Mixed injection system and program

Abstract

This mixed injection system (100) is provided with a selection processing unit (201) for selecting a mixed-injection processing preparation method based on each of multiple preparation data items, such selection being performed on the basis of: the specification timing at which executed is specification processing for specifying one or a plurality of the preparation data items which serve as an execution target of mixed-injection processing in which a drug in a drug container is injected into an infusion container; and the timing at which drugs corresponding to each of the preparation data items are utilized.

Description

Mixed injection system, program

[0001] The present invention relates to a mixed injection system that supports mixed injection of medicines.

[0002] A mixed injection process is sometimes performed by a user such as a pharmacist, in which a drug contained in a drug container such as a vial is drawn into a syringe and the drug in the syringe is injected into an infusion container such as an infusion bag. Also, a mixed injection device that can automatically perform the mixed injection process is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-40295

[0004] Incidentally, in facilities such as medical institutions or pharmacies where co-infusion processing based on preparation data is performed, multiple preparation methods may be used when the co-infusion processing is performed, such as manual preparation in which the user performs the co-infusion processing, or machine preparation in which the co-infusion processing is automatically performed by a co-infusion device.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a co-infusion system that can support the selection of a preparation method that is appropriate for a situation based on preparation data.

[0006] The co-infusion system of the present invention is equipped with a selection processing unit that selects a preparation method for the co-infusion process based on each of the preparation data based on the specific time at which a specific process is executed to identify one or more preparation data to be used for the co-infusion process of injecting a drug from a drug container into an infusion container and the implementation time of the drug corresponding to each of the preparation data.

[0007] The program of the present invention is a program for causing a processor to execute a selection step of selecting a preparation method for a co-infusion process based on each of the preparation data based on the specific time at which a specific process is executed to identify one or more preparation data to be used for a co-infusion process in which a drug from a drug container is injected into an infusion container, and the administration time of the drug corresponding to each of the preparation data.

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a co-infusion system that can support the selection of a preparation method that is appropriate for the situation regarding preparation data.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the overall configuration of the co-infusion device of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a schematic internal configuration of the co-infusion device when viewed from the front. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a schematic internal configuration of the co-infusion device when viewed from the rear. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the co-infusion device. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the co-infusion unit. FIG. 6 is a front view showing an example of the schematic configuration of the co-infusion unit. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining adjustment of the needle tip position of a syringe. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a second transport unit. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a reading position of first information. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of the overall configuration of a syringe shelf and a medicine container shelf. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of one syringe shelf and one medicine container shelf when viewed from the first transport unit side, and a diagram for explaining the medicine container shelf. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow of the control unit when the control unit receives a medicine container recovery instruction. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of an infusion shelf. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a specific configuration of the pushing unit. FIG. 15 is a side view showing an example of a pushing and conveying unit. FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing an example of the overall configuration of the printing and inspection unit. FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the printing and inspection unit as seen from the rear. FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing an example of the internal configuration of the printing and inspection unit. FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining an example of operations from reading first information to affixing a second label. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of an infusion container having a first label affixed to its first surface and an example of an infusion container having a second label affixed to its second surface. FIG. 21 is a front view showing an example of an infusion receiving shelf. FIG. 22 is a side view showing an example of an infusion receiving shelf. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the shape of a rail portion. FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining a shutter. FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a co-infusion system. FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing an example of data output processing. FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of grouping of preparation data in the co-infusion system. FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen in the co-infusion system. Fig. 29 is a diagram showing an example of a carrier tray used in the mixed injection system. Fig. 30 is a diagram showing an example of a form printed by the mixed injection system.Fig. 31 is a flowchart showing an example of a mixed injection control process. Fig. 32 is a flowchart showing an example of a mixed injection cancellation process. Fig. 33 is a flowchart showing an example of a transfer control process. Fig. 34 is a diagram showing an example of a label printed by the mixed injection system. Fig. 35 is a flowchart showing an example of a medicine dispensing process. Fig. 34 is a diagram showing an example of an injection prescription printed by the mixed injection system. Fig. 37 is a flowchart showing an example of a tray matching process. Fig. 38 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen in the mixed injection system. Fig. 39 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen in the mixed injection system. Fig. 40 is a flowchart showing an example of a preparation method selection process.

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. In each drawing, the X-axis and Y-axis are two mutually perpendicular axes in a horizontal plane (the contact surface of the co-infusion device 1). The positive X-axis direction may also be referred to as the rightward direction, and the negative X-axis direction as the leftward direction. The positive Y-axis direction may also be referred to as the backward or rearward direction, and the negative Y-axis direction as the nearer or forward direction. The Z-axis is an axis extending perpendicular to the XY plane, and the positive Z-axis direction may also be referred to as the upward direction, and the negative Z-axis direction as the downward direction.

[0011] [Overall Configuration of Co-infusion Apparatus 1] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the overall configuration of the co-infusion apparatus 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the co-infusion apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes a syringe shelf 10, a medicine container shelf 20, an infusion shelf 30, a printing and inspection unit 50, an infusion receiving shelf 60, a trash can section 70, and a touch panel 80.

[0012] The co-infusion device 1 is a device that performs a co-infusion process (co-infusion operation) that mixes a drug and an infusion solution using a drug, a syringe, and an infusion solution indicated in data related to preparation and administration (hereinafter referred to as preparation data). More specifically, the co-infusion device 1 performs the co-infusion process by using a syringe to aspirate the drug indicated in the preparation data from a drug container such as a vial containing the drug and injecting the drug into an infusion container such as an infusion bag containing the infusion solution. The infusion solution used in the co-infusion process may be, for example, saline (physiological saline) or a liquid containing glucose. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the syringe, drug container, infusion container, and other devices used in the co-infusion process may be collectively referred to as equipment.

[0013] Other examples of co-infusion processes include aspirating a drug from a drug container using a syringe and injecting it into another drug container, or aspirating an infusion solution from an infusion container using a syringe and injecting it into the drug container. When a drug container contains a solid drug (such as a powder), the co-infusion device 1 aspirates the infusion solution from the infusion container using a syringe and injects the infusion solution into the drug container. This allows the solid drug to be converted into a liquid in the drug container. The co-infusion device 1 then injects the liquid drug into the infusion container using a syringe.

[0014] The co-infusion device 1 allows the user to load syringes, drug containers, and infusion containers into the inside of the co-infusion device 1, for example, by opening and closing a door. An air purifying unit, which will be described later, keeps the inside of the co-infusion device 1 clean, reducing the possibility of contamination of drugs and infusions during the co-infusion process. In addition, to keep the inside of the co-infusion device 1 clean, the inside of the co-infusion device 1 is maintained at positive pressure. Note that when the co-infusion device 1 handles drugs such as anticancer drugs, the inside of the co-infusion device 1 is maintained at negative pressure.

[0015] The preparation data is data required by the control unit 140 (see FIG. 4) of the co-infusion apparatus 1 to perform the co-infusion process and the printing process of the second label (see reference numeral 1062 in FIG. 20), and is generated based on the prescription data. Specifically, the preparation data is generated based on the prescription data by the later-described upper system 2, and input from the upper system 2 to the co-infusion apparatus 1. The preparation data may also be generated by the control unit 140 of the co-infusion apparatus 1. After the upper system 2 generates the preparation data based on the prescription data and inputs it to the co-infusion apparatus 1, the control unit 140 of the co-infusion apparatus 1 may convert the preparation data into working preparation data for executing the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion apparatus 1 according to preset conversion conditions, and then the co-infusion process may be executed.

[0016] More specifically, in this embodiment, after multiple preparation data are transmitted from the host system 2 of the co-infusion apparatus 1 to the co-infusion apparatus 1, the control unit 140 automatically issues the multiple preparation data received from the host system 2 and sets them as the execution target, thereby sequentially executing the co-infusion process based on each of the preparation data. Therefore, the preparation data serves as a co-infusion instruction (injection instruction) for executing the co-infusion process in the co-infusion apparatus 1. In another embodiment, after multiple preparation data are transmitted from the host system 2 of the co-infusion apparatus 1 to the co-infusion apparatus 1, the execution of the co-infusion process based on the preparation data may be suspended in the co-infusion apparatus 1. When an operation to issue the preparation data to be executed is performed in the co-infusion apparatus 1, or when a predetermined timing arrives, the preparation data may be issued and the co-infusion process based on the preparation data may be executed. In other words, even if the input of the preparation data to the co-infusion apparatus 1 functions as a co-infusion instruction, the co-infusion instruction does not necessarily instruct the immediate execution of the co-infusion process based on the preparation data. In another embodiment, the co-infusion instruction may be transmitted from the host system 2 of the co-infusion apparatus 1 to the co-infusion apparatus 1 for each co-infusion process. In this case, when the co-infusion process by the co-infusion device 1 is completed, the control unit 140 requests the higher-level system 2 to transmit preparation data for the co-infusion device 1 to execute the next co-infusion process. Upon receiving the preparation data, the control unit 140 starts the next co-infusion process.

[0017] The preparation data includes, for example, information indicating the type of drug used in the mixed injection process, the prescribed amount of the drug, information indicating the type of syringe, information indicating the type of infusion (infusion type information), and information indicating the amount of infusion withdrawn from the infusion container. The preparation data also includes information on the number of instruments, such as drug containers, infusion containers, and syringes, required for the mixed injection process based on the preparation data. In another embodiment, even if the preparation data does not include information on the number of instruments, if the preparation data includes the amount of drug or infusion used to identify the number of instruments, the control unit 140 may identify the number of each instrument based on the amount used.

[0018] Furthermore, the preparation data includes information about the infusion container into which the medication will be injected, as information to be printed on the second label LA12. This information includes prescription attribute information, prescription details information, an order number indicating the order in which the prescription was received, and infusion type information (e.g., infusion name), etc. The prescription attribute information, prescription details information, the order number indicating the order in which the prescription was received, and infusion type information are information included in the prescription data that is referenced to generate the preparation data.

[0019] The prescription attribute information includes information indicating the name and patient ID of the patient to whom the drug is prescribed (an example of patient identification information for identifying the patient), the name of the ward and room in which the patient is hospitalized, the name of the medical professional (an example of a person in charge) who will administer the mixed drug to the patient, the name of the department to which the medical professional belongs, etc. The prescription attribute information may also include physical information such as the patient's weight, height, or body surface area. The patient's physical information is used, for example, to calculate a standard dosage indicating the amount of drug administered per body surface area of ​​the patient.

[0020] Prescription details information includes information indicating the prescription category (administration time, such as regular, special, emergency, or regular medication), RP (recipe) number, infusion technique, route, drug name (an example of drug identification information indicating the type of drug), dosage, dose, administration time, and comments. The prescription category indicates the category of prescription data, and includes, for example, the administration time, such as regular, emergency, or regular medication. RP is information on the administration unit, including the drug name, dosage, and dose, and one prescription data may include one or more RPs. Specifically, in the mixed infusion process based on the preparation data, one infusion container is generated as the deliverable for each RP. In other words, one preparation data includes data for executing the mixed infusion process for one RP. The route is information indicating the destination (e.g., peripheral vein or internal jugular vein) of the liquid in the infusion container into which the drug is injected. The administration time is information indicating the timing of administration, such as the date (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the administration date) and time when the drug in the infusion container, which is the result of the co-infusion process by the co-infusion device 1, is administered to the patient, and is an example of the administration time of the drug according to the present invention. In addition, the detailed prescription information also includes information to the effect that if the drug is a drug for which early administration after co-infusion is recommended due to the possibility of a drug change occurring, this information may also be included.

[0021] The information about the infusion container into which the drug is to be injected may include at least the name of the drug, the name of the patient, the name of the hospital room, and the date of injection. The date of injection is recorded as the date on which the injection device 1 actually performs the injection process (the date on which the prescribed drug is injected into the infusion container).

[0022] The syringe shelf 10 is an equipment storage shelf capable of storing syringes loaded in the co-infusion device 1. Specifically, the co-infusion device 1 is provided with two upper and lower syringe shelves 10 as shown in FIG. 1 . The syringe shelf 10 is provided with a syringe-side door 16. A user can store a syringe on the syringe shelf 10 by opening and closing the syringe-side door 16. In particular, in the co-infusion device 1, the types of syringes stored on each of the upper and lower syringe shelves 10 are predetermined, and in the co-infusion process, a syringe stored on one of the syringe shelves 10 is used depending on the type of syringe identified by the preparation data.

[0023] The medicine container shelf 20 is an equipment storage shelf capable of storing the medicine containers filled in the co-infusion device 1. Specifically, the co-infusion device 1 is provided with two upper and lower infusion shelves 30 as shown in Fig. 1 . The medicine container shelf 20 is provided with a medicine container side door 27. The user can store the medicine containers on the medicine container shelf 20 by opening and closing the medicine container side door 27.

[0024] The infusion shelf 30 is an infusion storage shelf capable of storing infusion containers filled in the co-infusion device 1. The infusion shelf 30 is provided with an infusion side door 34. A user can store infusion containers on the infusion shelf 30 by opening and closing the infusion side door 34.

[0025] The syringe side door 16, the medicine container side door 27, and the infusion side door 34 are doors that can block user access to the syringe shelf 10, the medicine container shelf 20, and the infusion shelf 30, respectively. In the co-infusion device 1, the control unit 140 (described later) controls so that only one of the syringe side door 16, the medicine container side door 27, and the infusion side door 34 is unlocked.

[0026] The printing and inspection unit 50 is a unit that prints (records) predetermined second information (an example of recorded information) related to preparation data on a second label LA12 (an example of a recording medium) attached to the infusion container and affixes the second information to the infusion container before or after drug injection, and is an example of a first recording unit according to the present invention. The printing and inspection unit 50 may record the second information on an IC tag or the like affixed to the infusion container, or may record the second information directly on the infusion container. The printing and inspection unit 50 may print an inappropriate information label (described below) and affix it to the infusion container after drug injection. The printing and inspection unit 50 is also a unit that weighs the infusion container before and after drug injection.

[0027] The infusion receiving shelf 60 is a unit that receives infusion containers with a second label LA12 affixed thereto after drug injection. The infusion receiving shelf 60 is provided with an infusion receiving door 61. The trash can section 70 is a box that receives used syringes. The touch panel 80 functions as an operation section that receives various operations by the user and a display section that displays various information. Note that, instead of the touch panel 80, the operation section and the display section may be provided as separate components. Furthermore, a presentation section (e.g., a speaker) that presents various information may be provided together with or instead of the display section.

[0028] [Outline of the internal configuration of the co-infusion device] Figure 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a schematic internal configuration of the co-infusion device 1 when viewed from the front (near side) of the co-infusion device 1. Figure 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a schematic internal configuration of the co-infusion device 1 when viewed from the rear (rear direction).

[0029] 2 and 3 , the co-infusion device 1 includes the syringe shelf 10, the medicine container shelf 20, the infusion shelf 30, the printing and inspection unit 50, the infusion receiving shelf 60, and the trash can section 70 described above, as well as a co-infusion unit 40 (an example of a co-infusion processing section), a first conveying section 110, a second conveying section 120, and an air purifying section 130. Hereinafter, the syringe used in the co-infusion device 1 may be referred to as a syringe 501, the medicine container as a medicine container 502, and the infusion container as an infusion container 503.

[0030] The co-infusion unit 40 functions as an injector that injects a medicine into an infusion container 503 that contains an infusion liquid. When the co-infusion unit 40 injects a medicine into the infusion container 503, the medicine is mixed with the infusion liquid in the infusion container 503. The co-infusion unit 40 also functions as a member that extracts the infusion liquid from the infusion container 503. The co-infusion unit 40 can inject the infusion liquid into the medicine container 502 by extracting the infusion liquid from the infusion container 503. This allows the solid medicine contained in the medicine container 502 to be liquidized. In this embodiment, the co-infusion unit 40 is located between the syringe shelf 10 and the medicine container shelf 20 and the infusion shelf 30 and the infusion receiving shelf 60.

