution liquid to be stirred in the pre-stirring process, it is conceivable that the pre-stirring process is executed only for a number of the preparation data that is less than the total number of the preparation data. As a result, for the admixture process corresponding to any of the plurality of pieces of the preparation data, it becomes possible to use the chemical container 10 after the pre-stirring process. Specifically, it is conceivable that the second control unit 500 executes re-assignment of the chemical container 10 corresponding to one piece of the preparation data as the chemical container 10 to be used in other preparation data. Thereby, waste of the chemical container 10 when the admixture process based on any of the preparation data is canceled is suppressed as compared with the case where the pre-stirring process is executed for all the preparation data. Note that it is conceivable that the second control unit 500 requires a confirmation operation by a preset user when re-assigning the chemical container 10 and the preparation data. For example, when the chemical container 10 having common combinations and concentrations of the chemicals and the infusion solution included in the preparation data is already placed on the placement shelf 33 at the start of the admixture process based on the preparation data, the second control unit 500 displays an operation screen for allowing selection of whether to use the chemical container 10 in the admixture process based on the preparation data. Then, when an operation indicating that the chemical container 10 is to be used is performed on the operation screen, the second control unit 500 uses the chemical container 10 in the admixture process.

[0165] <Step S211> On the other hand, when the execution start timing of the mixed injection process arrives (S21: Yes), the second control unit 500 executes the mixed injection process in the subsequent steps S211 to S212. As described above, the second control unit 500 executes the mixed injection process, for example, when the immediate start operation by the user is performed, or when the reserved execution start timing arrives. That is, the execution start timing of the mixed injection process includes when the reserved execution start timing arrives or when the immediate start operation by the user is performed. Specifically, in step S211, the second control unit 500 controls the storage unit 700 to automatically supply the tray 101 associated with the preparation data for which the execution start timing has arrived from the tray storage unit 811 of the storage unit 700 to the mixed injection device 300.

[0166] At this time, it is conceivable that the second control unit 500 collates the identification information of the tray 101 read from the IC tag 101b of the tray 101 that has been carried out from the tray storage unit 811 and placed on the first transport unit 910 with the identification information of the tray 101 associated with the preparation data. Then, when the collation result matches, the second control unit 500 supplies the tray 101 to the mixed injection device 300, and when the collation result does not match, an error is notified and the tray 101 is discharged toward the tray discharge port 206. Thereby, the accuracy of the correspondence relationship between the tray 101 and the preparation data is ensured.

[0167] <Step S212> In step S212, the second control unit 500 executes the mixed injection process based on the preparation data. However, when the preparation data is the preparation data for which the stirring process has already been executed by the pre-stirring process, the mixed injection process is executed using the chemical container 10 after being stirred by the pre-stirring process, and the stirring process is omitted.

[0168] Specifically, in the compounding process, for the chemical container 10 that was the target of the pre-stirring process, the process of taking it out from the tray 101 is not executed, and the chemical container 10 after the stirring process placed on the placement shelf 33 during the pre-stirring process is used. Similarly, in the compounding process, for the syringe 11 used in the pre-stirring process, the process of taking it out from the tray 101 is not executed, and the syringe 11 placed on the placement shelf 33 during the pre-stirring process is used.

[0169] And, in the compounding process using the chemical container 10 that has already been stirred in the pre-stirring process where the stirring process is executed by the second control unit 500, the stirring process for the chemical container 10 is omitted. Thereby, the time required after the arrival of the execution start timing of the compounding process is shortened. Note that the second control unit 500 may also execute the stirring process in the compounding process for the chemical container 10 stirred in the pre-stirring process with a shorter execution time compared to the case where the pre-stirring process is not executed.

[0170] As described above, in the compounding support system 1, for the compounding process based on the preparation data, the pre-stirring process can be executed using the time such as when the compounding support system 1 is not in use. Therefore, the time required for the compounding process when the compounding process based on the preparation data for which the pre-stirring process has been executed is subsequently executed is shortened, and the compounding process can be executed efficiently.

[0171] Incidentally, in the admixture support system 1, after the pre-stirring process is executed for certain preparation data, if the admixture process for that preparation data is not continuously executed, the admixture process or the pre-stirring process based on other preparation data may be executed before the arrival of the execution start timing of the admixture process for that preparation data. That is, in the admixture support system 1, between the stirring step executed by the pre-stirring processing unit for one piece of the preparation data and the injection step executed by the admixture processing unit for that preparation data, at least one of the stirring step and the injection step for other preparation data may be executed. Therefore, as another embodiment, the execution start timing may be the timing after at least one of the stirring step and the injection step for other preparation data is executed after the execution of the stirring step corresponding to one piece of the preparation data. For example, it is conceivable that after the pre-stirring process is sequentially executed for a plurality of pieces of the preparation data at night or the like, the admixture process for the plurality of pieces of the preparation data is executed the next morning or the like.

[0172] [Loading state determination function] Incidentally, in the admixture support system 1, the user loads the chemical container 10 such as the vial 10B into the mixer 300 with the chemical container 10 set on the tray 101 (101B). Here, in the chemical container 10 that can attach the lid B23 to the mouth B2 like the vial 10B described above, when the user loads the chemical container 10, it is necessary to remove the lid B23 and then load the chemical container 10. However, since the user manually removes the lid B23 or the like, mistakes such as loading the chemical container 10 with the lid B23 forgotten may occur.

[0173] In this case, when the admixture device 300 punctures the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11 into the stopper B21 at the mouth B2 of the vial 10B, for example, problems such as the injection needle 11c coming into contact with the lid B23 may occur. Therefore, the admixture support system 1 has a loading state determination function for determining the suitability of the loading state of the drug container 10 (the vial 10B), such as whether the lid B23 of the vial 10B has been forgotten to be removed, so as to realize the admixture support system 1 that can efficiently execute the admixture process.

[0174] Specifically, in the admixture support system 1, the admixture control unit 100 determines the suitability of the loading state of the drug container 10 based on a photographed image of the drug container 10 loaded into the admixture device 300. In this embodiment, the admixture control unit 100 realizes the loading state determination function by using the first control unit 400 to execute a loading state determination process described later according to the admixture support program. Note that the first control unit 400 can switch between enabling and disabling the loading state determination function according to a user operation, and the same applies to other functions provided in the admixture support system 1.

[0175] [Loading State Determination Process] Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 15 to 17, an example of the loading state determination process executed by the admixture support system 1 when the loading state determination function is enabled will be described.

[0176] In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, an image of the tray 101 captured by the loading confirmation camera 209 at the timing when the tray 101B with the vial 10B as the chemical container 10 is moved from the work table 202 to the tray storage unit 811 is used as the "captured image" in the loading state determination process. Specifically, the user sets the vial 10B on the work table 202 on the tray 101B, and with the shutter 712 open, slides the tray 101B rearward from the work table 202 and accommodates it in the tray storage unit 811 of the lifting unit 800 through the tray loading port 711. At this time, the acquisition processing unit 4011 acquires, as the captured image, an image of the tray 101B passing through the tray loading port 711 from the loading confirmation camera 209 installed on the back side of the display 203.

[0177] As shown in FIG. 16, the loading confirmation camera 209 captures the tray 101B from obliquely above and forward so as to capture the mouth B2 of the vial 10B facing obliquely upward and rearward from substantially the front. Here, the timing of acquiring the captured image by the acquisition processing unit 4011 from the loading confirmation camera 209, as well as the position and orientation of the loading confirmation camera 209, etc., are set so that at least all of the plurality of vials 10B placed on the container support portion 102B are captured in the captured image. The timing at which the acquisition processing unit 4011 acquires the captured image is determined based on, for example, the timing when a sensor or the like installed near the tray loading port 711 detects that the tray 101B has passed through the tray loading port 711.

[0178] The acquisition processing unit 4011 may acquire the photographed image of the chemical container 10 loaded into the admixture device 300. The chemical container 10 loaded into the admixture device 300 here includes both the chemical container 10 before being loaded into the admixture device 300 and the chemical container 10 after being loaded into the admixture device 300. In the present embodiment, as described above, the image of the chemical container 10 when moving the tray 101B as a whole from the chemical loading unit 200 (the work table 202 thereof) to the storage unit 700 (the lifting unit 800 thereof) is acquired as the photographed image. That is, the acquisition processing unit 4011 acquires the photographed image of the chemical container 10 before being loaded into the admixture device 300.

[0179] In particular, the tray conveyance unit 900 of the storage unit 700 conveys the tray 101B to the admixture device 300 through the tray discharge port 701 and the tray loading port 114. That is, the tray conveyance unit 900 is responsible for a part of the conveyance process of conveying the chemical container 10 to the admixture processing chamber 104 where the admixture process is performed. In short, in the present embodiment, the photographed image is taken before the conveyance process of conveying the chemical container 10 to the admixture processing chamber 104 where the admixture process is performed. Thereby, it becomes possible to determine the appropriateness of the loading state of the chemical container 10 before the chemical container 10 is conveyed to the admixture processing chamber 104. If the loading state of the chemical container 10 is inappropriate, the user can notice this at an early stage.

[0180] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 17, the overall flow of the loading state determination process will be described.

[0181] <Step S31> First, in step S31, the first control unit 400 determines whether it is the timing to acquire the photographed image. If the first control unit 400 determines that it is the timing to acquire the photographed image (S31: Yes), the process proceeds to step S32. If the first control unit 400 determines that it is not the timing to acquire the photographed image (S31: No), the process returns to step S31.

[0182] <Step S32> In step S32, the acquisition processing unit 4011 of the first control unit 400 acquires a photographed image of the vial 10B stored in the tray 101B from the loading confirmation camera 209. The photographed image acquired by the acquisition processing unit 4011 includes all of the plurality of vials 10B placed on at least the container support portion 102B.

[0183] <Step S33> In step S33, the determination processing unit 4012 of the first control unit 400 counts the number M (M is an integer of 0 or more) of the vials 10B in the state where the lid B23 is removed, that is, the "vial without lid". Specifically, the determination processing unit 4012 performs image processing described later on the photographed image, and calculates the number M of the vials 10B in the state where the lid B23 is removed that are captured in the photographed image from the result of the image processing.

[0184] <Step S34> In step S34, the determination processing unit 4012 of the first control unit 400 reads out the number N (N is an integer of 0 or more) of the vials 10B set in the tray 101B. For example, the determination processing unit 4012 calculates the number N of the vials 10B set in the tray 101B from the preparation data corresponding to the identification information of the tray 101B captured in the photographed image.

[0185] <Steps S35, S36, S37> In step S35, the determination processing unit 4012 of the first control unit 400 compares the number N of the vials 10B set in the tray 101B with the number M of the vials 10B in the state where the lid B23 is removed. Thereby, the determination processing unit 4012 determines the presence or absence of omission of removing the lid B23 of the vial 10B as the appropriateness of the loading state.

[0186] When the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the number N and the number M match (S35: Yes), it transfers the process to step S36 and determines that the loading state of the vial 10B is correct (OK). That is, for all of the vials 10B set on the tray 101B, when the lid B23 is removed, the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the loading state of the vial 10B is correct (S36).

[0187] On the other hand, when the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the number N is greater than the number M and the number N and the number M do not match (S35: No), it transfers the process to step S37 and determines that the loading state of the vial 10B is incorrect (NG). That is, for at least a part of the vials 10B set on the tray 101B, when there is an oversight in removing the lid B23, the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the loading state of the vial 10B is incorrect (S37).

[0188] <Step S38> In step S38, the output processing unit 4013 of the first control unit 400 outputs the determination result of the determination processing unit 4012. That is, the output processing unit 4013 outputs the result of the series of determination processes performed by the determination processing unit 4012 from steps S33 to S37 to the display 203, thereby causing the display 203 to display the determination result. When it is determined as "loading state OK" in step S36, in step S38, the determination result that the loading state of the vial 10B is correct (appropriate) is output.

[0189] On the one hand, when it is determined in step S37 that "loading state is NG", in step S38, the output processing unit 4013 outputs a determination result that the loading state of the vial 10B is incorrect (inappropriate). Specifically, for example, the output processing unit 4013 displays a predetermined error message or the like on the display 203 to notify the user that the loading state of the vial 10B is incorrect. As a specific example of the information to be displayed, it may be content that alerts the user to the suspicion of forgetting to remove the lid B23, or it may be content that simply prompts for confirmation. At this time, it is preferable that the output processing unit 4013 also displays, for example, on the display 203 and notifies the user of the difference between the number N and the number M, that is, the number of vials 10B determined to have an incorrect loading state among the vials 10B set in the tray 101B. Further, when the vial 10B suspected of forgetting to remove the lid B23 is identified by the determination processing unit 4012, information for identifying the vial 10B may be further notified.

[0190] Furthermore, when it is determined in step S37 that "loading state is NG", in step S38, it is preferable that the output processing unit 4013 controls the storage unit 700 to insert the tray 101B determined to have an incorrect loading state of the vial 10B back onto the work table 202 from the tray loading port 711. Thereby, in the case where there is a forgetting to remove the lid B23 for at least a part of the vials 10B set in the tray 101B, the user can immediately remove the lid B23 and respond to the error.

[0191] Also, in step S38, the output processing unit 4013 may output the determination result of the determination processing unit 4012 only in either the case where it is determined that the loading state of the vial 10B is incorrect or the case where it is determined that the loading state of the vial 10B is correct. For example, the output processing unit 4013 may output the determination result of the determination processing unit 4012 only when it is determined that the loading state of the vial 10B is incorrect.

[0192] As described above, as the propriety of the loading state, the determination processing unit 4012 determines the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid B23 of the chemical container 10 (the vial 10B) (which can attach the lid B23 to the mouth B2). Therefore, it is possible for the determination processing unit 4012 to find that the user has loaded the vial 10B with the lid B23 forgotten to be removed therefrom. Here, even when the determination processing unit 4012 determines the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid B23 as the propriety of the loading state, various modes can be adopted as the mode of outputting the determination result in the output processing unit 4013. For example, the output processing unit 4013 may directly output the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid B23, or may simply output that there is forgetting to remove the lid B23 as "loading state NG". As an example of the mode of directly outputting the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid B23, when there is forgetting to remove the lid B23, the output processing unit 4013 notifies the user that there is forgetting to remove the lid B23. As an example of the mode of simply outputting that there is forgetting to remove the lid B23 as "loading state NG", when there is forgetting to remove the lid B23, the output processing unit 4013 notifies the user that the loading state of the vial 10B is incorrect without touching on the fact that there is forgetting to remove the lid B23.