[0031] Here, an example of operation will be described in which the co-infusion unit 40 executes an injection process in which 10 ml of infusion solution from an infusion container 503 is injected into two medicine containers 502, each containing 0.5 g of solid medicine, to convert the medicine into a liquid, and then the liquid medicine is injected into the infusion container 503. In this case, the co-infusion unit 40 first aspirates 20 ml of infusion solution from the infusion container 503 to dissolve the medicine in the two medicine containers 502. Then, the co-infusion unit 40 punctures the first medicine container 502 with the needle of the syringe 501 while the opening of the first medicine container 502 is facing upward, downward, or horizontally. Thereafter, the co-infusion unit 40 injects 10 ml of the liquid from the syringe 501 into the first medicine container 502, and then aspirates 10.5 ml of the liquid medicine from the first medicine container 502. This series of injection and suction operations is repeated a predetermined number of times. As a result, the solid drug in the first drug container 502 is aspirated into the syringe 501 as a liquid drug. Next, the co-injection unit 40 punctures the second drug container 502 with the needle of the syringe 501, similar to the first drug container. The co-injection unit 40 then injects 10 ml of the liquid in the syringe 501 into the second drug container 502, and then aspirates 10.5 ml of the liquid drug from the second drug container 502. This series of injection and suction operations is repeated a predetermined number of times. As a result, the solid drug in the second drug container 502 is also aspirated into the syringe 501 as a liquid drug. In other words, the 20 ml of liquid drug in which 0.5 g of the drug in the first drug container 502 is dissolved is used to dissolve the drug in the second drug container 502. The co-injection unit 40 then injects all of the liquid drug in the syringe 501 into the infusion container 503. This makes it possible to shorten the time required for the mixed injection process compared to when the injection and suction operation is performed individually for each drug container 502 to inject the liquid drug into the infusion container 503, i.e., when it is necessary to suction the infusion liquid from the infusion container 503 and inject the drug into the infusion container 503 the same number of times as the number of drug containers 502.In other embodiments, 20 ml of liquid in the syringe 501 may be injected only during the injection and suction operation of the second drug container 502, or 20 ml of liquid in the syringe 501 may be injected during the injection and suction operation of both the first drug container 502 and the second drug container 502.

[0032] The first transport unit 110 functions as a container transport unit that transports a syringe 501 indicated in the preparation data from the syringe shelf 10 to the mixing unit 40, or transports a drug container 502 containing a drug indicated in the preparation data from the drug container shelf 20 to the mixing unit 40. When preparation data is issued and the preparation data to be used for the mixing process is determined, the first transport unit 110 transports the syringe 501 stored on the syringe shelf 10 and the drug container 502 stored on the drug container shelf 20 to the mixing unit 40. In this embodiment, the first transport unit 110 grasps the upper part of the barrel of the syringe 501 stored on the syringe shelf 10 and delivers the syringe 501 to the mixing unit 40. Similarly, the first transport unit 110 grasps the neck of the drug container 502 stored on the drug container shelf 20 and delivers the drug container 502 to the mixing unit 40.

[0033] Furthermore, the first transporting unit 110 transports the syringe 501 stored in the syringe shelf 10 to a cap attaching / detaching unit (not shown) before transporting the syringe 501 to the co-injection unit 40. This allows the first transporting unit 110 to remove the needle cap attached to the needle of the syringe 501, and transport the syringe 501 with the needle cap removed to the co-injection unit 40. Furthermore, the first transporting unit 110 transports the syringe 501 and drug container 502 after the co-injection process (the syringe 501 and drug container 502 that are no longer needed) to the trash can unit 70.

[0034] Note that first transport unit 110 is a transport unit that transports syringe 501 and drug container 502 and is shared by syringe 501 and drug container 502, but is not limited to this. A transport unit dedicated to transporting syringe 501 and a transport unit dedicated to transporting drug container 502 may be provided separately.

[0035] The second transport unit 120 functions as an infusion container transport unit that transports the infusion container 503 indicated in the preparation data between the infusion shelf 30, the co-infusion unit 40, the printing / inspection unit 50, and the infusion receiving shelf 60.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 2 , the infusion shelf 30 located on the upper level accommodates infusion containers 503 in a five-lane arrangement aligned in the left-right direction (X-axis direction). Meanwhile, the infusion shelf 30 located on the lower level accommodates infusion containers 503 in a four-lane arrangement aligned in the left-right direction (X-axis direction). Each infusion shelf 30 can accommodate a predetermined number of infusion containers 503 in the front-to-back direction (Y-axis direction) of each lane, depending on the type of infusion container 503. In the co-infusion device 1, the type of infusion container 503 accommodated in each lane is predetermined, and in the co-infusion process, the infusion container 503 accommodated in one of the lanes of the infusion shelf 30 is used depending on the type of infusion container 503 identified in the preparation data.

[0037] The second transport unit 120 transports the infusion container 503 to the mixing unit 40. When preparation data is issued and the preparation data to be used for the mixed injection process is determined, the second transport unit 120 transports the infusion container 503 stored on the infusion shelf 30 to the mixing unit 40. In this embodiment, the second transport unit 120 adsorbs the body of the infusion container 503 stored on the infusion shelf 30 and hands it over to the mixing unit 40.

[0038] The second transport unit 120 transports the infusion container 503 between the co-infusion unit 40 and the printing and inspection unit 50. In this embodiment, for example, the second transport unit 120 picks up the body of the infusion container 503 after drug injection and transports it to the printing and inspection unit 50.

[0039] The second transport unit 120 also functions as a transfer unit that transfers the infusion container 503 into which a drug has been injected by the co-infusion unit 40 to the infusion receiving shelf 60. In this embodiment, the second transport unit 120 adsorbs the body of the infusion container 503 after drug injection, to which second information different from the first information has been attached by the printing / inspection unit 500 (to which the second label LA12, or the second label LA12 and an inappropriate information label have been affixed), and transfers the container to the infusion receiving shelf 60. Details of the first information and the second information will be described later.

[0040] The air purifying unit 130 purifies and exhausts the air inside the co-infusion device 1. In this embodiment, it is provided at the top of the co-infusion device 1. The air purified by the air purifying unit 130 flows from the top to the bottom of the co-infusion device 1. The air purifying unit 130 has, for example, a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter.

[0041] The arrangement of each component in the co-infusion device 1 is not limited to the arrangement described above. For example, the medicine container shelf 20 may be provided on an upper level of the syringe shelf 10. Furthermore, the syringe shelf 10 and the medicine container shelf 20 may be arranged in the reversed positions from the infusion shelf 30, the infusion receiving shelf 60, and the printing and inspection unit 50. Although the syringe shelf 10, the medicine container shelf 20, and the infusion shelf 30 are each provided with multiple levels in this embodiment, each may be provided with one level. Although the infusion receiving shelf 60 is provided with one level in this embodiment, each may be provided with multiple levels. Furthermore, the printing and inspection unit 50 and the infusion receiving shelf 60 may be arranged in the reversed positions. The arrangement of each component in the co-infusion device 1 may be determined taking into consideration user convenience, ease of manufacturing, and the like.

[0042] Furthermore, a syringe-side door 16 and / or a drug container-side door 27 may be provided on the side of the co-infusion device 1 (on the right side of the paper in FIG. 2 ). As will be described later, one syringe 501 and one drug container 502 are loaded from the front of the co-infusion device 1. On the other hand, multiple syringes 501 or multiple drug containers 502 can be loaded from the side of the co-infusion device 1. Note that, when the infusion shelf 30 has the same configuration as the syringe shelf 10 and the drug container shelf 20, an infusion-side door 34 may be provided on the side of the co-infusion device 1 (on the left side of the paper in FIG. 2 ).

[0043] In addition, the co-infusion device 1 may be configured as a co-infusion device that performs co-infusion processing using one or more robot arms, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-40295.

[0044] The co-infusion device 1 includes a control unit 140 and a storage unit 200. Note that Fig. 4 illustrates the main hardware configuration of the co-infusion device 1 that can be controlled by the control unit 140, among the hardware configurations of the co-infusion device 1.

[0045] The control unit 140, which controls the operation of the co-infusion device 1 based on the preparation data, is an example of a co-infusion control device according to the present invention. The control unit 140 includes, for example, a syringe transport control unit 141, a drug container transport control unit 142, a first transport control unit 143, a co-infusion unit control unit 144, a second transport control unit 145, a pushing control unit 147, a printing / inspection unit control unit 148, and a touch panel control unit 149.

[0046] The syringe transport control unit 141 controls the operation of components related to the transport of the syringe 501 in the syringe shelf 10. The medicine container transport control unit 142 controls the operation of components related to the transport of the medicine container 502 in the medicine container shelf 20. The co-infusion unit control unit 144 controls the operation of components included in the co-infusion unit 40.

[0047] The first transport control unit 143 controls the operation of the components included in the first transport unit 110. The first transport control unit 143 controls the movement of the first transport unit 110, for example, between the syringe shelf 10, the medicine container shelf 20, the co-infusion unit 40, the trash can unit 70, and the cap attachment / detachment unit (not shown). The second transport control unit 145 controls the operation of the components included in the second transport unit 120. The second transport control unit 145 controls the movement of the second transport unit 120, for example, between the infusion shelf 30, the co-infusion unit 40, the printing / inspection unit 50, and the infusion receiving shelf 60.

[0048] The pushing control unit 147 controls the operation of the members related to the transportation of the infusion container 503 in the infusion shelf 30. The printing / inspection unit control unit 148 controls the operation of the members provided in the printing / inspection unit 50. The touch panel control unit 149 controls the touch panel 80.

[0049] The memory unit 200 also stores data used by the control unit 140 to perform co-infusion and printing processes. The memory unit 200 stores, for example, preparation data. The memory unit 200 also stores a pharmaceutical master. For example, the pharmaceutical master includes information such as the pharmaceutical code, pharmaceutical name, JAN code (or RSS), vial code, classification (dosage form: powder (powder), tablet, liquid, topical medicine, etc.), specific gravity, viscosity, pharmaceutical type (ordinary medicine, anticancer drug, poison, narcotic, powerful drug, antipsychotic, therapeutic drug, etc.), incompatibility, excipient, precautions, pharmaceutical container type (ampule, pharmaceutical container bottle), pharmaceutical capacity per pharmaceutical container (predetermined amount), pharmaceutical container shape information, and pharmaceutical container weight. The pharmaceutical master also includes information on infusion containers containing infusion solutions such as saline or glucose. Specifically, the infusion container information includes information such as the infusion solution's identification and specific gravity. The pharmaceutical master may also include information for identifying drug combinations that are recommended to be administered early after mixing due to the possibility of compounding changes.

[0050] [Specific Configuration of Co-infusion Unit] Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the co-infusion unit 40. Fig. 6 is a front view showing an example of the schematic configuration of the co-infusion unit 40, and is a diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the co-infusion unit 40. Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining adjustment of the needle tip position of the syringe 501.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 5 , the co-infusion unit 40 includes a syringe holder 41 , a drug container holder 42 , an infusion container holder 43 , a stopper position detector 45 , and a first detector 46 .

[0052] The syringe holding unit 41 is a member that holds the syringe 501 (the syringe 501 transported by the first transport unit 110) for injecting a medicine into the infusion container 503. The syringe 501 includes a syringe 5011, a needle 5014, and a plunger 5015. The plunger 5015 is a pusher that moves in and out of the syringe 5011. The plunger 5015 moves in and out of the syringe 5011 to draw a medicine or the like into the syringe 5011 or to expel the medicine or the like from the syringe 5011. The syringe 5011 includes a needle-side end 5012 to which the needle 5014 is attached, and a flange 5013 that is the end opposite the needle-side end 5012 and through which the plunger 5015 moves in and out.

[0053] Syringe holding unit 41 includes needle clamping unit 411, position fixing unit 412, first syringe holding unit 416, and plunger clamping unit 417. Note that in this specification, the member described as holding the object is merely an example, and the member may be any member that can hold the object.

[0054] The needle clamping portion 411 is a member that clamps the needle 5014. The needle clamping portion 411 clamps the needle 5014 and positions the tip of the needle 5014 at a predetermined position. This allows even a bent needle 5014 to be punctured at the desired position (correct position) of the stopper provided on the infusion container 503 during mixed injection processing.

[0055] The first syringe holding portion 416 is a member that initially holds the syringe 501 that the first transporting portion 110 has transported from the syringe shelf 10. The first syringe holding portion 416 clamps the side of the syringe 5011 (e.g., the lower portion of the syringe 5011) inserted into the first syringe holding portion 416.

[0056] The position fixing portion 412 is a member that fixes the position of the syringe 501 in the extension direction of the syringe 501 at the needle-side end portion 5012 and the flange 5013. In the present embodiment, the relative positions of the second syringe holding portion 413 and the third syringe holding portion 414 that constitute the position fixing portion 412 can be changed along the extension direction of the syringe 501. The second syringe holding portion 413 and the third syringe holding portion 414 are attached such that at least one of the second syringe holding portion 413 and the third syringe holding portion 414 is movable along the extension direction of the syringe 501.

[0057] In this embodiment, when the syringe 501 is held by the position fixing portion 412, the second syringe holding portion 413 abuts against the needle-side end portion 5012 from below, and the third syringe holding portion 414 abuts against the flange 5013 from above. This allows the position fixing portion 412 to clamp the syringe 501 along the extension direction of the syringe 501. By clamping the syringe 501 along the extension direction of the syringe 501, the position fixing portion 412 can fix the syringe 5011 without sliding in the extension direction of the syringe 501 with less force than when clamping only the side surfaces of the syringe 5011. Furthermore, because the syringe 5011 is not deformed by clamping the side surfaces, smooth operation of the plunger 5015 is possible. This improves the accuracy of adjusting the suction and injection amounts of the syringe 501.

[0058] The plunger clamping portion 417 is a member that clamps the plunger 5015. In the present embodiment, the plunger clamping portion 417 clamps the tip of the plunger 5015. The plunger clamping portion 417 moves in the vertical direction relative to the needle clamping portion 411, the position fixing portion 412, and the first syringe holding portion 416, thereby allowing the plunger 5015 to move relative to the syringe 5011.

[0059] Drug container holding unit 42 is a member that holds drug container 502 (drug container 502 transported by first transport unit 110) that contains a drug to be injected into infusion container 503. In this embodiment, drug container holding unit 42 clamps the neck portion of drug container 502.

[0060] The infusion container holding unit 43 is a member that holds the infusion container 503 (the infusion container 503 transported by the second transport unit 120). In this embodiment, the infusion container holding unit 43 includes an infusion clamping unit 431 that clamps the neck of the infusion container 503, and a mounting base 432 on which the infusion container 503 is placed when withdrawing infusion liquid from the infusion container 503 or when injecting infusion liquid into the infusion container 503.

[0061] 5 and 6, the co-infusion unit 40 is provided on the side wall of the infusion shelf 30. Specifically, in the co-infusion device 1, the co-infusion unit 40 is arranged so that the syringe holding portion 41, the medicine container holding portion 42, and the infusion container holding portion 43 face toward the syringe shelf 10 and the medicine container shelf 20 (positive X-axis direction).

[0062] 6, the syringe holding unit 41 is movable in the vertical direction (±Z-axis direction), which allows the needle 5014 to puncture the medicine container 502 or the infusion container 503 located directly below the syringe 501 held by the syringe holding unit 41.

[0063] Furthermore, the drug container holding unit 42 and the infusion container holding unit 43 are movable in the front-to-rear direction (±Y-axis direction) of the co-infusion device 1. In this embodiment, the drug container holding unit 42 and the infusion container holding unit 43 are attached to a base 44, and the base 44 moves in the front-to-rear direction of the co-infusion device 1. The base 44 functions as a moving unit that moves the drug container holding unit 42 and the infusion container holding unit 43 in a direction (±Y-axis direction) perpendicular to the extension direction (±Z-axis direction) of the needle 5014 of the syringe 501 held by the syringe holding unit 41. The direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the needle 5014 may also be simply referred to as the direction perpendicular to the needle 5014.

[0064] This allows the drug container holding unit 42 and the infusion container holding unit 43 to move between the position indicated by reference numeral 1001 in Fig. 6 and the position indicated by reference numeral 1002 in Fig. 6. The position indicated by reference numeral 1001 in Fig. 6 is a first puncture position when the needle 5014 punctures the drug container 502, and the position indicated by reference numeral 1002 in Fig. 6 is a second puncture position when the needle 5014 punctures the infusion container 503. Therefore, the drug container 502 held in the drug container holding unit 42 or the infusion container 503 held in the infusion container holding unit 43 can be positioned at the puncture position of the needle 5014 of the syringe 501 held in the syringe holding unit 41.

[0065] Note that base 44 is an example of the moving unit, and the moving unit is not limited to base 44, but may be any member that moves drug container holding unit 42 and infusion container holding unit 43 in a direction perpendicular to needle 5014. Furthermore, the moving unit may move syringe holding unit 41 relative to drug container holding unit 42 and infusion container holding unit 43 in a direction perpendicular to needle 5014. The moving unit may be any member that can move drug container holding unit 42 and infusion container holding unit 43 relative to syringe holding unit 41.

[0066] 6, the co-infusion unit 40 is rotatable about a rotation axis Ax (Ax is the rotation axis), which extends in a direction perpendicular to the base on which the syringe holder 41, the drug container holder 42, and the infusion container holder 43 are provided (±X-axis direction).