[0193] Moreover, in order to find the vial 10B with the lid B23 forgotten to be removed (that is, the lid B23 is attached), the determination processing unit 4012 extracts the vial 10B with the lid B23 removed from the captured image (S33). In short, the determination processing unit 4012 determines the suitability of the loading state based on the image of the vial 10B with the lid B23 removed. Thereby, even if the color, material, size, and shape of the lid B23 are various, it is possible to determine the suitability of the loading state such as whether the lid B23 is forgotten to be removed corresponding to various lids B23. In short, since the size and shape of the mouth B2 are not as diverse as the lid B23, the image of the vial 10B with the lid B23 removed and the mouth B2 exposed is easy to identify. Therefore, compared with the case of determining the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid B23 based on the image of the vial 10B with the lid B23 attached, the determination accuracy is improved, and the number of pattern images described later can also be kept small.

[0194] Furthermore, based on the feature amount of the image of the vial 10B with the lid B23 removed, the determination processing unit 4012 can also find the vial 10B set in the wrong posture with respect to the tray 101B as the drug container 10 with the incorrect loading state. For example, for the vial 10B set in the wrong posture with the top and bottom reversed with respect to the tray 101B, that is, the mouth B2 facing downward, in the captured image, since it is not extracted with the lid B23 removed, it is determined that the loading state of the vial 10B is incorrect.

[0195] Such a mixed-infusion support system 1 is not limited to being used in the mixed-infusion process, and can be widely used as a determination system for determining the suitability of the loading state of the drug container 10 to which the lid B23 can be attached to the mouth B2. That is, the determination system includes the acquisition processing unit 4011, the determination processing unit 4012, and the output processing unit 4013. The acquisition processing unit 4011 acquires a photographed image of the drug container 10 (the vial 10B) to which the lid B23 can be attached to the mouth B2. The determination processing unit 4012 determines the suitability of the loading state of the drug container 10 based on the photographed image and an image of the drug container 10 with the lid B23 removed. The output processing unit 4013 outputs the determination result of the determination processing unit 4012.

[0196] According to the determination system, even if the colors, materials, sizes, and shapes of the lids B23 are various, it is possible to determine the suitability of the loading state of the drug container 10, such as whether the lid B23 has been forgotten to be removed, corresponding to various lids B23.

[0197] Also, in the present embodiment, as described above, the drug containers 10 can be loaded in a state where a plurality of sets are placed on the tray 101. The determination processing unit 4012 compares the number N of the drug containers 10 set on the tray 101 with the number M of the correctly loaded drug containers 10. Thereby, even if the drug containers 10 that are not correctly loaded are not directly extracted, the drug containers 10 that are not correctly loaded can be indirectly extracted by the elimination method. Moreover, the number of the drug containers 10 that are not correctly loaded can also be obtained by taking the difference (N - M) between the number N and the number M.

[0198] Incidentally, it is not essential that the captured image be captured before the conveying step of conveying the chemical container 10 to the admixture processing chamber 104. For example, the captured image may be captured after the chemical container 10 is conveyed to the admixture processing chamber 104. In this case, the loading confirmation camera 209 is installed inside the admixture processing chamber 104. Alternatively, based on the captured image of the tray confirmation camera 41 that captures the tray 101 inside the admixture processing chamber 104, for example, the propriety of the loading state of the chemical container 10 (the vial 10B), such as whether or not the lid B23 of the vial 10B has been forgotten to be removed, may be determined. However, when the captured image is captured after the chemical container 10 is conveyed to the admixture processing chamber 104, it is preferably captured at least before the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11 pierces the stopper B21 at the mouth B2 of the chemical container 10 (the vial 10B).

[0199] Also, as another example, the determination processing unit 4012 may extract the vial 10B that has forgotten to remove the lid B23 (that is, the lid B23 is attached) based on the captured image. In this case, the determination processing unit 4012 can directly find the vial 10B that has forgotten to remove the lid B23.

[0200] Also, the output mode of the output processing unit 4013 is not limited to display. For example, it may include writing to a memory (the data storage unit 404), printing, voice output, data output, transmission to another system (another device), writing to a database, and writing to a memory other than the data storage unit 404, etc.

[0201] [Image Processing] Next, an example of the image processing executed by the determination processing unit 4012 of the admixture support system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 to 20.

[0202] Here, as shown in FIG. 18, an example is given where a total of four vial bottles 10B, one in the lower row and three in the upper row, are placed on the container support portion 102B of the tray 101B. In this example, as shown in FIG. 18, among the four vial bottles 10B, only one vial bottle 10B located in the upper right in the figure has the lid B23 not removed, and it is assumed that the lid B23 has been removed for the remaining three vial bottles 10B.

[0203] By photographing the tray 101B with the loading confirmation camera 209, a photographed image Im1 as shown in FIG. 19 is obtained. In the present embodiment, since the loading confirmation camera 209 is a near-infrared camera as described above, in the photographed image Im1 composed of a near-infrared image, the pixel value (reflected light intensity) of the metal frame B22 is large, and the pixel values of the portions of the vial bottle 10B other than the frame B22 are small. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 19, in the photographed image Im1, among the four vial bottles 10B, only the mouth portions B2 of the three vial bottles 10B with the lid B23 removed are emphasized.

[0204] The determination processing unit 4012 extracts an object that matches the pre-registered pattern image in the photographed image Im1. The pattern image is an image obtained by templatizing the feature amount of the image of the mouth portion B2 in a state where the lid B23 is removed. Specifically, in the photographed image Im1, an annular image with a pixel value exceeding a predetermined value is registered as the pattern image. First, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 20, the determination processing unit 4012 extracts a circular region with a pixel value exceeding the threshold, that is, a white circular region, in the photographed image Im1. Next, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 20, the determination processing unit 4012 extracts a circular region with a pixel value equal to or less than the threshold, that is, a black circular region, within the circular region. Thereby, the determination processing unit 4012 extracts an object that matches the annular pattern image, and determines the object as the vial bottle 10B (the mouth portion B2 thereof) in a state where the lid B23 is removed.

[0205] Here, it is preferable that the determination processing unit 4012 extracts not only an object that completely matches the pattern image but also an object similar to the pattern image. For example, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 20, when extracting a white circular region, the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the region is circular if the roundness is equal to or less than a predetermined value even if the region is not a perfect circle (true circle). Further, when the determination processing unit 4012 extracts a black circular region within the white circular region, it may be extracted in consideration of the positional relationship between the black circular region and the white circular region. For example, the determination processing unit 4012 may determine that the black circular region exists only when the black circular region is completely contained inside the white circular region, or when the eccentricity between the white circular region and the black circular region is equal to or less than a predetermined value. Furthermore, the determination processing unit 4012 may determine that the black circular region exists only when the black circular region is located at the center (center of gravity) of the white circular region. Also, the determination processing unit 4012 may extract an object that matches the pattern image limited to the position where the vial 10B is set, rather than the entire area of the captured image Im1.

[0206] As described above, in the present embodiment, the determination processing unit 4012 uses the templatized pattern image and extracts the vial 10B with the lid B23 removed from the captured image Im1 based on rules. As a result, the determination processing unit 4012 can count the number M of vials 10B with the lid B23 removed, that is, "vials without lids", based on the captured image (S33 in FIG. 17).

[0207] In short, the determination processing unit 4012 determines the suitability of the loading state based on whether the pre-registered pattern image exists in the captured image Im1. As a result, it becomes possible to determine the suitability of the loading state, such as whether the lid B23 of the chemical container 10 has been forgotten to be removed, by a relatively simple process such as pattern matching. In particular, in the present embodiment, the pattern image is an image obtained by generalizing the feature amounts of images of the mouth portions B2 of various chemical containers 10 (the vial bottles 10B). Therefore, for example, even if the chemical container 10 from which the pattern image is derived and the chemical container 10 for which the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid B23 is to be determined are of different types, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid B23 using the pattern image.

[0208] Furthermore, the determination processing unit 4012 may specify the position of the vial bottle 10B with the lid B23 removed from the captured image Im1. If the position where the vial bottle 10B is set in the container support portion 102B of the tray 101B is known, the determination processing unit 4012 can specify which vial bottle 10B is in the state where the lid B23 has been removed from the position of the vial bottle 10B with the lid B23 removed. In this case, since the determination processing unit 4012 can also specify the position of the vial bottle 10B where forgetting to remove the lid B23 is suspected, it can be specified which vial bottle 10B is suspected of having the lid B23 forgotten to be removed.

[0209] [DVO Utilization Result Aggregation Function] The admixture support system 1 has a DVO utilization result aggregation function that outputs, as a report, the utilization results of drug vial optimization (DVO) in which single-use vial bottles 10B for injection drugs such as anticancer drugs are used multiple times. Examples of the output mode of the utilization results include display, writing to a memory (the data storage unit 404), printing, voice output, data output, transmission to another system (another device), writing to a database, and writing to a memory other than the data storage unit 404.

[0210] The usage record includes a list of the preparation ID of the preparation data in which residual medicine occurred and the information at the first use in the preparation data, and a list of the number of residual medicine preparations performed by the admixture support system 1 itself and the amount of medicine discarded. The information at the first use is information representing the time (date and time) when the injection needle 11c was first punctured against the stopper B21 of the mouth B2 of the vial 10B according to the preparation data. The amount of medicine discarded is the amount of medicine remaining in the vial 10B when the expiration date has passed, and may be a theoretical value calculated from the usage amount or an actual measured value measured by the weighing meter 13c or the like when the expiration date has passed.

[0211] [Preparation order change function] The admixture support system 1 has a schedule management function capable of reserving the admixture process for one or more of the preparation data. Specifically, the admixture control unit 100 realizes the schedule management function according to the first admixture control program or the second admixture control program using the first control unit 400 or the second control unit 500. Here, the admixture support system 1 has a preparation order change function for changing the order (preparation order) of performing the admixture process for a plurality of the preparation data.

[0212] The admixture support system 1 changes the preparation order so that the amount of residual medicine in the vial 10B is minimized when the number of punctures of the injection needle 11c into the vial 10B reaches a predetermined upper limit number of times. That is, the admixture support system 1 focuses on the amount of residual medicine when the number of punctures reaches the upper limit number of times, and rearranges the order of performing the admixture process for a plurality of the preparation data so that the amount of residual medicine decreases. Thereby, it becomes possible to suppress the amount of medicine discarded.

[0213] [Function for improving operability] The premixing support system 1 has an operability improvement function for improving the operability related to the pre-stirring process. Specifically, as an example, the premixing support system 1 displays, for example, on the display 203, the past performance of the pre-stirring as a performance list, such as "pre-stir 10 ABC drugs on 9 / 18" and "pre-stir 6 DEF drugs on 9 / 19". In a state where the performance list is being displayed, the premixing support system 1 accepts an operation by a user to select any performance from the performance list. Then, the premixing support system 1 executes the pre-stirring process based on the selected performance.

[0214] As an example, when the user wants to perform the pre-stirring process for "10 ABC drugs", the user selects the performance of "pre-stir 10 ABC drugs on 9 / 18" from the performance list on the display 203 and loads "10 ABC drugs" into the mixing device 300 for the pre-stirring process. In this case, the premixing support system 1 performs the pre-stirring operation on the loaded "10 ABC drugs".

[0215] Here, the loading of the drugs in the pre-stirring process is different from the loading of the drugs during normal preparation. It is performed by setting the vial 10B together with the infusion bag 12 and the syringe 11, etc. on the tray 101 for the pre-stirring process. The premixing support system 1 uses the vial 10B set on the tray 101, etc., by the first robot arm 21, etc. of the mixing device 300 to execute the pre-stirring process and places the pre-stirred material in the mixing processing chamber 104. During normal preparation, if the vial 10B to be prepared has been pre-stirred and is in the mixing processing chamber 104, the premixing support system 1 displays on the display 203, etc., that it is not necessary to load the vial 10B. Thereby, for example, similar to the case where there is remaining medicine in the mixing processing chamber 104, the user can confirm that it is not necessary to reload the vial 10B, and the operability related to the pre-stirring process is improved.

[0216] [Needle Pricking Correction Function] The infusion mixing support system 1 has a needle insertion correction function for correcting the advancing direction of the injection needle 11c of the syringe 11. That is, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 21, the tip of the injection needle 11c may have a shape that is cut obliquely. In this case, for example, even if an attempt is made to puncture the rubber stopper 12a of the infusion port of the infusion bag 12 straight with the injection needle 11c, as shown in the upper part of FIG. 21, the advancing direction of the injection needle 11c may tilt in the extending direction of the inclined surface of the tip surface of the injection needle 11c. As a result, as shown by the imaginary line (two-dot chain line) in the upper part of FIG. 21, there is a possibility that problems such as the injection needle 11c contacting the inner peripheral surface of the infusion port (neck portion) of the infusion bag 12 may occur.

[0217] Therefore, the infusion mixing support system 1 corrects the advancing direction of the injection needle 11c by the needle insertion correction function. Specifically, the infusion mixing support system 1 makes the chuck portion 140 for fixing the infusion port (neck portion) of the infusion bag 12 slidable within a plane orthogonal to the advancing direction of the injection needle 11c (the longitudinal direction of the injection needle 11c). Then, when the injection needle 11c reaches the rubber stopper 12a, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 21, the infusion mixing support system 1 slides the chuck portion 140 in the direction in which the tip surface of the injection needle 11c is inclined (right direction in the example of FIG. 21). As a result, the injection needle 11c can more easily advance straight through the rubber stopper 12a.

[0218] In the needle insertion correction function, the direction in which the chuck portion 140 is slid is preferably changed according to the puncture position of the injection needle 11c on the rubber stopper 12a, the inclination direction of the tip surface of the injection needle 11c, and the like. Also, the needle insertion correction function may be applied when the injection needle 11c punctures the stopper B21 of the vial 10B.

[0219] [Second Embodiment] Hereinafter, other embodiments of the present invention will be described. Specifically, in this embodiment, other examples of the determination processing unit 4012 will be described. Note that the same reference numerals are given to the same configurations and processing procedures as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0220] In the admixture support system 1 according to this embodiment, when the determination processing unit 4012 determines the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid B23 of the medicine container 10 based on the captured image, it uses a learned model generated by machine learning. In short, the determination processing unit 4012 uses the learned model generated by machine learning by an appropriate learning method as an estimator to determine the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid B23 of the medicine container 10 based on the captured image.

[0221] The learned model is trained (machine-learned) as a learning dataset with a large number of captured images including an image of the medicine container 10 (the vial 10B) with the lid B23 removed and an image of the medicine container 10 (the vial 10B) with the lid B23 not removed. Regarding the captured images (the learning dataset) used for generating the learned model, for example, learning units such as medical institutions, medical departments, or users may be set, and they may be generated for each learning unit. Thereby, it becomes possible to generate the learned model for each of the learning units such as medical institutions, medical departments, or users.