[0067] At the first puncture position indicated by reference numeral 1001 in Fig. 6 , the mixing unit 40 rotates about the rotation axis Ax, thereby moving the drug container 502 above the syringe 501. At the second puncture position indicated by reference numeral 1002 in Fig. 6 , the mixing unit 40 rotates about the rotation axis Ax, thereby moving the infusion container 503 above the syringe 501. In these states, the mixing unit 40 moves the plunger 5015 downward to move the drug contained in the drug container 502 or the infusion solution contained in the infusion container 503 to the syringe 5011.

[0068] The infusion liquid contained in the syringe 5011 is injected into the medicine container 502 in the state indicated by reference numeral 1001 in Fig. 6 (where the medicine container 502 is located directly below the syringe 501). Similarly, the medicine contained in the syringe 5011 is injected into the infusion container 503 in the state indicated by reference numeral 1002 in Fig. 6 (where the infusion container 503 is located directly below the syringe 501).

[0069] 6, the infusion container 503 has a first surface SF1 and a second surface SF2. The first surface SF1 and the second surface SF2 are opposite surfaces of the infusion container 503 and are the main surfaces of the infusion container 503. The main surface of the infusion container 503 refers to the surface with the largest area among the multiple surfaces that make up the infusion container 503.

[0070] In the infusion shelf 30, the infusion container 503 is stored with the first surface SF1 and the second surface SF2 of the infusion container 503 facing a predetermined direction. In this embodiment, the infusion container 503 is held on the rail portion 36 of the infusion shelf 30 with the first surface SF1 facing the rear of the co-infusion device 1 and the second surface SF2 facing the front of the co-infusion device 1. The second transport unit 120 then suctions the first surface SF1 of the infusion shelf 30 to hold the infusion container 503, and transports and hands over the infusion container 503 to the infusion container holder 43 without changing its orientation. Thereafter, the co-infusion unit 40 rotates around the rotation axis Ax to extract the infusion solution from the infusion container 503. As a result, the infusion container 503 is placed on the mounting table 432 with the second surface SF2 abutting against the mounting table 432.

[0071] In this way, the mounting base 432 rotates in a horizontal plane (XY plane) around the rotation axis Ax that is perpendicular to the above-mentioned predetermined direction (±Y-axis direction). Therefore, as described above, the infusion container 503 can be placed on the mounting base 432 without changing the orientation of the infusion container 503 transported from the infusion shelf 30. Therefore, in order to place the infusion container 503 on the mounting base 432, it is not necessary to provide the co-infusion device 1 with a mechanism for changing the orientation of the infusion container 503.

[0072] Furthermore, the surface of the mounting base 432 is approximately parallel to the X-axis direction. Therefore, by rotating the co-infusion unit 40 around the rotation axis Ax and adjusting the rotational position of the co-infusion unit 40, the surface of the mounting base 432 can be oriented in the predetermined direction in which the first surface SF1 and the second surface SF2 of the infusion container 503 face, without changing the orientation of the infusion container 503. By orienting the surface of the mounting base 432 and the first surface SF1 and the second surface SF2 of the infusion container 503 in the same direction, deformation of the infusion container 503 when the infusion container 503 is brought into contact with the mounting base 432 can be prevented. Furthermore, movement of the position of the portion of the infusion container 503 containing liquid (e.g., the body of the infusion container 503) when the infusion container 503 is brought into contact with the mounting base 432 can be prevented.

[0073] Returning to Fig. 5, stopper position detection unit 45 is a sensor that detects the position of rubber stopper 5021 of drug container 502 held in drug container holding unit 42. Rubber stopper 5021 is provided on the upper surface of drug container 502 and is a member that is punctured by needle 5014. In the present embodiment, stopper position detection unit 45 is disposed in a position that is directly above drug container holding unit 42 at the second puncture position indicated by reference numeral 1002 in Fig. 6. Stopper position detection unit 45 may be, for example, a distance measurement sensor.

[0074] The first detection unit 46 detects the tip of the needle 5014 of the syringe 501 held in the syringe holding unit 41. The syringe holding unit 41 moves downward when the needle 5014 punctures the drug container 502 held in the drug container holding unit 42 or the infusion container 503 held in the infusion container holding unit 43. The first detection unit 46 detects the tip of the needle 5014 that has moved in conjunction with this downward movement. The first detection unit 46 may be, for example, an optical sensor including a light receiving unit that receives light reflected by the needle 5014.

[0075] Reference distance information indicating the distance in the vertical direction between the position where the stopper position detection unit 45 detects the object and the position where the first detection unit 46 detects the object is stored in advance in the storage unit 200. The co-infusion unit control unit 144 can calculate the distance from the position of the needle 5014 that has passed in front of the first detection unit 46 to the rubber stopper 5021 from the difference between the distance from the stopper position detection unit 45 to the rubber stopper 5021, detected by the stopper position detection unit 45, and the distance indicated by the reference distance information.

[0076] As described above, the drug container holding unit 42 moves in a direction perpendicular to the needle 5014 (±Y-axis direction). Therefore, the position of the drug container 502 in the up-down direction is approximately the same at the first puncture position indicated by reference numeral 1001 in FIG. 6 and the second puncture position indicated by reference numeral 1002 in FIG. 6. Therefore, the position of the rubber stopper 5021 detected by the stopper position detection unit 45 at the second puncture position can also be applied to the first puncture position. Therefore, the co-infusion unit control unit 144 can puncture the rubber stopper 5021 with only the needle tip of the needle 5014 by moving the needle 5014 that has passed in front of the first detection unit 46 downward by the calculated distance.

[0077] If the tip of needle 5014 is inserted deeply into drug container 502, not all of the drug contained in drug container 502 can be drawn into syringe 501. By inserting the needle tip into drug container 502 with precision as described above, most of the drug contained in drug container 502 can be drawn into syringe 501.

[0078] 7, the co-infusion unit 40 may further include a second detection unit 47. The second detection unit 47 is a sensor that detects the syringe holding unit 41 directly above the first detection unit 46. The second detection unit 47 may be an optical sensor, similar to the first detection unit 46. By using the first detection unit 46 and the second detection unit 47, the co-infusion unit control unit 144 can detect the tip position of the needle 5014 of the syringe 501 held in the syringe holding unit 41.

[0079] Specifically, as shown by reference numeral 1011 in FIG. 7 , after attaching jig 601 (reference syringe) to syringe holding part 41, syringe holding part 41 is moved downward at a predetermined speed V. Co-infusion unit control part 144 measures first detection time T1 from when second detection part 47 detects syringe holding part 41 to when first detection part 46 detects the needle of jig 601. The tip position of the needle of jig 601 when second detection part 47 detects syringe holding part 41 is measured by a person or the like and stored in advance in memory part 200. The position that serves as the measurement reference for the tip position can be set arbitrarily.

[0080] As shown by reference numeral 1012 in FIG. 7, with the syringe 501 actually used in the mixed injection process attached to the syringe holding portion 41, the syringe holding portion 41 is moved downward at a predetermined speed V. The mixed injection unit control unit 144 measures the second detection time T2 from when the second detection unit 47 detects the syringe holding portion 41 to when the first detection unit 46 detects the needle 5014. As a result, the mixed injection unit control unit 144 calculates the tip position of the needle 5014 of the syringe 501 actually used in the mixed injection process when the syringe holding portion 41 holding the syringe 501 actually used in the mixed injection process is detected by the second detection unit 47 from (second detection time T2 - first detection time T1) x predetermined speed V and the tip position of the needle of the jig 601 stored in advance in the memory unit 200.

[0081] 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the second transport unit 120. The second transport unit 120 is a member that removes an infusion container 503 from the infusion shelf 30 in order to inject a drug into the infusion container 503 indicated in the preparation data, for example. The second transport unit 120 includes an adsorption unit 121 and a third reading unit 122 (reading unit).

[0082] The suction part 121 is a member that suctions the body part 5031 of the infusion container 503. The suction part 121 is an example of a holding member that holds the infusion container 503, and as long as the second transport unit 120 can hold the infusion container 503, the holding member does not have to be the suction part 121. The second transport control unit 145 detaches the infusion container 503 by controlling the air pressure in the suction part 121.

[0083] In this embodiment, three suction sections 121 are provided along the vertical direction at positions facing the infusion container 503 in the second transport section 120. The three suction sections 121 include a main suction section 121A and two sub suction sections 121B.

[0084] The main suction part 121A is always used to adsorb the infusion container 503 when the second transport part 120 holds the infusion container 503. The main suction part 121A is provided at a position where it can face all of the infusion containers 503 of different sizes that can be stored in the co-infusion device 1. The two sub-suction parts 121B adsorb the infusion container 503 together with the main suction part 121A depending on the vertical size of the infusion container 503. Therefore, at least one of the two sub-suction parts 121B may not adsorb the infusion container 503 depending on the size of the infusion container 503.

[0085] The positional relationship between the adsorption location of the infusion container 503 (e.g., the infusion shelf 30 and the mixing unit 40) and the second transporting unit 120 is predetermined so that the main adsorption unit 121A is always used when the second transporting unit 120 holds the infusion container 503.

[0086] The control unit 140 stores in volatile memory the type of infusion container 503 being transported by the second transport unit 120. Therefore, if the power supply to the co-infusion device 1 is turned off due to a power outage or the like while the second transport unit 120 is transporting the infusion container 503, the control unit 140 may be unable to manage the type of infusion container 503 held by the second transport unit 120. In such a case, after the power supply is turned on, the printing / inspection unit 50 affixes a label to the infusion container 503 held by the second transport unit 120, on which information indicating that the co-infusion process using the infusion container 503 may have been incorrectly performed. This information may be an example of second information different from the first information (described below). In this case, the label is a label indicating the second information and may be affixed in a position that does not overlap with the first label LA11 (see reference numeral 1061 in FIG. 20 ), similar to the second label LA12.

[0087] At this time, the label is affixed to an area Ar11 on the second surface SF2 that faces the main suction portion 121A. The positional relationship between the main suction portion 121A and the guide portion 56 (described later) of the printing / inspection unit 50 is predetermined so that the label can be affixed to the area Ar11. The area of ​​the second surface SF2 facing the portion suctioned by the suction portion 121 is less likely to move, allowing the label to be affixed more reliably. The area Ar11 faces the portion suctioned for any infusion container 503. Therefore, by using the area Ar11 as the label affixing position, the label can be affixed more reliably regardless of the type of infusion container 503 held in the second transport unit 120.

[0088] The label may be attached by the user. At least a part of the label may be attached to the area Ar11. The number of suction portions 121 is not limited to three, and may be one or a number other than three. When multiple suction portions 121 are provided, it is sufficient that at least one of them is the main suction portion 121A.

[0089] The third reading unit 122 reads first information included in a first label LA11 (see reference numeral 1061 in FIG. 20 ) affixed to the body 5031 of the infusion container 503. The first label LA11 is a label affixed to the infusion container 503 in advance by the pharmaceutical manufacturer that provides the infusion container 503, and is also referred to as an infusion label. The first information read by the third reading unit 122 is, for example, infusion type information indicating the type of infusion.

[0090] In this embodiment, the third reading unit 122 includes a light receiving unit 1222 that receives light reflected from the surface of the infusion container 503. For example, if the third reading unit 122 includes a light emitting unit 1221 that emits light toward the surface of the infusion container 503 stored in the infusion shelf 30, the light receiving unit 1222 may receive the light that is emitted from the light emitting unit 1221 and reflected from the surface of the infusion container 503. The third reading unit 122 reads the first information based on a change in the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 1222. If the first information is included in a barcode, the third reading unit 122 may be realized by a barcode reader.

[0091] In this embodiment, the third reading unit 122 functions as a recognition unit that recognizes the orientation of the first surface SF1 of the infusion container 503. Specifically, the third reading unit 122 recognizes the orientation of the first surface SF1 based on changes in the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 1222. In this case, the third reading unit 122 functions as an optical member, thereby being able to recognize the orientation of the first surface SF1. In this embodiment, when the third reading unit 122 can read the first information, the control unit 140 recognizes that the orientation of the first surface SF1 is in a predetermined direction. In this embodiment, the predetermined direction is toward the back of the co-infusion device 1 (the direction in which the third reading unit 122 is located as viewed from the infusion shelf 30).

[0092] When the second transport unit 120 removes the infusion container 503 from the infusion shelf 30, the third reading unit 122 reads the first information included in the first label LA11 from the infusion container 503 stored on the infusion shelf 30. In this embodiment, the first label LA11 is affixed to the first surface SF1. Therefore, when the second transport unit 120 removes the infusion container 503 from the infusion shelf 30, if the infusion container 503 is stored on the infusion shelf 30 so that the second transport unit 120 and the first label LA11 face each other, the third reading unit 122 can recognize that the orientation of the first surface SF1 is toward the back of the co-infusion device 1.

[0093] The control unit 140 determines whether the type of infusion indicated by the first information is the same as the type of infusion indicated in the preparation data as a result of the third reading unit 122 reading the first information. If the control unit 140 determines that the two types are the same, it transports the infusion container 503 to the co-infusion unit 40 or the like without issuing an error indicating that they are not the same. On the other hand, if the control unit 140 determines that the two types are not the same, it may issue an error, or it may place the infusion container 503 on the infusion receiving shelf 60 and remove another infusion container 503 from the infusion shelf 30.

[0094] [Specific Configuration of Syringe Shelf] Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of the overall configuration of the syringe shelf 10 and the medicine container shelf 20. Reference numeral 1025 in Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of one syringe shelf 10 and one medicine container shelf 20 when viewed from the first transporting unit 110 side. Reference numeral 1026 in Fig. 11 is a diagram for explaining the medicine container shelf 20.

[0095] As shown in Fig. 10, the syringe shelf 10 comprises a plurality of instrument holders 11, an instrument transport unit 12, an object detector 13, and a syringe detector 14. Note that an instrument holder 11 is also attached to the mounting portion 1211 of the instrument transport unit 12 shown in Fig. 10, but this is not shown in the figure.

[0096] Prior to the mixed injection process, the user loads the syringe 501 into the syringe shelf 10. The syringe 501 is loaded into the syringe shelf 10 with a needle cap 5016 attached to the needle 5014.

[0097] In this embodiment, a plurality of holes 172 are formed in the plate-like member 171 that defines each syringe shelf 10. This allows, for example, air purified by the air purification unit 130 (see FIG. 2 ) to flow efficiently from the top to the bottom of the co-infusion device 1.

[0098] The multiple instrument holding parts 11 are members capable of holding syringes 501. In this embodiment, one instrument holding part 11 holds one syringe 501, but one instrument holding part 11 may hold multiple syringes 501. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 11, the instrument holding part 11 comprises free rollers 1111 and an instrument clamping part 1112.

[0099] The instrument clamping part 1112 clamps the syringe 501. In this embodiment, the instrument clamping part 1112 clamps the flange 5013 of the syringe 501. The instrument clamping part 1112 is provided at a height such that the syringe 501 does not come into contact with the plate-like member 171 when the syringe 501 is held by the instrument holding part 11.

[0100] The pair of instrument clamping parts 1112 are biased in directions moving towards each other so that they can clamp the syringe 501. In this embodiment, the instrument clamping parts 1112 are spaced apart by a distance smaller than the width of the flange 5013 when not clamping the flange 5013. When the flange 5013 is inserted between the instrument clamping parts 1112, the instrument clamping parts 1112 move in accordance with the shape of the flange 5013. This allows the instrument clamping parts 1112 to clamp the syringe 501.

[0101] A free roller 1111, which has a rotation axis extending in the vertical direction and is rotatable on the XY plane, is provided below the tip of the instrument clamping part 1112. The free roller 1111 holds the vicinity of the flange 5013 of the syringe 5011 clamped by the instrument clamping part 1112.

[0102] The instrument transport unit 12 is a member that transports at least one of the multiple instrument holders 11 to the work area Ar1. In this embodiment, the instrument transport unit 12 is an endless rotating member (rotating belt) to which multiple instrument holders 11 are connected. Therefore, in this embodiment, the instrument transport unit 12 transports the instrument holders 11 one by one to the work area Ar1. However, the instrument transport unit 12 may also be a transport unit that transports multiple instrument holders 11 to the work area Ar1 at once.

[0103] The working area Ar1 is an area where the user causes at least one of the plurality of instrument holders 11 to hold the syringe 501. The working area Ar1 is also an area where the user removes the syringe 501 held in at least one of the plurality of instrument holders 11. In this embodiment, the working area Ar1 is an area where the user causes one instrument holder 11 to hold the syringe 501, and where the user removes the syringe 501 held in one instrument holder 11.

[0104] The working area Ar1 may function only as an area where the user causes at least one of the plurality of instrument holders 11 to hold the syringe 501. In this case, the area where the user removes the syringe 501 held in the instrument holder 11 may be provided in a position separate from the working area Ar1. The working area Ar1 may also function only as an area where the user removes the syringe 501 held in the instrument holder 11. In this case, the area where the user causes the syringe 501 to be held in the instrument holder 11 may be provided in a position separate from the working area Ar1.

[0105] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the instrument transport unit 12 transports another instrument holding unit 11 in place of the instrument holding unit 11 located in the work area Ar1 when the object detection unit 13 detects an object (e.g., the user's hand) and then stops detecting the object, triggering the transport unit 12 to transport another instrument holding unit 11 instead of the one located in the work area Ar1. In this case, the user inserts his / her hand into the work area Ar1, causes the user to hold a syringe 501 in the instrument holding unit 11, and then when the user's hand leaves the work area Ar1, the instrument transport unit 12 transports another instrument holding unit 11 to the work area Ar1. Furthermore, in addition to detecting the user's movement, the instrument transport unit 12 may transport another instrument holding unit 11 to the work area Ar1 when the syringe detection unit 14 detects the syringe 501 held in the instrument holding unit 11 or when the syringe detection unit 14 can no longer detect the syringe 501 held in the instrument holding unit 11.

[0106] In response to a transport instruction from the user, the instrument transport unit 12 may transport another instrument holder 11 instead of the instrument holder 11 located in the working area Ar1. In this case, the syringe transport control unit 141 may accept the transport instruction from the user via the touch panel 80, for example.

[0107] The instrument transport unit 12 rotates counterclockwise, for example, to change the instrument holder 11 located in the working area Ar1. This transport operation allows another instrument holder 11 not holding a syringe 501 to be transported to the working area Ar1 in place of the instrument holder 11 holding the syringe 501 in the working area Ar1.

[0108] The object detection unit 13 is a component that detects an object inserted into the work area Ar1. In this embodiment, the object detection unit 13 detects the user's hand or arm inserted into the work area Ar1. The syringe detection unit 14 is a component that detects the syringe 501 held in the instrument holding unit 11 located in the work area Ar1. In this embodiment, the syringe detection unit 14 detects the syringe 5011 when the syringe 501 is held in the instrument holding unit 11.

[0109] The storage unit 200 stores syringe inventory information indicating the type and number of syringes 501 stored in the syringe shelf 10. For example, the syringe inventory information stores information identifying each instrument holding unit 11, information indicating the type of syringe 501 held in each instrument holding unit 11, and information indicating the transport position of each instrument holding unit 11, all associated with each other. The control unit 140 then updates the syringe inventory information as appropriate in response to the loading of syringes 501 into the instrument holding units 11 of the syringe shelf 10 and the removal of syringes 501 from the instrument holding units 11.

[0110] [Specific Configuration of Medicine Container Shelf] As indicated by reference numeral 1025 in Figures 10 and 11, the medicine container shelf 20 comprises a plurality of instrument holders 21, an instrument transport unit 22, an object detector 23, and a medicine container detector 24. Also, as indicated by reference numeral 1025 in Figure 11, the medicine container shelf 20 comprises a first reader 25 (reader) and a roller driver 26. Note that an instrument holder 21 is also attached to the attachment unit 221 of the instrument transport unit 22 shown in Figure 10, but this is not shown in the figure.

[0111] Prior to the mixed injection process, the user loads drug containers 502 into drug container shelf 20. Drug container 502 is provided with a rubber stopper 5021 (see FIG. 5 ) that closes the opening, and a lid that covers rubber stopper 5021. Drug container 502 is loaded into drug container shelf 20 with the lid removed. Similar to syringe shelf 10, plate-like member 171 that defines each drug container shelf 20 has a plurality of holes 172 formed therein.

[0112] The instrument holder 21 is a member capable of holding a drug container 502. In this embodiment, one drug container 502 is held by one instrument holder 21, but multiple drug containers 502 may be held by one instrument holder 21.

[0113] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the object holding section 21 includes a free roller 211, an object clamping section 212, a drive roller 213, and a first magnet gear 214.

[0114] The instrument clamping part 212 clamps the drug container 502. In this embodiment, the instrument clamping part 212 clamps the neck part of the drug container 502. The instrument clamping part 212 is provided at a height such that the drug container 502 does not come into contact with the plate-like member 171 when the drug container 502 is held by the instrument holding part 21.

[0115] The pair of instrument clamping parts 212 are biased in directions that move them toward each other so that they can clamp the drug container 502. In this embodiment, the instrument clamping parts 212 are spaced apart by a distance smaller than the width of the neck of the drug container 502 when they are not clamping the neck. When the neck is inserted between the instrument clamping parts 212, the instrument clamping parts 212 move in accordance with the shape of the neck. This allows the instrument clamping parts 212 to clamp the drug container 502.

[0116] A free roller 211 having a rotation axis extending in the vertical direction and rotatable on the XY plane is provided at the tip of the instrument clamping part 212. As indicated by reference numeral 1026 in Figure 11 , the free roller 211, together with a drive roller 213 provided on the side where the instrument clamping part 212 is axially supported and positioned opposite the center of the free roller 211, supports the neck of the drug container 502 at three points, thereby holding the drug container 502. When the drive roller 213 rotates while holding the drug container 502, the drug container 502 also rotates. This rotation causes the free roller 211 to rotate as well.

[0117] A first magnet gear 214 is provided above the drive roller 213. The drive roller 213 and the first magnet gear 214 are connected to a common rotation axis extending in the vertical direction and are rotatable on the XY plane. The rotation of the second magnet gear 261 provided in the roller drive unit 26 causes the first magnet gear 214 to rotate, and the drive roller 213 also rotates.

[0118] The instrument transport unit 22 is a member that transports at least one of the multiple instrument holders 21 to the working area Ar2. In this embodiment, the instrument transport unit 22 is an endless rotating member to which multiple instrument holders 21 are connected. Therefore, in this embodiment, the instrument transport unit 22 transports the instrument holders 21 one by one to the working area Ar2. However, the instrument transport unit 22 may also be a transport unit that transports multiple instrument holders 21 to the working area Ar2 at one time.

[0119] Like the working area Ar1, the working area Ar2 is an area where the user causes at least one of the multiple instrument holders 21 to hold the medicine container 502. The working area Ar2 is also an area where the user removes the medicine container 502 held in at least one of the multiple instrument holders 21. Like the working area Ar1, the working area Ar2 may also be an area that functions only as an area for holding the medicine container 502, or an area that functions only as an area for removing the medicine container 502.

[0120] In this embodiment, the instrument transport unit 22 has the same function as the instrument transport unit 12. Specifically, when the object detection unit 23 detects an object (e.g., the user's hand) and then stops detecting the object, the instrument transport unit 22 transports another instrument holder 21 in place of the instrument holder 21 located in the working area Ar2. In addition to detecting a user's movement, the instrument transport unit 12 may also transport another instrument holder 11 to the working area Ar2 when the medicine container detection unit 24 detects a medicine container 502 held in the instrument holder 21 or when the medicine container detection unit 24 can no longer detect the medicine container 502 held in the instrument holder 21. The instrument transport unit 12 changes the instrument holder 21 located in the working area Ar2 by, for example, rotating counterclockwise.

[0121] In addition, like the syringe transport control unit 141, the drug container transport control unit 142 may transport another equipment holding unit 21 instead of the equipment holding unit 21 located in the work area Ar2, for example, in response to a transport instruction from the user.

[0122] The object detection unit 23 is a component that detects an object inserted into the working area Ar2. In this embodiment, the object detection unit 23 detects the user's hand or arm inserted into the working area Ar2. The medicine container detection unit 24 detects the medicine container 502 held in the instrument holder 21 located in the working area Ar2.

[0123] The first reading unit 25 is a component that reads drug identification information indicating the type of drug contained in the drug container 502, which is displayed on the surface of the drug container 502, along a portion of the transport path along which the instrument transport unit 22 transports the plurality of instrument holders 21. Specifically, the drug container 502 is provided with a barcode on which the drug identification information is recorded, and the first reading unit 25 according to this embodiment is a barcode reader. As indicated by reference numeral 1025 in Fig. 11 , the first reading unit 25 is disposed at a position where it can read the barcode from the drug container 502 transported to the removal position PO11. The removal position PO11 is the position where the first transport unit 110 removes the drug container 502.

[0124] The roller drive unit 26 is a motor that rotates a second magnet gear 261 attached to the roller drive unit 26 in order to rotate the drive roller 213 of the instrument holder 21. The rotation axis of the roller drive unit 26 extends in the Y-axis direction, and the second magnet gear 261 is attached to this rotation axis. When the medicine container transport control unit 142 drives the roller drive unit 26, the second magnet gear 261 also rotates. The first magnet gear 214 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the second magnet gear 261. The drive roller 213, which is connected to the same rotation axis as the first magnet gear 214, rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the first magnet gear 214, thereby rotating the medicine container 502 abutting against the drive roller 213. By rotating the medicine container 502 in this manner, the first reading unit 25 can read the barcode no matter where the barcode is attached on the surface of the medicine container 502.

[0125] [Transportation Process of the Instrument Holding Unit] The medicine container transport control unit 142 controls the instrument transport unit 22 to transport the instrument holding units 21 holding the medicine containers 502 to be removed one after another to the removal position PO11.

[0126] The memory unit 200 stores drug inventory information that associates, for example, information identifying each instrument holding unit 21, information indicating the type of drug contained in the drug container 502 held in each instrument holding unit 21, and information indicating the transport position of each instrument holding unit 21. The control unit 140 then updates the drug inventory information as appropriate in response to the loading of drug containers 502 into the instrument holding units 21 of the drug container shelf 20 and the removal of drug containers 502 from the instrument holding units 21. For example, after drug containers 502 are loaded into one or more instrument holding units 21 of the drug container shelf 20, the control unit 140 transports each drug container 502 to the removal position PO11 at any timing, reads the type of drug contained in the drug container 502 from the barcode on the drug container 502 using the first reading unit 25, and stores the type of drug in the drug inventory information. This allows the control unit 140 to determine the position of the medicine container 502 containing various medicines on the medicine container shelf 20 based on the medicine inventory information.

[0127] Then, by referring to the drug inventory information in the memory unit 200, the drug container transport control unit 142 identifies the drug container 502 to be removed that is required for the mixed injection process based on the preparation data, and controls the instrument transport unit 22 based on the transport position of the drug container 502 to transport the drug container 502 to the removal position PO11. For example, the drug container transport control unit 142 moves the instrument holding unit 21 corresponding to the drug container 502 to be removed to the removal position PO11, thereby transporting the drug container 502 to the removal position PO11.

[0128] Specifically, when the drug container transport control unit 142 receives the issuance of preparation data after the first transport unit 110 removes the drug container 502 from the instrument holding unit 21, the drug container transport control unit 142 transports the instrument holding unit 21 holding the drug container 502 to be used in the next mixed injection process to the removal position PO11. However, even if the first transport unit 110 does not receive the issuance of preparation data after removing the drug container 502, the drug container transport control unit 142 may transport the instrument holding unit 21 holding the drug container 502 containing the same type of drug as the drug container 502 to the removal position PO11.

[0129] For example, the medicine container transport control unit 142 refers to the medicine inventory information in the memory unit 200 to determine whether there is an instrument holding unit 21 that holds a medicine container 502 containing the same type of medicine as the medicine container 502 that is the object of removal by the first transport unit 110. If the medicine container transport control unit 142 determines that there is an instrument holding unit 21 that holds the medicine container 502, it transports the instrument holding unit 21 to the removal position PO11 regardless of whether or not the issuance of preparation data has been accepted.

[0130] As a result, when the first transport control unit 143 receives the issuance of the preparation data, it can remove the drug container 502 from the removal position PO11 without waiting for the drug container 502 to be transported to the removal position PO11. Therefore, the control unit 140 can quickly start the co-infusion process based on the preparation data to be sent to the co-infusion device 1 in the future, thereby shortening the overall time required for the co-infusion process. Note that the co-infusion device 1 may perform such a process when it allows consecutive co-infusion processes using the same type of drug by reusing the syringe 501 in order to conserve the number of syringes 501 used.

[0131] 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing by the control unit 140 when the control unit 140 receives an instruction to collect the drug container 502. Note that the collection processing described here may also be executed to collect other equipment such as the syringe 501 or the infusion container 503.

[0132] The instrument transport unit 22 may transport the instrument holding unit 21 holding the medicine container 502 designated as the collection target to the work area Ar2 in response to an instruction to collect the medicine container 502. This allows the user to easily collect the medicine container 502 stored on the medicine container shelf 20.

[0133] In this embodiment, it is assumed that a sequence in which each of the multiple medicine container shelves 20 enters a collection mode for collecting medicine containers 502 held in the instrument holding section 21 is preset for each of the multiple medicine container shelves 20. Information indicating this sequence is stored in the memory unit 200 in association with each medicine container shelf 20. Information regarding which medicine containers 502 are designated as collection targets is also stored in the memory unit 200.

[0134] For example, when the first reading unit 25 is unable to read the drug identification information from the drug container 502, the control unit 140 designates the drug container 502 as a target for collection. In this case, upon receiving the collection instruction, the instrument transport unit 22 transports the instrument holding unit 21 holding the drug container 502 whose drug identification information could not be read to the working area Ar2. The co-infusion device 1 cannot use drugs contained in drug containers 502 whose drug identification information cannot be read for co-infusion processing. Therefore, by transporting the drug containers 502 based on the above designation, the user can collect the drug containers 502 that cannot be used for co-infusion processing.

[0135] Furthermore, the control unit 140 designates, for example, the medicine container 502 designated by the user via the touch panel 80 as a collection target. In this case, when the collection instruction is received, the instrument transport unit 22 transports the instrument holding unit 21 holding the medicine container 502 designated by the user to the work area Ar2. Therefore, the user can collect the medicine container 502 designated by the user. Note that the collection instruction may include information about the medicine container 502 designated by the user as a collection target.

[0136] 12 , the medicine container transport control unit 142 determines whether the collection instruction has been received (S11), for example, via the touch panel 80. The medicine container transport control unit 142 waits for the collection instruction to be received (NO in S11) until the collection instruction is received.

[0137] When the drug container transport control unit 142 determines that the collection instruction has been received (YES in S11), it selects the drug container shelf 20 for which the smallest order among the collection mode orders is set by referring to the memory unit 200 (S12). The drug container transport control unit 142 determines whether the status of the selected drug container shelf 20 indicates that the first transport unit 110 (removal unit) is removing the drug container 502 (drug container 502 being removed) (S13).

[0138] The above status is managed for each medicine container shelf 20 in the memory unit 200. When a medicine container 502 held on a medicine container shelf 20 becomes a target for removal, the control unit 140 sets the status of the medicine container shelf 20 to "medicine container 502 is being removed." On the other hand, when the control unit 140 determines that the first transport unit 110 has removed a medicine container 502 from the medicine container shelf 20, it sets the status of the medicine container shelf 20 to "medicine container 502 not being removed." For example, when the control unit 140 determines that the first transport unit 110 is holding a medicine container 502 and has moved a certain distance from the medicine container shelf 20, it sets the status of the medicine container shelf 20 to "medicine container 502 not being removed."

[0139] When the medicine container transport control unit 142 determines that the status of the medicine container shelf 20 does not indicate that the medicine container 502 is being removed (NO in S13), it sets the selected medicine container shelf 20 to a collection mode. Then, by referring to the memory unit 200, the medicine container transport control unit 142 determines whether the medicine container 502 to be collected is present on the selected medicine container shelf 20 (S14).

[0140] When the medicine container transport control unit 142 determines that the medicine container 502 to be collected is present on the selected medicine container shelf 20 (YES in S14), it controls the instrument transport unit 22 to transport the medicine container 502 to be collected from the selected medicine container shelf 20 to the work area Ar2. At this time, the medicine container transport control unit 142 determines whether the medicine container 502 to be collected is held in each of the multiple instrument holding units 21. When it determines that the medicine container 502 to be collected is held, the medicine container transport control unit 142 controls the instrument transport unit 22 to preferentially transport to the work area Ar2 the instrument holding unit 21 that holds the medicine container 502 that is held earlier in the instrument holding unit 21 (S15). Note that the memory unit 200 stores information indicating the holding order of the medicine containers 502 in association with the position of the instrument holding unit 21.

[0141] The earlier the medicine container 502 is stored, the earlier the expiration date is likely to arrive. Therefore, by preferentially transporting the medicine container 502 with the earlier storage date to the work area Ar2, the user can preferentially collect the medicine container 502 that is likely to expire soon.