[0222] Note that the learned model may be stored (stored) in the data storage unit 404 of the first control unit 400, for example, or may be stored in a storage device different from the admixture control unit 100. For example, the learned model may be stored in an external server (or cloud computing) outside the admixture support system 1. And the admixture control unit 100 (the first control unit 400) may be able to access the external server or the like via the Internet or the like.

[0223] More specifically, in the present embodiment, the loading confirmation camera 209 is a visible light camera capable of capturing a color image. The learned model is generated by machine learning (supervised learning) using, as teacher data, data in which the position of the drug container 10 without the lid B23 is specified in a captured image including the drug container 10 without the lid B23 and the drug container 10 with the lid B23.

[0224] Here, the determination processing unit 4012 also uses the learned model to determine the suitability of the loading state of the drug container 10 based on the captured image and the feature amounts of the image of the drug container 10 with the lid B23 removed, in the same manner as in the first embodiment. That is, the determination processing unit 4012 uses the learned model to extract the drug container 10 with the lid B23 removed from the captured image and counts the number M of the drug containers 10 with the lid B23 removed. The determination processing unit 4012 compares the number N of the drug containers 10 set on the tray 101 with the number M of the correctly loaded drug containers 10, and determines that the loading state of the drug container 10 is incorrect if it is determined that the numbers N and M do not match. Here, the number N compared with the number M is not limited to the number of the drug containers 10 set on the tray 101, and may be, for example, the number of the drug containers 10 instructed by the preparation data.

[0225] As described above, in the present embodiment, the determination processing unit 4012 determines the suitability of the loading state based on the captured image using the learned model generated by machine learning. Therefore, compared with the case of determining the suitability of the loading state, such as whether the lid B23 of the drug container 10 is forgotten to be removed, based on rules as in the first embodiment, it is easier to improve the accuracy of the determination of the suitability of the loading state. Further, as the loading confirmation camera 209, it becomes easier to apply a general visible light camera instead of a near-infrared camera or the like.

[0226] Also, in this embodiment as well, the determination processing unit 4012 determines the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid B23 based on the feature amount of the image of the vial 10B with the lid B23 removed. Therefore, compared with the case of preparing the images of the lid B23 having various colors, materials, sizes, and shapes as teacher data, the number of teacher data to be prepared can be reduced, and the time required for learning can also be shortened.

[0227] Also, as another example, the determination processing unit 4012 may extract the vial 10B with the lid B23 forgotten to be removed (that is, the lid B23 is attached) from the captured image using the learned model. In this case, the learned model is generated, for example, by machine learning using, as teacher data, data in which the position of the drug container 10 with the lid B23 is specified in a captured image including the drug container 10 without the lid B23 and the drug container 10 with the lid B23.

[0228] Note that as a modification of this embodiment, the learned model may be generated by machine learning using, as teacher data, a captured image including the drug container 10 without the lid B23 and the drug container 10 with the lid B23. In this case, the determination processing unit 4012 uses the learned model to determine the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid B23 of the drug container 10 based on the captured image.

[0229] As yet another modification example, the process of determining the presence or absence of the omission of removing the lid B23 of the chemical container 10 using the learned model may include a two-stage process of primary processing and secondary processing. The primary processing uses the first learned model to extract only the image of the chemical container 10 including the mouth portion B2 from the captured image obtained by photographing the tray 101, regardless of the presence or absence of the lid B23. The secondary processing uses the second learned model to determine the presence or absence of the omission of removing the lid B23 from the image of the chemical container 10 including the mouth portion B2 extracted in the primary processing. The first learned model is learned using images of the chemical container 10 with both the lid B23 present and the lid B23 absent as teacher data, and the second learned model is learned using an image of the chemical container 10 with either the lid B23 present or the lid B23 absent (at least near the mouth portion B2) as teacher data.

[0230] Also, the learning method for generating the learned model is not limited to supervised learning and may be unsupervised learning.

[0231] [Third Embodiment] Hereinafter, still another embodiment of the present invention will be described. Specifically, in this embodiment, another example of the determination processing unit 4012 will be described. Note that the same components and processing procedures as those in the first embodiment or the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

[0232] In the dispensing support system 1 according to this embodiment, the determination processing unit 4012 determines the suitability of the loading state based on a plurality of captured images captured by the loading confirmation camera 209. Thereby, the determination processing unit 4012 can determine the suitability of the loading state, such as the presence or absence of the omission of removing the lid B23 of the chemical container 10, from the captured image in which the mouth portion B2 of the chemical container 10 is in focus.

[0233] That is, for example, when a plurality of the medicine containers 10 are stored in two rows, front and rear, with respect to the tray 101B, a difference may occur between the distance from the loading confirmation camera 209 to the mouth B2 of the medicine container 10 in the front row and the distance from the loading confirmation camera 209 to the mouth B2 of the medicine container 10 in the rear row (see FIG. 16). Therefore, depending on the depth of field of the loading confirmation camera 209, it is difficult to focus on the mouth B2 of both the medicine containers 10 in the front row and the rear row at the same time, and the mouth B2 of the medicine container 10 may be blurred in a single captured image.

[0234] Therefore, in the infusion support system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the tray 101B passes through the tray loading port 711, the acquisition processing unit 4011 acquires a plurality of the captured images from the loading confirmation camera 209 at different timings. Thereby, the determination processing unit 4012 can determine the propriety of the loading state based on the plurality of captured images in which the mouths B2 of the medicine containers 10 in the front row and the rear row are respectively in focus, and it becomes easier to accurately determine the propriety of the loading state from the clear captured images.

[0235] Specifically, the loading confirmation camera 209 is a camera that captures a video, and the acquisition processing unit 4011 acquires, as the captured images, the images of each frame of the video captured by the loading confirmation camera 209 from the loading confirmation camera 209 at any time. That is, the plurality of captured images are extracted (captured) from the video captured by the loading confirmation camera 209. In this case, if the conveyance speed of the tray 101B passing through the tray loading port 711 is constant, the medicine container 10 can be tracked over the plurality of captured images. Therefore, if a frame in which the mouth B2 of each individual medicine container 10 is in focus is extracted from the video as the captured image, a plurality of captured images in which the mouths B2 of the medicine containers 10 in the front row and the rear row are respectively in focus can be obtained without adjusting the shooting timing of the loading confirmation camera 209.

[0236] As another example, the loading confirmation camera 209 may capture still images as the plurality of captured images at timings when the front row and the rear row of the medicine containers 10 are respectively in focus at the mouth B2. In this case, if the imaging timing of the loading confirmation camera 209 is shifted, the mouth B2 of the medicine container 10 will be out of focus. Therefore, it is preferable to link the conveyance operation of conveying the tray 101B from the work table 202 to the lifting unit 800 side through the tray loading port 711 and the imaging operation of the loading confirmation camera 209. Specifically, the tray 101B is stopped at a position where the mouth B2 of the rear row of the medicine containers 10 is in focus, and the loading confirmation camera 209 captures the captured image. Then, the conveyance of the tray 101B is resumed, and the tray 101B is stopped at a position where the mouth B2 of the front row of the medicine containers 10 is in focus, and the loading confirmation camera 209 captures the captured image. Thereby, a plurality of captured images in focus can be obtained for the mouth B2 of the front row and the rear row of the medicine containers 10 respectively.