[0142] For example, consider a case where the user specified the number of drug containers 502 to be collected in the collection instruction, and more than that number of drug containers 502 containing the drug are stored on the drug container shelf 20. In this case, the control unit 140 designates the number of drug containers 502 specified by the user as drug containers 502 to be collected, giving priority to the drug containers 502 that are earliest in the storage order (earliest in the order of filling on the drug container shelf 20). Then, in S15, the drug container transport control unit 142 controls the instrument transport unit 22 to transport the number of drug containers 502 to the work area Ar2. This allows the user to collect the desired number of drug containers 502, giving priority to the drug containers 502 that are earliest in the storage order.

[0143] The number of drug containers 502 specified by the user to be collected may be drug containers 502 containing the same type of drug. Furthermore, if the selected drug container shelf 20 does not contain enough drug containers 502 to collect the specified number, the drug container transport control unit 142 may retrieve the remaining drug containers 502 from another drug container shelf 20. Furthermore, if the specified number is not specified, the drug container transport control unit 142 may transport all drug containers 502 to be collected to the work area Ar2 in any order, regardless of the order in which they were held. Furthermore, as another embodiment, the drug container transport control unit 142 may be configured to preferentially transport the drug containers 502 with the latest order of holding to the work area Ar2, thereby enabling collection from the drug containers 502 with the latest order of holding. In addition, the drug container transport control unit 142 may accept a selection operation via the touch panel 80 as to whether to collect from the drug container 502 with the later holding order or the drug container 502 with the earlier holding order, and may execute control to collect from the drug container 502 with the later or earlier holding order depending on the selection operation.

[0144] The medicine container transport control unit 142 determines whether the instrument transport unit 22 has transported all of the medicine containers 502 to be collected to the work area Ar2 in the selected medicine container shelf 20 (S16). If the medicine container transport control unit 142 determines that the transport of all of the medicine containers 502 to be collected has not been completed (NO in S16), it executes the process of S15. Note that in steps S15 to S16, if the medicine container 502 transported to the work area Ar2 can no longer be detected by the medicine container detection unit 24, the medicine container transport control unit 142 determines that the collection of that medicine container 502 has been completed, and repeatedly executes the process of transporting the next medicine container 502 to be collected to the work area Ar2. This allows the user to collect all of the medicine containers 502 to be collected. On the other hand, if the medicine container transport control unit 142 determines that the transport of all of the medicine containers 502 to be collected has been completed (YES in S16), it determines whether there are any more medicine container shelves 20 that can be selected (S17). If the order of the collection mode set for the medicine container shelf 20 selected in S12 is not the last order, the medicine container transport control unit 142 determines that there is another medicine container shelf 20 that can be selected.

[0145] If the medicine container transport control unit 142 determines that there is another medicine container shelf 20 that can be selected (YES in S17), it selects the medicine container shelf 20 that is set to the next medicine container shelf 20 in the order that is set to the medicine container shelf 20 selected in S12 (S18), and executes the processing of S13. On the other hand, if the medicine container transport control unit 142 determines that there is no another medicine container shelf 20 that can be selected (NO in S17), it considers that the recovery operation of the medicine containers 502 has been completed for all medicine container shelves 20, and ends the processing flow of FIG.

[0146] In this way, the medicine container transport control unit 142, in response to the collection instruction, transports to the work area Ar2 the instrument holding unit 21 holding the medicine container 502 designated as the collection target in the medicine container shelf 20 whose order of entering the collection mode has been arbitrarily set. After completing the transportation of the instrument holding unit 21, the medicine container transport control unit 142 starts transport to the work area Ar2 the instrument holding unit 21 holding the medicine container 502 designated as the collection target in the medicine container shelf 20 set next in the arbitrarily set order. This allows the collection operation of the medicine container 502 to be performed for each medicine container shelf 20, allowing the user to efficiently collect the medicine containers 502.

[0147] If the medicine container transport control unit 142 determines that the status of the selected medicine container shelf 20 indicates that the medicine container 502 is being removed (YES in S13), it executes the process of S17. Therefore, when it is the turn of the medicine container shelf 20 from which the medicine container 502 is being removed to be set to the collection mode, the medicine container transport control unit 142 does not set the medicine container shelf 20 to the collection mode, but sets the medicine container shelf 20 set next in the order to the collection mode. This allows the user to collect the medicine container 502 from the medicine container shelf 20 set next in the order without waiting for the first transport unit 110 to remove the medicine container 502. For the medicine container shelf 20 that was not set to the collection mode, the medicine container transport control unit 142 assigns the order of setting the collection mode to the medicine container shelf 20 next in the order of the medicine container shelf 20 set in the collection mode, or to the last in the order.

[0148] The medicine container transport control unit 142 also executes the process of S17 when it determines that the medicine container 502 to be collected is not present on the selected medicine container shelf 20 (NO in S14).

[0149] The drug container transport control unit 142 may also require user operation when, after changing the operation mode of the co-infusion apparatus 1 to the collection mode based on a collection instruction from the user, ending the collection mode before the collection operation is performed on all drug containers 502 designated as collection targets. On the other hand, after changing the operation mode of the co-infusion apparatus 1 to the collection mode based on a collection instruction from the user, the drug container transport control unit 142 may end the collection mode when the drug container-side door 27 of the drug container shelf 20 containing the drug containers 502 to be collected is opened and then closed. This eliminates the need for an operation to end the collection mode. Specifically, the drug container transport control unit 142 may end the collection mode when, after changing the operation mode of the co-infusion apparatus 1 to the collection mode based on a collection instruction from the user, the drug container-side door 27 of the drug container shelf 20 containing the drug containers 502 to be collected is opened and then closed, and when collection has been completed on all drug containers 502 designated as collection targets.

[0150] [Configuration of Infusion Shelf] Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the infusion shelf 30. As shown in Fig. 13, the infusion shelf 30 includes a pusher section 31, a pusher transport section 35, and a rail section 36 (hanging holder section). Also, as shown in Fig. 3, the infusion shelf 30 includes a shutter 37.

[0151] Prior to the mixed injection process, the user fills the infusion shelves 30 with infusion containers 503. Similar to the syringe shelves 10 and the medicine container shelves 20, the plate-like members 301 defining each infusion shelf 30 have a plurality of holes 302 formed therein.

[0152] The rail portion 36 is provided inside the infusion shelf 30 and is a member extending from the infusion side door 34 (see FIG. 1 ) toward the rear of the co-infusion device 1 (i.e., the +Y-axis direction). The end of the rail portion 36 located on the infusion side door 34 side can also be referred to as the door side end 361, and the end located on the rear side of the co-infusion device 1 can also be referred to as the rear end 362. Infusion containers 503 are loaded onto the rail portion 36 from the door side end 361 and removed by the second transport unit 120 from the rear end 362. At least one infusion container 503 can be suspended from the rail portion 36. In this embodiment, the neck of the infusion container 503 can be suspended between a pair of rail portions 36. Specifically, a flange 5034, which is part of the neck 5033 of the infusion container 503, can be suspended between the pair of rail portions 36.

[0153] In FIG. 13 , for convenience of illustration, each infusion shelf 30 is provided with three rail portions 36 corresponding to the three lanes. However, the number of rail portions 36 provided on each infusion shelf 30 is not limited to three. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 , in the co-infusion device 1 according to this embodiment, the upper infusion shelf 30 holds infusion containers 503 in a five-lane arrangement in the left-right direction, and the lower infusion shelf 30 holds infusion containers 503 in a four-lane arrangement in the left-right direction. Therefore, the upper infusion shelf 30 is provided with rail portions 36 corresponding to the five lanes in the left-right direction, and the lower infusion shelf 30 is provided with rail portions 36 corresponding to the four lanes in the left-right direction. In this embodiment, each of the rail portions 36 is filled with the same type of infusion container 503 (infusion containers having the same type of infusion solution contained in the infusion container 503 and the same size). The infusion containers 503 to be filled are determined for each infusion shelf 30. However, different types of infusion containers 503 may be filled in each of the rail portions 36 .

[0154] The pushing unit 31 is a member that can move along the rail portion 36 and pushes the infusion container 503 suspended from the rail portion 36 from the door-side end portion 361 to the rear-side end portion 362. In this embodiment, the pushing unit 31 is connected to the pushing transport unit 35. The pushing transport unit 35 is provided along the rail portion 36. The pushing transport unit 35 operates under the control of the pushing control unit 147, thereby moving the pushing unit 31 along the rail portion 36. The pushing transport unit 35 may be, for example, an endless rotating member. The size of the pushing unit 31 and the positional relationship between the rail portion 36 and the pushing transport unit 35 are specified so that the infusion container 503 suspended from the rail portion 36 can be pushed in by the movement of the pushing unit 31.

[0155] When the infusion side door 34 is unlocked or open, the pushing unit 31 is located at a position PO31 on the door side end 361 side and does not interfere with the filling (hanging on the rail portion 36) of the infusion container 503. For example, when the operating unit corresponding to the upper infusion shelf 30 is pressed (when the infusion side door 34 is unlocked), the pushing control unit 147 may control the pushing transport unit 35 to move the pushing unit 31 to the position PO31.

[0156] When the infusion side door 34 is locked, the pushing unit 31 pushes the infusion container 503 hanging from the rail portion 36 from the door side end 361 to the rear end 362. In this embodiment, when the infusion side door 34 is locked after being closed, the pushing control unit 147 controls the pushing transport unit 35 to move the pushing unit 31 from position PO31 to the rear end 362. A detection unit (not shown) that detects the infusion container 503 present at the rear end 362 is provided at the rear end 362 of the wall constituting the infusion shelf 30. The pushing control unit 147 moves the pushing unit 31 toward the rear end 362 until the detection unit detects the infusion container 503.

[0157] Consider a case where the second transport unit 120 removes an infusion container 503 located at the rear end 362 while multiple infusion containers 503 are hanging from the rail unit 36. After the second transport unit 120 removes the infusion container 503, the pushing unit 31 pushes the remaining infusion containers 503 hanging from the rail unit 36 ​​from the door-side end 361 to the rear end 362. In this embodiment, when the second transport unit 120 removes the infusion container 503 located at the rear end 362, the pushing control unit 147 controls the pushing transport unit 35 to move the pushing unit 31 further toward the rear end 362.

[0158] The shutter 37 prevents the infusion container 503 located at the rear end 362 from moving rearward (in the +Y-axis direction). The shutter 37 is controlled by the control unit 140 to be movable vertically. For example, when the infusion side door 34 is closed, the shutter 37 is controlled by the control unit 140 to be positioned at the rear of the infusion shelf 30 corresponding to the infusion side door 34. Furthermore, when the second transport unit 120 removes the infusion container 503, the shutter 37 moves to an infusion shelf 30 other than the one where the infusion container 503 is stored.

[0159] [Specific Configuration of Pushing Section] Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example of the specific configuration of the pushing section 31, where reference numeral 1031 is a perspective view of the pushing section 31 and reference numeral 1032 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the pushing section 31 and the infusion container 503. Reference numeral 1032 in Figure 14 is a view from below.

[0160] In this embodiment, as indicated by reference numeral 1031 in Fig. 14 , the pushing unit 31 includes a connection portion 311 connected to the pushing and conveying unit 35, and a contact portion 312 attached to the connection portion 311 and in contact with the body portion 5031 of the infusion container 503. The contact portion 312 is a rotating member that can rotate around a rotation axis Az extending in the vertical direction. The contact portion 312 rotates when it comes into contact with the infusion container 503 due to movement of the pushing unit 31.

[0161] 14, consider a case where the depth direction (predetermined direction) D1 of the co-infusion device 1 is different from the direction D2 in which the first surface SF1 of the infusion container 503 faces. In this case, when the pushing unit 31 moves in the depth direction D1 with the contact portion 312 in contact with the infusion container 503, the rotation of the contact portion 312 causes the infusion container 503 to rotate in the opposite direction to the rotation direction of the contact portion 312, around a vertical axis passing through the neck portion 5033 as the rotation axis. As a result, the infusion container 503 is suspended from the rail portion 36 with the direction D2 in which the first surface SF1 faces substantially aligned with the depth direction D1.

[0162] Therefore, by providing the contact portion 312, the rail portion 36 can hold the infusion container 503 with the infusion container 503 facing a predetermined direction in response to the pushing operation of the pushing portion 31. This reduces the possibility of the second transporting portion 120 failing to remove the infusion container 503 (adsorbing the infusion container 503) at the rear end portion 362 and the third reading portion 122 failing to read the first information.

[0163] The contact portion 312 does not have to have a rotation function. The pushing portion 31 only needs to have a portion that contacts the body portion 5031 when the infusion container 503 is pushed in, and may be, for example, flat. Even in this case, the orientation of the infusion container 503 can be changed so that the direction D2 in which the first surface SF1 faces is approximately aligned with the depth direction D1.

[0164] Therefore, if the pushing portion 31 is configured to push the infusion container 503 by contacting the body 5031 of the infusion container 503 suspended from the rail portion 36, the infusion container 503 can be hung on the rail portion 36 with the orientation of the infusion container 503 facing a predetermined direction. In order to achieve this effect, the position where the pushing portion 31 comes into contact with the infusion container 503 (the position where the infusion container 503 is pushed in) may be a portion below the portion supported by the rail portion 36, for example, a position below the shoulder portion 5032 of the infusion container 503.

[0165] 15 is a side view showing an example of the pushing and conveying unit 35. The pushing and conveying unit 35 is provided with a falling-off prevention unit 38 that prevents the infusion container 503 from falling off from the rear end 362. In this embodiment, the pushing and conveying unit 35 is an endless rotating member. Therefore, the pushing unit 31 and the falling-off prevention unit 38 move in conjunction with each other.

[0166] 15, when the pushing portion 31 is located at position PO31, the fall-off prevention portion 38 is located at position PO32 directly above the rail portion 36 at the rear end portion 362. In this state, the user can load the infusion container 503 into the infusion shelf 30. Therefore, when the infusion container 503 is loaded, the fall-off prevention portion 38 is located at position PO32, thereby preventing the infusion container 503 from falling off from the rear end portion 362.

[0167] 15 , when the pushing unit 31 is located at position PO33 where it can start pushing the infusion container 503, the fall-off prevention unit 38 is located at position PO34, opposite position PO32 at the rear end 362, across the pushing transport unit 35. Therefore, when the pushing unit 31 moves in the front-rear direction (±Y-axis direction) along the rail portion 36, the fall-off prevention unit 38 moves in the space above the pushing transport unit 35.

[0168] The fall-off prevention part 38 only needs to be large enough to come into contact with the infusion container 503 suspended from the rail part 36 when positioned on the rail part 36 side. In this embodiment, the fall-off prevention part 38 does not come into contact with the rail part 36 when positioned on the rail part 36 side, but is large enough to come into contact with a part of the neck part 5033 of the infusion container 503 suspended from the rail part 36 (the head part of the infusion container 503).

[0169] In this way, the vertical dimension H38 of the fall-off prevention portion 38 is shorter than the vertical dimension H31 of the pushing portion 31. As a result, even when the fall-off prevention portion 38 is provided, the space above the pushing transport portion 35 through which the fall-off prevention portion 38 moves can be designed to be relatively small.

[0170] The memory unit 200 stores the dimension between the first surface SF1 and the second surface SF2 of each infusion container 503. Furthermore, the control unit 140 can acquire the position of the pusher 31 within the range of movement from position PO31 to position PO32 using a known technique. Therefore, the control unit 140 can calculate the number of infusion containers 503 suspended from the rails 36 based on the dimension and the position. This allows the control unit 140 to manage the number of infusion containers 503 held by each rail 36 in the infusion shelf 30 as infusion inventory information.

[0171] [Specific Configuration of Printing and Inspection Unit] Figure 16 is a perspective view showing an example of the overall configuration of the printing and inspection unit 50. Figure 17 is a perspective view of the printing and inspection unit 50 as seen from the rear. Figure 18 is a perspective view showing an example of the internal configuration of the printing and inspection unit 50. Note that the weighing unit 52 is not shown in Figures 17 and 18. Figure 16 also shows an example of a state in which the infusion container 503 is positioned in the printing and inspection unit 50 due to suction by the second transport unit 120.

[0172] As shown in FIGS. 16 to 18, the printing and inspection unit 50 includes a printing unit 51, a weighing unit 52, a second reading unit 53, an attaching unit 54, and a guide unit 56.

[0173] The printing unit 51 is a component such as a label printer that dispenses a second label LA12 on which second information different from the first information, which is infusion type information, is printed. For example, the second information includes information indicating the type of drug to be injected into the infusion container 503. The type of drug indicated by the second information is the drug indicated in the preparation data, i.e., the drug contained in the drug container 502 transported by the first transport unit 110 from the drug container shelf 20 to the co-infusion unit 40 in accordance with the preparation data. The second information also includes identification information such as an order number and RP number corresponding to the preparation data. Furthermore, the second label LA12 is also printed with code information such as a one-dimensional code or two-dimensional code in which the second information is encoded. Note that similar second information is printed on the second label LA even when the second label LA12 is printed by the third recording unit 206, the second recording unit 704, or the second recording unit 804, which will be described later. The printing unit 51 may also dispense an inappropriateness information label on which inappropriateness information is printed.

[0174] The printing / inspection unit control unit 148 inspects the infusion container 503 after the drug is injected. Inspection in this embodiment includes determining whether the amount of drug injected into the infusion container 503 corresponds to the prescribed amount indicated in the preparation data, or whether the amount of infusion withdrawn from the infusion container 503 corresponds to the withdrawn amount indicated in the preparation data.

[0175] Furthermore, the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 determines whether an appropriate second label LA12 is affixed to the infusion container 503 after drug injection based on the reading result of the second reading unit 53. The printing and inspection unit control unit 148 determines whether the drug indicated by the second information read from the second label LA12 by the second reading unit 53 is the drug injected into the infusion container 503 from which the second information was read (whether the drug is indicated in the preparation data as the drug to be injected into the infusion container 503).

[0176] If the printing / inspection unit control unit 148 determines that the inspection result is appropriate, the second transport unit 120 dispenses the infusion container 503 with the second label LA12 affixed thereto to the infusion receiving shelf 60. On the other hand, if the printing / inspection unit control unit 148 determines that the inspection result is inappropriate, the printing unit 51 dispenses an inappropriate information label. The inappropriate information may be information indicating that the weight measured by the weighing unit 52 is inappropriate and / or information indicating that the reading result of the second reading unit 53 is not the drug indicated in the preparation data. The second transport unit 120 dispenses the infusion container 503 with the inappropriate information label affixed thereto in addition to the second label LA12 to the infusion receiving shelf 60. The inappropriate information may be an example of second information different from the first information.

[0177] The second information may also include information such as the administration time included in the preparation data. For example, if the administration time information included in the preparation data is "xx o'clock," the second information may include a message such as "Please administer by xx o'clock." Furthermore, if the drug indicated in the preparation data is a drug that may be subject to incompatibility and is recommended to be administered early after mixing, information to that effect may be included in the second information. For example, the second information may include a message such as "Please administer early after mixing."

[0178] Furthermore, if a liquid leak is detected in the infusion container 503 after the co-infusion process, information to that effect may be included in the second information. For example, if a liquid leak is detected, the second information may include a message recommending cleaning of the infusion container 503, such as "Please clean the opening of the infusion container." The printing and inspection unit control unit 148 may detect a liquid leak in the infusion container 503 by image analysis of an image of the infusion container 503 after the co-infusion process captured by an imaging device (not shown) provided in the co-infusion device 1. The printing and inspection unit control unit 148 may also detect a liquid leak in the infusion container 503 using an optical sensor (not shown) that detects a liquid leak in the infusion container 503 after the co-infusion process.

[0179] Furthermore, if the co-infusion process is interrupted for some reason, the second information may include information indicating how many steps have been performed in the co-infusion process. Furthermore, if there are patients with similar patient identification information, such as patient name and patient ID, within a group, which is a unit of multiple preparation data transmitted from the host system 2 to the co-infusion device 1 in the data output process described below, this information may be included in the second information. For example, the second information may include a message such as "There are patients with similar patient names, so be careful not to mix them up."

[0180] The weighing unit 52 weighs the weight of the infusion container 503 before and after drug injection. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16 , the weighing unit 52 includes a first locking portion 521 that locks the neck of the infusion container 503. The second transport unit 120 locks the neck of the infusion container 503 to the first locking portion 521, allowing the weighing unit 52 to measure the weight of the infusion container 503. The weighing unit 52 is, for example, a load cell. The pair of first locking portions 521 are biased by a spring (not shown) in a direction toward each other so that they can clamp the neck of the infusion container 503. The closest distance between the pair of first locking portions 521 is set to the distance at which they can lock the thinnest neck of the infusion container 503.

[0181] When the medicine contained in the medicine container 502 is a liquid, the measuring unit 52 measures the weight of the infusion container 503 before the medicine is injected and the weight of the infusion container 503 after the medicine is injected.

[0182] In this case, first, the second transport unit 120 removes the infusion container 503 from the infusion shelf 30 and transports it to the weighing unit 52. After the weighing unit 52 weighs the infusion container 503 (after the first weighing), the second transport unit 120 transports the infusion container 503 to the co-infusion unit 40. After the co-infusion process by the co-infusion unit 40, the second transport unit 120 transports the infusion container 503 to the weighing unit 52. After the weighing unit 52 weighs the infusion container 503 (after the second weighing), the weighing unit 52 transports the infusion container 503 to an attachment position PO50 (see FIG. 18 ) where the second label LA12, or the second label LA12 and the inappropriate information label, are attached. Then, the printing and inspection unit 50 affixes the second label LA12, or the second label LA12 and the inappropriate information label, to the infusion container 503 in accordance with the measurement result of the weighing unit 52. The printing and inspection unit control unit 148 inspects whether the amount of medicine injected into the infusion container 503 corresponds to the prescribed amount indicated in the preparation data, based on the difference between the first and second weighing results.

[0183] By attaching a label to the infusion container 503 after weighing, the weighing unit 52 can measure both the first and second measurements without a label attached. For example, if the weighing unit 52 performs a second measurement after a label has been attached to the infusion container 503, the weight of the infusion container 503 increases by the weight of the label at the time of the second measurement. This may cause the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 to be unable to perform an accurate inspection. As described above, by performing two measurements without a label attached, the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 can perform an accurate inspection.

[0184] However, if a label that is relatively light in weight and does not significantly affect the inspection result is used, the label may be affixed to the infusion container 503 before the second weighing. The printing / inspection unit control unit 148 may print the second label LA12 at any time. For example, the second label LA12 may be printed before the infusion container 503 is removed from the infusion shelf 30.

[0185] When the drug contained in the drug container 502 is solid, the second transport unit 120 first removes the infusion container 503 from the infusion shelf 30 and transports it to the weighing unit 52. After the weighing unit 52 weighs the infusion container 503 (after the first weighing), the second transport unit 120 transports the infusion container 503 to the mixing unit 40. The mixing unit 40 extracts a certain amount of infusion liquid from the infusion container 503 and injects it into the drug container 502 to dissolve the solid drug. The second transport unit 120 transports the infusion container 503 from which the certain amount of infusion liquid has been extracted to the weighing unit 52. After the weighing unit 52 weighs the infusion container 503 (after the second weighing), the second transport unit 120 transports the infusion container 503 to the mixing unit 40.

[0186] After the co-infusion unit 40 injects the liquid medicine into the infusion container 503, the second transport unit 120 transports the infusion container 503 to the weighing unit 52. After the weighing unit 52 weighs the infusion container 503 (after the third weighing), it transports the infusion container 503 to an attachment position PO50 where the second label LA12, or the second label LA12 and the unsuitable information label, are attached. Then, the printing / inspection unit 50 attaches the second label LA12, or the second label LA12 and the unsuitable information label, to the infusion container 503 according to the measurement result of the weighing unit 52.

[0187] By attaching a label to the infusion container 503 after measurement, the measuring unit 52 can measure the first to third doses without a label attached, allowing the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 to perform accurate inspection, just as when the medicine is a liquid.

[0188] The printing and inspection unit control unit 148 inspects whether the amount of infusion liquid extracted from the infusion container 503 corresponds to the amount indicated in the preparation data, based on the difference between the first and second measurements. The printing and inspection unit control unit 148 also inspects whether the amount of medicine injected into the infusion container 503 (the amount of medicine injected in liquid form) corresponds to the prescribed amount indicated in the preparation data, based on the difference between the second and third measurements.

[0189] Here, a specific example of an inspection method based on the measurement results of the measuring unit 52 by the printing / inspection unit control unit 148 will be described. Here, it is assumed that the preparation data indicates that the prescribed amount of medication is 0.5 g, the amount of infusion drawn is 10 ml, and the amount of medication injected into the infusion container 503 is 5 ml. It is also assumed that the medication contained in the medication container 502 being used weighs 1.0 g and the specific gravity of the infusion is 1.1. In this case, if the mixed injection process is accurately performed based on the preparation data, 10 ml of infusion will be aspirated from the infusion container 503, and the 10 ml of infusion will be injected into the medication container 502. After that, 5 ml of the mixture of the medication and infusion will be aspirated from the medication container 502 and injected into the infusion container 503. Note that while allowable error is taken into account in actual inspections, for the sake of convenience, the allowable error will be ignored here.

[0190] First, the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 executes a first inspection process to determine whether the difference between the first and second measurements matches the weight corresponding to the amount of infusion solution extracted from the infusion container 503 indicated in the preparation data. In this example, the specific gravity of the infusion solution is 1.1, not 1.0. Therefore, the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 determines that the weight of the infusion solution to be extracted from the infusion container 503 is 11.0 g, calculated by multiplying the amount of infusion solution extracted from the infusion container 503 (10 ml) by the specific gravity of 1.1. The printing and inspection unit control unit 148 then determines whether the determined weight of the infusion solution (11.0 g) matches the difference between the first and second measurements. If the specific gravity of the infusion is 1.0, the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 determines that the weight of the infusion to be drawn from the infusion container 503 is 10.0 g, calculated by multiplying the infusion volume (10 ml) by the specific gravity of 1.0, and determines whether the determined 10.0 g matches the difference between the first and second measurements. That is, if the difference between the first and second measurements matches the weight of the infusion drawn from the infusion container 503, the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 determines that the result of the first inspection process is appropriate.

[0191] Next, the printing / inspection unit control unit 148 executes a second inspection process to determine whether the difference between the second and third measurements matches the weight corresponding to the amount of medication (liquid medication) injected from the infusion container 503 into the medication container 502. In this example, the specific gravity of the infusion is 1.1, not 1.0, so the printing / inspection unit control unit 148 determines that the weight of the medication mixture to be injected into the infusion container 503 is 6.0 g, which is the sum of 5.5 g, calculated by multiplying the amount of infusion (5 ml) extracted from the medication container 502 by the specific gravity of 1.1, and 0.5 g, the weight of the medication. The printing / inspection unit control unit 148 then determines whether the determined weight of the medication mixture (6.0 g) matches the difference between the second and third measurements. If the specific gravity of the infusion is 1.0, the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 determines that the weight of the drug mixture to be injected into the infusion container 503 is 5.5 g, calculated by adding the weight of the infusion (5.0) and the weight of the drug (0.5), and determines whether the determined 5.5 g matches the difference between the second and third measurements. In other words, if the difference between the second and third measurements matches the weight of the drug injected into the infusion container 503, the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 determines that the result of the second inspection process is appropriate.

[0192] Then, if both the first inspection process and the second inspection process are appropriate, the printing / inspection unit control unit 148 determines that the inspection result of the mixed injection process based on the preparation data is appropriate.

[0193] In this embodiment, a second locking unit 57 is provided on the opposite side of the guide unit 56 from the measuring unit 52. The second locking unit 57 functions as a buffer that temporarily holds the infusion container 503 removed from the infusion shelf 30 by the second transport unit 120. While the measured infusion container 503 (referred to as the first infusion container) is being transported to the co-infusion unit 40, the infusion container 503 (referred to as the second infusion container) to be used in the next co-infusion process is removed from the infusion shelf 30, and the weighing unit 52 weighs the second infusion container. The second infusion container is then locked to the second locking unit 57. After drug injection into the first infusion container is completed and the weighing unit 52 weighs the first infusion container, the second infusion container is transported from the second locking unit 57 to the co-infusion unit 40. This allows the co-infusion device 1 to efficiently perform the co-infusion process.

[0194] The second reading unit 53 reads the second label LA12 attached to the infusion container 503 after the medicine has been injected. The second reading unit 53 is, for example, a barcode reader.

[0195] The affixing unit 54 affixes the second label LA12 to the infusion container 503 after the drug has been injected. The affixing unit 54 may affix the second label LA12 to the infusion container 503 after the drug has been injected, for example, before the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 outputs the inspection result (preferably after the final weighing of the infusion container 503 and before the output of the inspection result). Thereafter, if the inspection result by the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 is unsuitable, the affixing unit 54 affixes an unsuitable information label to the infusion container 503 after the drug has been injected.

[0196] 17 , the affixing unit 54 includes a suction mechanism 541 and a movement mechanism 542. The suction mechanism 541 adsorbs the second label LA12 or the inappropriate information label dispensed by the printing unit 51, thereby enabling the affixing unit 54 to hold the second label LA12 or the inappropriate information label. The movement mechanism 542 moves the suction mechanism 541 between a position where the second label LA12 or the inappropriate information label dispensed from the printing unit 51 is adsorbed and an attachment position PO50 where the second label LA12 or the inappropriate information label is attached to the infusion container 503 after drug injection.

[0197] In addition, the guide unit 56 shown in Figure 18 guides the movement of the second label LA12 or the inappropriate information label to the infusion container 503 after drug injection when the attachment unit 54 attaches the second label LA12 or the inappropriate information label to the infusion container 503 after drug injection.

[0198] With the suction mechanism 541 having moved the second label LA12 or the inappropriateness information label to the attachment position PO50, the second conveying unit 120 presses the post-injection infusion container 503 against the guide unit 56 at the attachment position PO50. In this state, the suction mechanism 541 releases the suction of the second label LA12 or the inappropriateness information label. This causes the second label LA12 or the inappropriateness information label to be attached to the post-injection infusion container 503. Therefore, in this embodiment, the second conveying unit 120, the attachment unit 54, and the guide unit 56 function as an attachment unit that attaches the second information to the surface of the infusion container 503.

[0199] By attaching the second label LA12 to the infusion container 503, information indicating the type of drug to be injected into the infusion container 503 can be displayed on the infusion container 503 into which the drug is to be injected, as second information different from the first information originally attached to the surface of the infusion container 503. Therefore, the co-infusion device 1 and the user can at least determine what type of drug the drug injected into the infusion container 503 is.

[0200] The second conveying unit 120, the affixing unit 54, and the guide unit 56 may affix the second label LA12 to the infusion container 503 before the drug is injected. In this case, the co-infusion device 1 and the user can at least determine the type of drug to be injected into the infusion container 503. The second conveying unit 120, the affixing unit 54, and the guide unit 56 may affix the second label LA12, for example, before the first weighing. In this case, the weighing unit 52 can perform the first to third weighings with the second label LA12 affixed to the infusion container 503, so the weight of the label does not affect the inspection by the printing / inspection unit control unit 148.

[0201] Furthermore, after the second label LA12 is affixed to the infusion container 503, the second transport unit 120 does not transfer the infusion container 503 to the infusion receiving shelf 60 until the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 outputs the inspection result. If the inspection result by the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 is appropriate (after the inspection result indicating appropriateness is output), the second transport unit 120 transfers the infusion container 503 to the infusion receiving shelf 60. On the other hand, if the inspection result by the printing and inspection unit control unit 148 is unsuitable (after the inspection result indicating unsuitability is output), an unsuitable information label is affixed to the infusion container 503. Thereafter, the second transport unit 120 transfers the infusion container 503 with the unsuitable information label affixed to it to the infusion receiving shelf 60.

[0202] [Example of Operation from Reading the First Information to Affixing the Second Label] Fig. 19 is a diagram showing an example of operation from reading the first information to delivering the infusion container 503 after drug injection to the infusion receiving shelf 60. Reference numerals 1051 to 1054 in Fig. 19 are diagrams for explaining an example of operation from reading the first information to affixing the second label LA12.

[0203] 19 , when the second transport unit 120 removes the infusion container 503 suspended from the rail portion 36 at the rear end portion 362, the third reading unit 122 reads the first information from the first label LA11. In this embodiment, if the third reading unit 122 is able to read the first information, it recognizes that the first surface SF1 of the infusion container 503 to which the first label LA11 is affixed faces the rear (+Y-axis direction) (predetermined direction).

[0204] When the third reading unit 122 can read the first information, the first surface SF1 is considered to face the rear, and the co-infusion unit 40 injects the drug into the infusion container 503. When the drug contained in the drug container 502 is solid, when the third reading unit 122 can read the first information, the co-infusion unit 40 extracts the drug from the infusion container 503.