[0237] [Fourth Embodiment] Hereinafter, still another embodiment of the present invention will be described. Specifically, in this embodiment, another example of the loading confirmation camera 209 and the determination processing unit 4012 will be described. Note that the same reference numerals are given to the same configurations and processing procedures as those in the first embodiment, the second embodiment, or the third embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0238] In the admixture support system 1 according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 22, the loading confirmation camera 209 is disposed on the top surface 210 of a clean bench (the medicine loading unit 200) including the work table 202. That is, the medicine loading unit 200 has the top surface 210 so as to surround the upper space of the work table 202 used for preparing the admixture process, and the loading confirmation camera 209 is attached to the top surface 210 located above the work table 202. The loading confirmation camera 209 is disposed in a posture with its optical axis directed onto the work table 202 so as to capture the equipment on the work table 202.

[0239] Specifically, the loading confirmation camera 209 is fixed to the front end of the top surface 210 using a stay or the like. The loading confirmation camera 209 photographs the tray 101 placed on the work table 202 from obliquely above the front so as to capture the mouth B2 of the vial 10B facing obliquely upward and rearward. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 22, the image captured by the loading confirmation camera 209 at a timing before the tray 101 on which the equipment including the chemical container 10 is set moves to the tray storage portion 811 while being arranged on the work table 202 is used as the captured image for the loading state determination process. In FIG. 22, the hatched area schematically represents the imaging area of the loading confirmation camera 209. The top surface 210 may be located above the work table 202 and may be not only the top surface of the chemical loading unit 200 having the function of a clean bench but also the top surface of a mere housing that does not function as a clean bench.

[0240] More specifically, the display 203 disposed above the work table 202 and near the end (rear end) on the side of the tray loading port 711 is a touch panel. That is, the display 203 has a function of receiving a touch operation by the user in addition to the function of displaying various information.

[0241] The user sets the equipment including the chemical container 10 on the tray 101 on the work table 202, slides the tray 101 rearward from the work table 202, and stores it in the tray storage portion 811 of the lifting unit 800 through the tray loading port 711. Here, when the user finishes setting the equipment on the tray 101, the user operates the display 203 before moving the tray 101 from the work table 202 to the tray storage portion 811. In conjunction with this operation, the acquisition processing unit 4011 acquires an image of the tray 101 on the work table 202 from the loading confirmation camera 209 as the captured image.

[0242] As described above, the captured image is an image obtained by the loading confirmation camera 209 disposed on the top surface 210 located above the work table 202 used for preparing the mixed injection process, and capturing the equipment on the work table 202. Thus, as shown in FIG. 22, the loading confirmation camera 209 can capture the equipment (the tray 101 on which it is set) from a relatively high position in a bird's-eye view. In particular, even without using a wide-angle lens, the entire tray 101 can be captured as the captured image. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the captured image with relatively little distortion.

[0243] By the way, when a foreign object X1 (see FIG. 23), such as a user's hand, exists in front of (that is, above) the tray 101 as viewed from the loading confirmation camera 209, the foreign object X1 will be reflected in the captured image captured by the loading confirmation camera 209. As an example, in order to touch-operate the display 203 located on the work table 202, the user may stretch out his hand, and thus the hand as the foreign object X1 may be inserted between the loading confirmation camera 209 and the tray 101. Then, as shown in FIG. 23, when the foreign object X1 is reflected in the captured image Im1 so as to overlap the tray 101, it may not be possible to correctly determine the loading state of the equipment from the captured image Im1.

[0244] In short, as shown in FIG. 23, when there is "no foreign object" where the foreign object X1 is not captured in the captured image Im1 of the tray 101, the equipment such as the medicine container 10 set on the tray 101 is not hidden in the captured image Im1. Therefore, it is possible to correctly determine the loading state of the equipment by using the captured image Im1 for the loading state determination process. On the other hand, when there is "a foreign object" where the foreign object X1 is captured in the captured image Im1 of the tray 101, some of the equipment such as the medicine container 10 set on the tray 101 will be hidden in the captured image Im1, and it may not be possible to correctly determine the loading state of the equipment from the captured image Im1.

[0245] Therefore, the injection mixing support system 1 according to the present embodiment has a foreign object detection function for detecting the foreign object X1 captured in the captured image Im1. When the presence of the foreign object X1 is detected (in the case of "a foreign object" in FIG. 23), it is determined as an error, and the loading state determination process based on the captured image Im1 is not performed. On the other hand, when the presence of the foreign object X1 is not detected (in the case of "no foreign object" in FIG. 23), the injection mixing support system 1 performs the loading state determination process based on the captured image Im1.

[0246] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the foreign object detection function is realized by image processing using the captured image Im1 acquired by the acquisition processing unit 4011, rather than using an object detection sensor such as an infrared sensor, for example. That is, in addition to the loading state determination process for determining the loading state of the equipment (including the medicine container 10), the determination processing unit 4012 is configured to be able to execute a foreign object detection process for detecting the foreign object X1.

[0247] Specifically, in the foreign object detection process, the determination processing unit 4012 determines the presence or absence of the foreign object X1 that overlaps with the outer peripheral edge 111 (see FIG. 23) of the tray 101 based on the captured image Im1 acquired by the acquisition processing unit 4011. When the foreign object X1 such as a user's hand is inserted onto the tray 101, in the captured image Im1, the foreign object X1 will overlap at least a part of the outer peripheral edge 111 of the tray 101. Therefore, the determination processing unit 4012 detects the presence of the foreign object X1 based on whether the foreign object X1 overlaps with the outer peripheral edge 111 of the tray 101 in the captured image Im1. That is, the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the foreign object X1 exists if the foreign object X1 overlaps with the outer peripheral edge 111, and determines that the foreign object X1 does not exist if the foreign object X1 does not overlap with the outer peripheral edge 111.

[0248] As described above, the captured image Im1 is an image obtained by photographing the tray 101 with the equipment set thereon. The determination processing unit 4012 further determines the presence or absence of the foreign object X1 that overlaps with the outer peripheral edge 111 of the tray 101 based on the captured image Im1.

[0249] According to this configuration, it is possible for the determination processing unit 4012 to find a case where the loading state of the equipment cannot be correctly determined from the captured image Im1, such as in the case of "presence of foreign object" where the foreign object X1 is reflected in the captured image Im1 of the tray 101. Therefore, when the loading state of the equipment cannot be correctly determined from the captured image Im1, by not performing the determination of the loading state of the equipment, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the accuracy of the loading state determination process.

[0250] Moreover, since the presence or absence of the foreign object X1 is determined based on the captured image Im1 acquired by the acquisition processing unit 4011, the configuration of the mixed injection support system 1 can be simplified as compared with the case where an object detection sensor such as an infrared sensor is separately provided. Further, by using the captured image Im1, only the foreign object X1 superimposed on the outer peripheral edge 111 of the tray 101 can be detected. For example, even if it is within the viewing angle of the loading confirmation camera 209 (that is, within the captured image Im1), the user's hand or the like located around the tray 101 is not determined as the foreign object X1. Therefore, it is possible to avoid detecting the foreign object X1 even in a case where it does not affect the accuracy of the loading state determination process. For example, when it is determined that an error occurs when the foreign object X1 is detected, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of the error more than necessary.

[0251] The foreign object detection process of the determination processing unit 4012 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 24.

[0252] As shown in FIG. 24, the determination processing unit 4012 focuses on the outer peripheral edge 111 of the tray 101 in the captured image Im1 acquired by the acquisition processing unit 4011, and determines the presence or absence of the foreign object X1 from the image of the outer peripheral edge 111. Specifically, in the captured image Im1, when a part of the extracted outer peripheral edge 111 is missing (broken), the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the foreign object X1 is present, and when the outer peripheral edge 111 is extracted without being missing, the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the foreign object X1 is not present.