[0205] After the medicine is injected into the infusion container 503 in the co-infusion unit 40, the second transport unit 120 transports the infusion container 503 after the medicine has been injected to the measuring unit 52. After the measuring unit 52 weighs the infusion container 503, the second transport unit 120 transports the infusion container 503 to a position opposite the guide unit 56 (attachment position PO50), as shown by reference numeral 1052 in FIG. 19 . By the time the infusion container 503 is transported to this position, the printing unit 51 has dispensed the second label LA12, and the suction mechanism 541 has transported the second label LA12 to the attachment position PO50. However, the second label LA12 may be transported to the attachment position PO50 after the infusion container 503 has been transported to the above-mentioned position.

[0206] As indicated by reference numeral 1052 in Fig. 19 , when the second label LA12 is located at the attachment position PO50, the second conveying unit 120 moves toward the attachment position PO50 (the -Y-axis direction). Then, as indicated by reference numeral 1053 in Fig. 19 , at the attachment position PO50, the second conveying unit 120 presses against the guide unit 56, and the suction mechanism 541 releases suction. In this manner, the second conveying unit 120, the printing unit 51, and the guide unit 56 attach the second label LA12 to the second surface SF2 of the infusion container 503, which is opposite to the first surface SF1.

[0207] 19, the second transport unit 120 moves to the position before the second label LA12 was attached, thereby making the infusion container 503 ready to be transported to the infusion receiving shelf 60. Operations after the infusion container 503 with the second label LA12 attached is transported to the infusion receiving shelf 60, as indicated by reference numerals 1055 and 1056 in FIG. 19, will be described later.

[0208] 19 , if the third reading unit 122 cannot read the first information, the control unit 140 may determine that the storage state of the infusion container 503 is not such that the second label LA12 can be affixed. In this case, the touch panel control unit 149 may notify the user of information indicating that the first information cannot be read from the infusion container 503 or information indicating the location where the infusion container 503 is stored. The third reading unit 122 may also continue operation of the co-infusion device 1 by reading the first information from an infusion container 503 stored in another location.

[0209] Furthermore, it is not necessarily required that the third reading unit 122 recognize whether the first surface SF1 faces a predetermined direction based on the result of reading the first information (the result of receiving light by the light receiving unit 1222). A member different from the third reading unit 122 may be provided in the co-infusion device 1 as a recognition unit that recognizes whether the first surface SF1 faces a predetermined direction. Furthermore, the recognition unit only needs to be able to recognize the orientation of the first surface SF1, and does not necessarily have to be realized by an optical member.

[0210] [Effects of the Above Operational Example] As described above, the labeling unit affixes the second label LA12 to the surface of the infusion container 503 at a position that does not overlap the first information. This allows the co-infusion device 1 to prevent the first information from overlapping the second information, even when attaching second information that is different from the first information originally attached to the surface of the infusion container 503. Therefore, the co-infusion device 1 can avoid problems with reading the first information due to the attachment of the second information. Furthermore, even if the second information is attached to the surface of the infusion container 503, the user can also read the first information.

[0211] The application unit attaches the second label LA12 to a surface of the infusion container 503 different from the first surface SF1 on which the first information is attached, thereby enabling the second information to be applied to the surface of the infusion container 503 so as not to overlap with the first information. As described above, in this embodiment, the application unit attaches the second label LA12 to the second surface SF2 opposite to the first surface SF1, enabling the second information to be applied to the surface of the infusion container 503 so as to avoid overlapping with the first information.

[0212] The labeling unit affixes the second label LA12 to a surface (e.g., the second surface SF2) different from the first surface SF1 based on the recognition result of the orientation of the first surface SF1 by the recognition unit. Therefore, the second information can be affixed to the surface of the infusion container 503 so as not to overlap with the first information. Specifically, when the recognition unit recognizes that the first surface SF1 faces a predetermined direction (e.g., toward the back), the labeling unit affixes the second label LA12 to a surface (e.g., the second surface SF2) facing a direction other than the predetermined direction. This allows the co-infusion device 1 to affix the second information to the second surface without changing the orientation of the infusion container 503.

[0213] In this embodiment, the third reading unit 122 reads the first information attached to the first surface SF1 from a position facing the rear end 362. When the third reading unit 122 is able to read the first information, the printing and inspection unit 50 located below the infusion shelf 30 affixes the second label LA12 to the second surface SF2. Therefore, as indicated by reference numerals 1051 to 1053 in Fig. 19 , the second transport unit 120 can affix the second label LA12 to the second surface SF2 facing in a direction other than the predetermined direction without changing the orientation of the infusion container 503.

[0214] Furthermore, after the third reading unit 122 reads the first information, the applying unit affixes the second label LA12 to the surface of the infusion container 503. This allows the co-infusion device 1 to read the first information from the infusion container 503 before attaching the second information, which is different from the first information originally attached to the surface of the infusion container 503, to the surface of the infusion container 503. Therefore, the co-infusion device 1 can avoid failure to read the first information due to the attachment of the second information. Note that the first information may be attached directly to the surface of the infusion container 503.

[0215] [Specific Configuration of Infusion Receiving Shelf] Fig. 21 is a front view showing an example of the infusion receiving shelf 60. Fig. 22 is a side view showing an example of the infusion receiving shelf 60. Fig. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the shape of the rail portion 62. Fig. 24 is a diagram for explaining the shutter 63.

[0216] 21 , the infusion receiving shelf 60 includes a pair of rails 62 capable of suspending and holding the infusion container 503 into which a drug has been injected by the co-infusion unit 40. The rails 62 suspend and hold a portion of the neck 5033 of the infusion container 503 (the head of the infusion container 503). The rails 62 are an example of a suspending holder capable of suspending and holding the infusion container 503. The infusion receiving shelf 60 may be provided with one or more rails 62, and in this embodiment, four rails 62 are provided.

[0217] The infusion receiving shelf 60 includes a rail portion 62, which allows the infusion containers 503 to be suspended and held after drug injection. Therefore, even infusion containers 503 that are difficult to stand on their own can be held in an aligned state. The rail portion 62 can hold the infusion containers 503 in an aligned state, allowing the user to easily remove them. Furthermore, unlike when multiple infusion containers 503 are placed on a tray (not shown) after drug injection, the rail portion 62 can hold the infusion containers 503 in an attractive manner and reduces the risk of damage to the infusion containers 503 due to collisions between the infusion containers 503.

[0218] As shown in Figure 22, the rail portion 62 extends in the front-to-back direction (±Y-axis direction) of the co-infusion device 1, and comprises a first portion 621 to which the infusion container 503 is handed over by the second conveying portion 120, and a second portion 622 from which the infusion container 503 held by the rail portion 62 is removed.

[0219] The second transport unit 120 delivers the infusion container 503 into which a drug has been injected by the co-infusion unit 40 to the rail unit 62 at the first portion 621. Specifically, the second transport unit 120 delivers the infusion container 503 after drug injection, on whose second surface SF2 the second label LA12 has been affixed by the printing / inspection unit 500, to the rail unit 62. The second transport unit 120 delivers the infusion containers 503 after drug injection one after another to the rail unit 62, whereby the rail unit 62 holds the multiple infusion containers 503 in a row.

[0220] The second transport section 120 transfers the infusion container 503 to the rail section 62 with the second surface SF2 of the infusion container 503, on which the second label LA12 is affixed, facing in the direction (-Y axis direction) when viewed from the first part 621 to the second part 622.

[0221] Specifically, as shown by reference numerals 1052 to 1054 in Fig. 19 , the second transport unit 120 adheres the second label LA12 to the second surface SF2 opposite the first surface SF1 of the infusion container 503 while adsorbing the first surface SF1 to which the first label LA11 is attached. Thereafter, without changing the orientation of the infusion container 503, the second transport unit 120 moves the infusion container 503 to a position facing the infusion receiving shelf 60 while adsorbing the first surface SF1. Thereafter, as shown by reference numeral 1055 in Fig. 19 and Fig. 22 , the second transport unit 120 moves toward the infusion receiving shelf 60 (the front direction of the co-infusion device 1; the -Y axis direction). As a result, as shown by the symbol 1056 in Figure 19, the second conveying section 120 transfers the infusion container 503 to the rail section 62 so that the second surface SF2 to which the second label LA12 is affixed faces the front of the co-infusion device 1.

[0222] By transferring the infusion container 503 to the rail portion 62 in this manner, the infusion container 503 can be held on the infusion receiving shelf 60 with the second label LA12 facing forward, as shown in Figures 21 and 22. Then, when the user removes the infusion container 503 from the infusion receiving shelf 60, for example, the user can easily recognize the information indicated on the second label LA12 (information about the infusion container 503 after drug injection).

[0223] 22 , the rail portion 62 is provided on the infusion receiving shelf 60 at an incline such that the second portion 622 is lower than the first portion 621 when viewed from the left-right direction (±X-axis direction) of the co-infusion device 1. This allows the rail portion 62 to move the infusion container 503 held by the first portion 621 from the first portion 621 to the second portion 622 due to the weight of the infusion container 503. In other words, by providing the rail portion 62 at an incline as described above, the rail portion 62 functions as a moving portion that moves the held infusion container 503 from the first portion 621 to the second portion 622.

[0224] 21 and 23, the infusion receiving shelf 60 includes a rail holder 69 that holds each of the pair of rails 62. The pair of rails 62 extend inward of the rail holder 69 (in the direction in which the pair of rails 62 approach each other from the rail holder 69). Also, as shown by reference numeral 1071 in FIG. 23, the rails 62 include a support portion 626 that supports the neck 5033 of the infusion container 503.

[0225] In this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the rail portions 62 perpendicular to the extension direction of the rail portions 62 satisfies the following two conditions: The support portions 626 of each of the pair of rail portions 62 are closer to each other than the dimension of the neck portion 5033 of the infusion container 503. The rail portions 62 are inclined downward as they move away from the support portion 626. In other words, the cross-sectional shape of the pair of rail portions 62 is a shape that widens from the support portion 626 as its center.

[0226] When the rail portion 62 has the above-described shape, the contact between the rail portion 62 and the neck portion 5033 is not surface contact, but point contact when the infusion container 503 is held as shown by reference numeral 1072 in Fig. 23. Also, when the infusion container 503 is held as shown by reference numeral 1073 in Fig. 23, the contact between the rail portion 62 and the neck portion 5033 is line contact. Therefore, the infusion container 503 hanging from the rail portion 62 slides smoothly.

[0227] However, the cross-sectional shape of the pair of rail portions 62 is not limited to the above-described flared shape, and may be any shape that allows the pair of rail portions 62 to come into point or line contact with the infusion container 503.

[0228] For example, as shown by reference numeral 1074 in FIG. 23 , the infusion receiving shelf 60 may include a pair of rail portions 62A instead of the pair of rail portions 62. The pair of rail portions 62A are held by rail holders 69, similar to the pair of rail portions 62. The pair of rail portions 62A are not plate-shaped members like the pair of rail portions 62, but rather have support portions 626 with protruding shapes that support the infusion containers 503. By forming the support portions 626 as protruding shapes, only a portion of the rail portions 62A, rather than the entire rail portions 62A, can be brought into contact with the infusion containers 503, similar to the rail portions 62, thereby reducing the contact area with the infusion containers 503. Therefore, even with the rail portions 62A, point or line contact with the infusion containers 503 as described above can be achieved, thereby improving the sliding of the infusion containers 503.

[0229] In addition, the pair of rail portions do not have to be plate-shaped members or members having a protruding shape, but may be linear members that support the infusion container 503 by point contact or line contact. In other words, the shape of the portion of the pair of rail portions that comes into contact with the infusion container 503 when the infusion container 503 is hung on the pair of rail portions may be linear.

[0230] 21 and 22, the second portion 622 of the rail portion 62 is provided with a shutter 63 (stopper) that prevents the infusion container 503 held on the rail portion 62 from moving. The shutter 63 is biased in the direction of closing the shutter 63. The shutter 63 is biased by, for example, a spring (not shown). As a result, the shutter 63 is in a closed state under normal conditions, which reduces the possibility that the infusion container 503 held on the rail portion 62 will fall off the second portion 622. The user can open the shutter 63 according to the number of infusion containers 503 they wish to remove.

[0231] 24, reference numeral 1081 shows the closed state of the shutter 63, and reference numeral 1082 shows the open state of the shutter 63. In reference numerals 1081 and 1082 in FIG. 24 and reference numeral 1083 described later, the arrows pointing in the -Y axis direction indicate the removal direction of the infusion container 503 held by the rail portion 62.

[0232] As indicated by reference numerals 1081 and 1082 in FIG. 24 , in this embodiment, the shutter 63 is provided at one end of the pair of rail portions 62 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis A63 whose axis is in the vertical direction. The shutter 63 opens and closes the second portion 622 by rotating about the rotation axis A63. Specifically, a support portion 64 that supports the shutter 63 is connected to the rotation axis A63. In addition, an abutment portion 65 against which the support portion 64 abuts extends from the end of the rail portion 62. As indicated by reference numeral 1082 in FIG. 24 , the support portion 64 rotates between the reference line L11 and the abutment portion 65. The abutment portion 65 may be provided at a position that allows the infusion container 503 to be removed when the shutter 63 is fully opened.

[0233] As shown by reference numeral 1081 in FIG. 24 , in the closed state, the shutter 63 abuts against the infusion container 503 held on the rail portion 62, thereby preventing the infusion container 503 from moving in the removal direction. From this state, the user grasps the leading infusion container 503 and pulls the infusion container 503 in the removal direction with a force greater than or equal to the biasing force of the spring (not shown). This pulling force causes the infusion container 503 to abut against the shutter 63, opening it, allowing the user to remove the infusion container 503. Once the infusion container 503 is removed, the shutter 63 is closed by the biasing force of the spring. This prevents the subsequent infusion containers 503 from moving in the removal direction. Therefore, the user can remove the leading infusion container 503 without performing any other operation than pulling the infusion container 503.

[0234] When a user wishes to remove multiple infusion containers 503 at once (e.g., all of the multiple infusion containers 503 held by the rail portion 62), the user grasps the support portion 64 and rotates it toward the abutment portion 65 to maintain the open state of the shutter 63. When the user has removed the desired number of infusion containers 503, the user releases the support portion 64, and the spring force causes the shutter 63 to close. Therefore, the user can remove the desired number of infusion containers 503 simply by operating the support portion 64. Note that the user may also operate the support portion 64 when removing a single infusion container 503.

[0235] In this way, by biasing the shutter 63 in the closing direction, the possibility of the infusion container 503 falling off the rail portion 62 is reduced, and the user can easily remove the desired number of infusion containers 503, whether one or multiple.

[0236] 24, the contact surface 631 of the shutter 63 with the infusion container 503 held by the rail portion 62 is inclined with respect to the removal direction (movement direction) of the infusion container 503 when the shutter 63 is in the closed state. Specifically, when viewed from above, the contact surface 631 is inclined with respect to the removal direction when the shutter 63 is in the closed state so that the distance between the shutter 63 and the rail portion 62 on which the shutter 63 is not provided is shortened in the removal direction.

[0237] Because the contact surface 631 is inclined with respect to the removal direction, the operating angle for opening the shutter 63 can be made smaller than when the contact surface 631 is not inclined (when the contact surface 631 is perpendicular to the extension direction of the rail portion 62 when the shutter 63 is closed). This improves the operability of opening and closing the shutter 63. Furthermore, because the operating angle can be made smaller, the shutter 63 can be closed immediately after the infusion container 503 is removed. This reduces the possibility that the infusion container 503 following the removed infusion container 503 will be dispensed together with the removed infusion container 503.

[0238] 24, reference numeral 1083 is a diagram showing an example of the positional relationship between the rail portion 62 and the shutter 63 in the up-down direction, and reference numeral 1084 is a diagram showing an example of the positional relationship as a comparative example. Reference numeral 1083 in FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the shutter 63 in the open state.

[0239] As indicated by reference numeral 1083 in Fig. 24 , in this embodiment, the shutter 63 is located below a plane including the bottommost part of the rail portion 62. This means that the distance (height) H60 between this plane and the top surface of the shutter 63 is greater than 0. Therefore, as indicated by reference numerals 1081 to 1083 in Fig. 24 , the rail portion 62 and the shutter 63 can be made to overlap so as not to come into contact (interfere) with each other. The reference numeral OL of the reference numerals 1081 to 1083 in Fig. 24 indicates the overlap position between the rail portion 62 and the shutter 63.

[0240] As shown by reference numerals 1082 and 1083 in Fig. 24, even when the shutter 63 is in an open state, the shutter 63 is positioned below the rail portion 62, so that even when the shutter 63 is open, as shown by reference numeral 1084 in Fig. 24, no gap D60 is formed between the rail portion 62 and the shutter 63. As shown by reference numeral 1084 in Fig. 24, if the gap D60 exists, the neck portion 5033 of the infusion container 503 moving along the rail portion 62 in the removal direction will get caught on the shutter 63. By specifying the positional relationship between the shutter 63 and the rail portion 62 so that a portion of the shutter 63 overlaps with the rail portion 62 even in the open state, the possibility of the infusion container 503 getting caught on the shutter 63 can be reduced.