[0253] More specifically, as shown in FIG. 24, the determination processing unit 4012 generates an enhanced image Im2 by extracting a region corresponding to the outer peripheral edge 111 of the tray 101 from the captured image Im1. As a method for extracting the outer peripheral edge 111 when generating the enhanced image Im2, there are a first method using machine learning and a second rule-based method.

[0254] According to the first method, for example, the region of the outer peripheral edge 111 can be extracted from the captured image Im1 using semantic segmentation. That is, in the first method, the determination processing unit 4012 uses a learned model that has learned about the image of the outer peripheral edge 111 of the tray 101 to extract pixels classified as the region of the outer peripheral edge 111 among a plurality of pixels included in the captured image Im1. Thereby, the determination processing unit 4012 can easily extract the outer peripheral edge 111 of the tray 101 having various shapes, colors, and the like.

[0255] According to the second method, for example, by using the fact that the light reflectance at the outer peripheral edge 111 is high, through binary processing and / or processing such as pattern matching using a pre-registered pattern image of the outer peripheral edge 111, the region of the outer peripheral edge 111 can be extracted from the captured image Im1. Thereby, the determination processing unit 4012 can extract the region of the outer peripheral edge 111 from the captured image Im1 by a relatively simple process.

[0256] In this embodiment, as an example, the determination processing unit 4012 adopts the first method using machine learning as the method for extracting the outer peripheral edge 111 when generating the emphasized image Im2.

[0257] The determination processing unit 4012 determines the presence or absence of the foreign object X1 based on the emphasized image Im2 generated by extracting the region corresponding to the outer peripheral edge 111. That is, the determination processing unit 4012 performs image processing on the captured image Im1 to generate the emphasized image Im2, and then determines the presence or absence of the foreign object X1.

[0258] Here, the determination processing unit 4012 determines the presence or absence of the foreign object X1 based on whether the outer peripheral edge 111 is connected as a single entity in the emphasized image Im2. For example, as in the "no foreign object" example shown in the upper part of FIG. 24, when the area of the outer peripheral edge 111 is connected as a single entity in the emphasized image Im2, the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the foreign object X1 does not exist. On the other hand, as in the "foreign object present" example shown in the lower part of FIG. 24, when the area of the outer peripheral edge 111 is separated into a plurality of parts in the emphasized image Im2, the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the foreign object X1 exists.

[0259] As another example, the determination processing unit 4012 may determine the presence or absence of the foreign object X1 based on the number of areas (dark-colored areas) of the outer peripheral edge 111 in the emphasized image Im2. For example, as in the "no foreign object" example shown in the upper part of FIG. 24, when there are two areas (the inner area and the outer area of the tray) other than the outer peripheral edge 111 in the emphasized image Im2, the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the foreign object X1 does not exist. On the other hand, as in the "foreign object present" example shown in the lower part of FIG. 24, when there is one area other than the outer peripheral edge 111 in the emphasized image Im2, the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the foreign object X1 exists.

[0260] As described above, the determination processing unit 4012 focuses on the outer peripheral edge 111 of the tray 101 in the captured image Im1 and determines the presence or absence of the foreign object X1. Therefore, regardless of what the foreign object X1 is, the determination processing unit 4012 can determine the presence or absence of the foreign object X1 that overlaps the outer peripheral edge 111 of the tray 101. For example, when an instrument other than the user's hand is captured, when the user's hand is moving and appears blurred in the captured image Im1, or when the equipment set on the tray 101 protrudes, etc., the determination processing unit 4012 can detect the presence of the foreign object X1 that overlaps the outer peripheral edge 111 of the tray 101.

[0261] On the other hand, for example, even when the user's hand or the like is reflected in the captured image Im1, in the case where it is not in a position to hide the inside of the tray 101, such as around the tray 101, the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the foreign object X1 does not exist. Therefore, for example, when an error is determined when the foreign object X1 is detected, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of the error more than necessary.

[0262] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 25, the overall flow of the acquisition process, the foreign object detection process, and the loading state determination process will be described. However, mainly for steps S31 to S32 related to the acquisition process and steps S33 to S38 related to the loading state determination process, since they are the same as the flowchart shown in FIG. 17, the description here will be omitted.

[0263] <Step S41> After step S32 in which the acquisition processing unit 4011 acquires the captured image, in step S41, the determination processing unit 4012 performs the foreign object detection process of determining the presence or absence of the foreign object X1 based on the captured image Im1. When the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the foreign object X1 exists (S41: Yes), the process proceeds to step S42. On the other hand, when it is determined that the foreign object X1 does not exist (S41: No), the process proceeds to step S33. In this case, in the mounting state determination process after step S33, the determination of the loading state of the equipment is performed using the same captured image Im1 in which it has been determined that the foreign object X1 does not exist.

[0264] <Step S42> In step S42, the determination processing unit 4012 determines whether the consecutive number of times the determination that the foreign object X1 exists has reached a predetermined number of times (X times). When the consecutive number of times the presence of the foreign object X1 is detected reaches the predetermined number of times (X times) (S42: Yes), the determination processing unit 4012 causes the process to proceed to step S43. If the consecutive number of times the presence of the foreign object X1 is detected is less than the predetermined number of times (X times) (S42: No), the process returns to step S31. In this case, by steps S31 and S32, the next captured image Im1 is immediately acquired (for example, at intervals of 0.1 seconds).

[0265] <Step S43> In step S43, the output processing unit 4013 performs an error notification. That is, when the presence of the foreign object X1 is continuously detected the predetermined number of times (X times), the output unit 4013 performs the error notification. For example, the output processing unit 4013 performs the error notification by causing the display 203 to display that the foreign object X1 is captured in the captured image Im1.

[0266] However, when the error notification (step S43) is made, if, for example, a restart operation by the user is performed on the display 203, the error notification ends and the process proceeds to step S33. Thereby, for example, when the user can visually confirm that the foreign object X1 is not in the tray 101, the error notification can be forcibly ended and the wearing state determination process (after step S33) can be started.

[0267] As described above, the determination processing unit 4012 determines the presence or absence of the foreign object X1 and the loading state of the equipment based on the same captured image Im1. Then, when the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the foreign object X1 does not exist (S31: No), it determines the loading state of the equipment (S33~). Thereby, based on the captured image Im1 suitable for determining the loading state, that is, the captured image Im1 in which the foreign object X1 does not overlap the outer peripheral edge 111 of the tray 101, it becomes possible to determine the loading state, and the reliability of the determination result of the loading state is improved.

[0268] Also, the acquisition processing unit 4011 can repeatedly acquire the captured image Im1. When the determination processing unit 4012 determines that the foreign object X1 exists based on one captured image Im1, it determines the presence or absence of the foreign object X1 based on the next captured image Im1. Thereby, the error notification is not immediately performed just because the foreign object X1 exists in one captured image Im1, and the annoyance caused by frequent error notifications can be avoided.

[0269] According to the injection mixing support system 1 according to the above-described embodiment, for example, as in the example shown as "Normal 1" in the upper row of FIG. 26, when the foreign object X1 is not captured in the captured image Im1 in the first place, the loading state of the equipment is determined using the captured image Im1.

[0270] Also, for example, as in the example shown as "Normal 2" in the middle row of FIG. 26, even when a user's hand or the like is captured around the tray 101 in the captured image Im1, it is determined that the foreign object X1 does not exist, and the loading state of the equipment is determined using the captured image Im1.

[0271] On the other hand, for example, as in the example shown as "Abnormal" in the lower row of FIG. 26, when the foreign object X1 that overlaps the outer peripheral edge 111 of the tray 101 exists in the captured image Im1, the loading state of the equipment is not determined using the captured image Im1.

[0272] As another configuration, the determination processing unit 4012 specifies, for example, the orientation and / or position of the equipment such as the chemical container 10 by matching the captured image Im1 with a master image. Further, for example, a combination of the reading direction of a barcode or the like and the orientation and / or position of the equipment such as the chemical container 10 is prepared in advance as a master, and the determination processing unit 4012 may specify the orientation and / or position of the equipment such as the chemical container 10 from the reading direction of the barcode or the like with reference to the master. Furthermore, the determination processing unit 4012 may specify the orientation and / or position of the equipment such as the chemical container 10 using a learned model generated by machine learning.

[0273] Furthermore, as a modification of the present embodiment, the process of specifying the orientation and / or position of the equipment such as the chemical container 10 using a learned model may include a two-stage process of primary processing and secondary processing. The primary processing uses a first learned model to extract only the image of the equipment from the captured image of the tray 101. The secondary processing uses a second learned model to specify the orientation and / or position of the equipment from the image of the equipment extracted in the primary processing. The first learned model is learned using images of various pieces of the equipment as teacher data, and the second learned model is learned using images of the equipment in various orientations and / or positions as teacher data.

[0274] [Supplementary Note of the Invention] Hereinafter, the outline of the invention extracted from the above-described embodiment will be appended. Note that each configuration and each processing function described in the following supplementary note can be arbitrarily combined by making selections.

[0275] <Supplementary Note 1> Equipment including a chemical container, comprising: an acquisition processing unit that acquires a captured image of the equipment loaded in a mixing device that automatically performs a mixing process; a determination processing unit that determines the loading state of the equipment based on the captured image; an output processing unit that outputs the determination result of the determination processing unit. Mixing injection support system.

[0276] <Appendix 2> The medicine container is capable of having a lid attached to its mouth, The determination processing unit determines the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid of the medicine container as the loading state. The mixing injection support system according to Appendix 1.

[0277] <Appendix 3> The medicine container is capable of having a lid attached to its mouth, The determination processing unit determines the loading state based on an image of the medicine container with the lid removed. The mixing injection support system according to Appendix 1 or 2.

[0278] <Appendix 4> The determination processing unit determines the loading state based on whether a pre-registered pattern image exists in the captured image. The mixing injection support system according to any one of Appendices 1 to 3.

[0279] <Appendix 5> The determination processing unit determines the loading state based on the captured image using a learned model generated by machine learning. The mixing injection support system according to any one of Appendices 1 to 3.

[0280] <Appendix 6> The captured image is captured before the transport process of transporting the medicine container to the mixing process chamber where the mixing process is performed. The mixing injection support system according to any one of Appendices 1 to 5.

[0281] <Appendix 7> The medicine containers can be loaded in a state where a plurality of sets are placed on a tray, The determination processing unit compares the number of the medicine containers set on the tray with the number of the correctly loaded medicine containers. The mixing injection support system according to any one of Appendices 1 to 6.

[0282] <Appendix 8> The captured image is an image obtained by photographing the equipment on the work table with a loading confirmation camera disposed on the top surface positioned above the work table used for preparing the admixture process. The admixture support system according to any one of Appendices 1 to 7.

[0283] <Appendix 9> The captured image is an image obtained by photographing a tray in a state where the equipment is set, The determination processing unit further determines the presence or absence of foreign matter overlapping the outer peripheral edge of the tray based on the captured image. The admixture support system according to any one of Appendices 1 to 8.

[0284] <Appendix 10> The determination processing unit, Based on the same captured image, determines the presence or absence of the foreign matter and the loading state of the equipment, When it is determined that the foreign matter does not exist, determines the loading state of the equipment. The admixture support system according to Appendix 9.

[0285] <Appendix 11> The acquisition processing unit can repeatedly acquire the captured image, When the determination processing unit determines that the foreign matter exists based on one captured image, it determines the presence or absence of the foreign matter based on the next captured image. The admixture support system according to Appendix 9 or 10.

[0286] <Appendix 12> An acquisition processing unit that acquires a captured image of equipment loaded into an admixture device that automatically performs an admixture process, A determination processing unit that determines the loading state of the equipment based on the captured image, and is provided with The captured image is an image obtained by photographing the equipment on the work table with a loading confirmation camera arranged on the top surface of a clean bench including the work table used for preparing the admixture process. Admixture support system.

Claims

1. An equipment including a medicine container, comprising: an acquisition processing unit that acquires a photographed image of the equipment before being loaded into a mixing device that automatically performs a mixing process; a determination processing unit that determines the loading state of the equipment based on the photographed image; an output processing unit that outputs the determination result of the determination processing unit. A mixing support system.

2. The medicine container is capable of having a lid attached to its mouth, and the determination processing unit determines the presence or absence of forgetting to remove the lid of the medicine container as the loading state. The mixing support system according to Claim 1.

3. The medicine container is capable of having a lid attached to its mouth, and the determination processing unit determines the loading state based on an image of the medicine container with the lid removed. The mixing support system according to Claim 1 or 2.

4. The determination processing unit determines the loading state based on whether a pre-registered pattern image exists in the photographed image. The mixing support system according to Claim 1 or 2.

5. The determination processing unit determines the loading state based on the photographed image using a learned model generated by machine learning. The mixing support system according to Claim 1 or 2.

6. The photographed image is taken before a conveying step of conveying the medicine container to a mixing processing chamber where the mixing process is performed. The mixing support system according to Claim 1 or 2.

7. The medicine container can be loaded in a state where a plurality of sets are placed on a tray, and the determination processing unit compares the number of the medicine containers set on the tray with the number of the correctly loaded medicine containers. The mixing support system according to Claim 1 or 2.

8. The photographed image is an image obtained by photographing the equipment on a work table with a loading confirmation camera arranged on a top surface located above the work table used for preparing the mixing process. The mixing support system according to Claim 1 or 2.

9. The photographed image is an image obtained by photographing a tray in a state where the equipment is set, and the determination processing unit further determines the presence or absence of foreign matter overlapping the outer peripheral edge of the tray based on the photographed image. The mixing support system according to Claim 1 or 2.

10. The determination processing unit determines the presence or absence of the foreign matter and the loading state of the equipment based on the same photographed image, and determines the loading state of the equipment when it is determined that the foreign matter does not exist. The admixture support system according to claim 9.

11. The acquisition processing unit can repeatedly acquire the captured image, When the determination processing unit determines that the foreign matter exists based on one of the captured images, the determination processing unit determines the presence or absence of the foreign matter based on the next captured image. The admixture support system according to claim 9.

12. An acquisition processing unit that acquires a captured image of a medicine container whose lid can be attached to the mouth; A determination processing unit that determines the loading state of the medicine container based on the captured image and an image of the medicine container with the lid removed; An output processing unit that outputs the determination result of the determination processing unit. Determination system.

13. An instrument including a medicine container, an acquisition step of acquiring a captured image of an instrument loaded into an admixture device that automatically performs an admixture process; A determination step of determining the loading state of the instrument based on the captured image; An output step of outputting the determination result of the determination step. An admixture support program for causing a computer to execute.

Images