[0241] In this embodiment, the printing / inspection unit 50 and the infusion receiving shelf 60 are positioned so that the second transport unit 120 can store the infusion container 503 with the second label LA12 attached on the infusion receiving shelf 60 with the second surface SF2 facing the removal direction without changing the orientation of the infusion container 503. However, such positioning is not necessarily required. In this case, for example, the second transport unit 120 may change the orientation of the infusion container 503 it is holding so that the infusion container 503 is stored on the infusion receiving shelf 60 with the second surface SF2 facing the removal direction.

[0242] In addition, in this embodiment, the pair of rail portions 62 are fixed to the infusion receiving shelf 60, but may be detachable from the infusion receiving shelf 60. In this case, the user can remove the pair of rail portions 62 from the infusion receiving shelf 60 while the infusion container 503 is being held therein, and take them outside the housing of the co-infusion device 1. Therefore, the infusion container 503 can be removed from the rail portions 62 outside the housing of the co-infusion device 1.

[0243] [Configuration of Co-infusion System 100] The above-described co-infusion device 1 is used in, for example, a co-infusion system 100 shown in FIG. 25 . FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of the co-infusion system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 25 , the co-infusion system 100 includes a co-infusion device 1, a host system 2, a drug dispensing device 7, a co-infusion support device 8, and a collation terminal 9. In the co-infusion system 100, the host system 2 is connected to the co-infusion device 1, the drug dispensing device 7, the co-infusion support device 8, and the collation terminal 9 wirelessly or via a wired connection so as to be able to communicate with each other. The co-infusion system 100 may also include a plurality of any one or more of the co-infusion device 1, the drug dispensing device 7, the co-infusion support device 8, and the collation terminal 9. Furthermore, the entities that execute the various processes in the co-infusion system 100 described below are merely examples, and the entities that execute the various processes in the co-infusion system 100 can be changed.

[0244] 25, the host system 2 is a computer including a control unit 201, a storage unit 202, an operation unit 203, a display unit 204, a printing unit 205, and a third recording unit 206. In this embodiment, the host system 2 functions alone as an example of a co-infusion system according to the present invention. On the other hand, the host system 2 may execute various processes in cooperation with other devices such as the co-infusion device 1 and the co-infusion support device 8. In this case, a system including the host system 2 and the other devices is an example of a co-infusion system according to the present invention.

[0245] The control unit 201 includes a processor and memory that execute various programs. The memory unit 202 is a storage unit, such as a hard disk, that stores various programs for causing the control unit 201 to execute various processes. The memory unit 202 also stores prescription data, preparation data, and the like. The operation unit 203 is an operation unit, such as a keyboard, mouse, or touch panel, that allows the control unit 201 to accept user operations. The display unit 204 is an output unit, such as a liquid crystal display or organic EL display, that presents information to the user. Hereinafter, it is assumed that various user operations in the host system 2 are performed on the operation unit 203, and that various information in the host system 2 is displayed on the display unit 204. The printing unit 205 is a printer or the like that prints various information on sheets based on the preparation data and is connected to the host system 2. The third recording unit 206 is a label printer or the like that prints various information on recording media such as labels and is connected to the host system 2. The third recording unit 206 is not limited to recording media such as labels, and may also record various information on other types of recording media, such as IC tags.

[0246] The control unit 201 also manages a system clock that measures the time used in various processes in the higher-level system 2, and is able to acquire the time of the system clock as the current time. For example, the control unit 201 controls the system clock using a hardware clock such as a real-time clock. The time measured by the system clock may also include the date. Hereinafter, the time indicated by the system clock managed by the control unit 201 may be referred to as the system time.

[0247] Furthermore, for the preparation data assigned to the co-infusion apparatus 1, the control unit 201 transmits to the co-infusion apparatus 1 an instruction to execute the co-infusion process and an instruction to execute a recording process to record the second information on the second label LA12. Here, for the preparation data assigned to the co-infusion apparatus 1, the control unit 201 does not cause the second information to be recorded on the second label LA12 by the second recording unit 704, second recording unit 804, etc., provided separately from the co-infusion apparatus 1. That is, when the control unit 201 transmits an instruction to execute the co-infusion process to the co-infusion apparatus 1, it does not transmit an instruction to execute the recording process for the preparation data corresponding to the co-infusion process to another drug dispensing apparatus 7 or co-infusion support apparatus 8. On the other hand, for the preparation data assigned to the co-infusion apparatus 1 and then the co-infusion process in the co-infusion apparatus 1 is canceled, the control unit 201 causes the second recording unit 704 or second recording unit 705 to record the second information on the second label LA12. For example, the control unit 201 sends an instruction to execute the recording process to the drug dispensing device 7 or the co-infusion support device 8, whereby the recording process is executed by the second recording unit 704 or the second recording unit 705. As a result, even if the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 is canceled and the second label LA12 is no longer printed by the co-infusion device 1, the user can obtain the second label LA12 corresponding to the preparation data. When the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 is canceled, the control unit 201 may automatically execute a process to change the entity that executes the recording process of the second label LA12 from the printing / inspection unit 50 of the co-infusion device 1 to another recording unit such as the second recording unit 704 or the second recording unit 705, or may execute this process when a confirmation operation is performed by the user.

[0248] In another embodiment, the control unit 201 may cause the third recording unit 206 to print the second information on the second label LA12 only for preparation data for which the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 has been canceled. That is, the third recording unit 206 may be used only when printing the second label LA12 corresponding to preparation data for which the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 has been canceled. This allows the user to easily understand that the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 has been canceled by the printing of the second label LA12 from the third recording unit 206.

[0249] [Configuration of Drug Dispensing Device 7] The drug dispensing device 7 has multiple storage units corresponding to multiple types of drugs used as injection drugs, and is capable of dispensing drug containers from the storage units while they are placed on a transport tray TR based on preparation data that is the target of the mixed injection process. The drug containers are ampoules, vials, injection kits, or PTP sheets containing drugs. The transport tray TR is also used to transport infusion containers to hospital wards or drug administration locations after drugs have been mixed through a mixed injection process based on the preparation data. An example of the drug dispensing device 7 is disclosed in, for example, JP 2015-013177 A or WO 2019 / 093413 A, and therefore, detailed description of the drug dispensing device 7 will be omitted here, and only an outline will be provided.

[0250] As shown in FIG. 25 , the medicine dispensing device 7 includes a control unit 701, a memory unit 702, a printing unit 703, a second recording unit 704, and the like. The control unit 701 includes a processor and memory for executing various programs. The memory unit 702 is a storage unit such as a hard disk that stores various programs for causing the control unit 701 to execute various processes, and also stores correspondence information (described below). The printing unit 703 is a printer that prints various information, such as the types and numbers of drugs and infusions indicated in the preparation data, onto a sheet and outputs it as an injection prescription (an example of a printed sheet). The second recording unit 704 is a label printer or the like that prints various information on a second label LA12 affixed to the infusion container. Furthermore, the second recording unit 704 is not limited to a recording medium such as a label. If another type of recording medium, such as an IC tag, is attached to the infusion container, various information may be recorded on the recording medium.

[0251] Then, in the medicine dispensing device 7, the injection prescription printed by the printing unit 703 and the second label LA12 printed by the second recording unit 704 are placed on a transport tray TR1 together with the medicine containers and are dispensed. Specifically, in the medicine dispensing device 7, the transport tray TR1 is transported by a transport means such as a belt conveyor to an outlet for the second label LA12 printed by the second recording unit 704, an outlet for the injection prescription printed by the printing unit 703, and an outlet for the medicine containers dispensed from the medicine dispensing device 7, in that order, so that the second label LA12, the injection prescription, and the medicine containers are placed on the transport tray TR1 in that order. Furthermore, the medicine dispensing device 7 may be configured to be able to dispense infusion containers containing infusions, and the infusion containers are placed on the transport tray TR1 in the same manner as the medicine containers.

[0252] In particular, as shown in FIG. 29 , a transport tray TR1 may be provided with multiple divided regions TR11, and a drug container, a second label LA12, and an injection prescription corresponding to one preparation data may be placed in one divided region TR11 (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-013177). As a result, on one transport tray TR1 dispensed from the drug dispensing device 7, drug containers, second labels LA12, and injection prescriptions corresponding to multiple preparation data may be placed in the divided regions TR11 corresponding to each preparation data. Therefore, for example, drug containers, second labels LA12, and injection prescriptions corresponding to multiple preparation data corresponding to multiple patients may be placed in one transport tray TR1. The multiple preparation data assigned to one transport tray TR1 are preset by the host system 2. For example, in the host system 2, multiple preparation data belonging to the same group, such as a predetermined hospital room or ward, are assigned to the divided regions TR11 of one transport tray TR1. This allows the user to transport all transport trays TR1 carrying medication containers etc. of patients of the same group to the same room or ward etc. together.

[0253] If the medicine dispensing device 7 does not have the function of dispensing infusion containers, the user must manually prepare the infusion containers. Also, the user must manually prepare the medicine containers for medicines of types not loaded on the medicine dispensing device 7. Furthermore, the user may manually perform a mixed injection process in which medicines contained in medicine containers held in the transport tray TR1 are mixed and injected into an infusion container.

[0254] [Configuration of the Co-infusion Support Device 8] The co-infusion support device 8 executes various processes to support manual co-infusion processing by users such as pharmacists. Specifically, the preparation support device 8 is a personal computer or the like equipped with a control unit 801, a memory unit 802, a display unit 803, a second recording unit 804, and the like. The control unit 801 includes a processor and memory for executing various programs. The memory unit 802 is a storage unit such as a hard disk that stores various programs for causing the control unit 801 to execute various processes. The display unit 803 is an output unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display for presenting information to the user. The second recording unit 804 is a label printer or the like that prints various information on a second label LA12 affixed to a drug container and is connected to the co-infusion support device 8 for use. The second recording unit 804 is not limited to a recording medium such as a label, and may record various information on other types of recording media such as an IC tag.

[0255] The control unit 801 then sequentially displays on the display unit 803 information to assist a user who manually performs the mixed injection process based on the preparation data input from the upper system 2 as the target of the mixed injection process. For example, the control unit 801 executes a mixed injection support process that displays the types of drug containers, infusion containers, and syringes used in the mixed injection process based on the preparation data, and sequentially displays one or more work steps for injecting the drug contained in the drug container into the infusion container with the syringe. Furthermore, during the mixed injection support process, the control unit 801 causes the second recording unit 804 to print on the second label LA12 various types of information based on the preparation data that is the target of the mixed injection process in the mixed injection support device 8.

[0256] [Configuration of the Verification Terminal 9] The verification terminal 9 is an information terminal including a control unit 901, a memory unit 902, a code reading unit 903, a display unit 904, and the like. For example, the verification terminal 9 is a portable terminal that can be carried by a user, such as a smartphone or PDA. The control unit 901 includes a processor and memory that execute various programs. The memory unit 902 is a storage unit such as a hard disk that stores various programs for causing the control unit 901 to execute various processes, and also stores correspondence information, which will be described later. The code reading unit 903 is a barcode reader or the like that reads information from codes such as one-dimensional codes and two-dimensional codes. The display unit 904 is an output unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that presents information to the user. Note that a barcode reader or the like such as the code reading unit 903 may be connected to the host system 2, and the host system 2 may have the functions of the verification terminal 9.

[0257] [Processing of Co-infusion System 100] Below, various processes executed by the co-infusion device 1, host system 2, medicine dispensing device 7, collation terminal 9, etc. in the co-infusion system 100 will be described. Specifically, below, the data output process of the host system 2 (see FIG. 26), the co-infusion control process of the co-infusion device 1 (see FIG. 31), the co-infusion cancellation process of the co-infusion device 1 (see FIG. 32), the transfer control process of the host system 2 (see FIG. 33), the medicine dispensing process of the medicine dispensing device 7 (see FIG. 35), and the tray collation process of the collation terminal 9 (see FIG. 37) will be described in order.

[0258] [Data Output Processing] The control unit 201 of the higher-level system 2 executes a data output process (see FIG. 26 ) in which preparation data to be subjected to the co-infusion process is selected by outputting it to the co-infusion device 1, the drug dispensing device 7, the co-infusion support device 8, etc., and the preparation data is assigned to the co-infusion device 1, the drug dispensing device 7, the co-infusion support device 8, etc. Then, the co-infusion device 1, the drug dispensing device 7, and the co-infusion support device 8 execute various processes in a predetermined order using the preparation data assigned to the device as the execution target for the co-infusion process. Note that the control unit 201 executing the data output process is an example of a data output processing unit according to the present invention. Also, in this embodiment, the assignment of preparation data is performed by outputting the preparation data, but this is not limited thereto. For example, the control unit 201 may assign each of the preparation data to the co-infusion device 1, the drug dispensing device 7, the co-infusion support device 8, etc., store the assignment result in the memory unit 202, and notify the co-infusion device 1, the drug dispensing device 7, the co-infusion support device 8, etc. In this case, the co-infusion device 1, the medicine dispensing device 7, the co-infusion support device 8, etc. acquire the preparation data assigned to themselves by reading the preparation data from the memory unit 202 of the higher-level system 2 as necessary.

[0259] <Step S1> As shown in Fig. 26, in step S1, the control unit 201 determines whether or not to execute the temporary fastening process including steps S2 to S3 described below. For example, the control unit 201 determines to execute the temporary fastening process when a temporary fastening operation for executing the temporary fastening process is performed on the operation unit 203. The control unit 201 may also determine to automatically execute the temporary fastening process when a specific timing, such as a preset time, arrives. Then, if it is determined that the temporary fastening process is to be executed (S1: Yes), the process proceeds to step S2, and if it is determined that the temporary fastening process is not to be executed (S1: No), the process proceeds to step S4.

[0260] <Step S2> In step S2, the control unit 201 executes processing to generate provisional closing data to be transmitted to the co-infusion device 1. Specifically, the control unit 201 extracts provisional target prescription data to be provisionally closed from among the plurality of prescription data stored in the memory unit 202 based on preset extraction conditions, and generates provisional closing data based on each of the provisional target prescription data. The control unit 201 may also display a list of the plurality of prescription data stored in the memory unit 202 on the display unit 204, and select provisional target prescription data to be provisionally closed from among the plurality of prescription data in response to a user operation of the operation unit 203. The provisional closing data includes information on the type and number of instruments, such as syringes, drug containers, and infusion containers, required to execute the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 based on at least the plurality of provisional target prescription data. The provisional closing data also includes an order number, administration time, patient identification information, and the like, corresponding to each of the prescription data.

[0261] <Step S3> In step S3, the control unit 201 executes a provisional fastening data output process to output the provisional fastening data generated in step S2. Specifically, the control unit 201 stores the provisional fastening data in the storage unit 202 and transmits the provisional fastening data to the co-infusion device 1. Note that steps S1 to S3 are processes executed to identify the type and number of equipment required for the co-infusion process executed by the co-infusion device 1 before preparation data is transmitted from the upper system 2 to the co-infusion device 1, but steps S1 to S3 may be omitted in other embodiments.

[0262] In the co-infusion device 1, the control unit 140 determines whether the co-infusion device 1 can perform a co-infusion process using equipment types included in the provisional fastening data received from the host system 2, and notifies the host system 2 of the result of this determination. For example, in the co-infusion device 1, conditions such as the types of equipment or combinations of equipment for which the co-infusion device 1 can perform a co-infusion process are set in advance, and based on these conditions, it is determined whether the co-infusion device 1 can perform a co-infusion process using equipment types included in the provisional fastening data. Specifically, the control unit 140 determines that the co-infusion process cannot be performed in the co-infusion device 1 for provisional target prescription data included in the provisional fastening data that requires equipment such as syringes, drug containers, and infusion containers that are set as unusable (not set as usable) in the co-infusion device 1. For example, the control unit 140 may determine that the co-infusion process cannot be performed in the co-infusion device 1 if the size of the syringe or infusion container required for the co-infusion process is larger than a preset size. The control unit 140 may also determine that the co-infusion process cannot be performed by the co-infusion device 1 when the number of needle punctures into the drug container during the co-infusion process is two or more. Furthermore, when one tentative target prescription data contains multiple drugs, and at least one of the drugs is a drug that is pre-set as unusable in the co-infusion device 1, the control unit 140 may also determine that the co-infusion process cannot be performed by the co-infusion device 1 for the tentative target prescription data. The control unit 140 then notifies the control unit 201 of the host system 2 of the determination result regarding whether or not the co-infusion process can be performed by the co-infusion device 1 for each of the tentative target prescription data included in the provisional fastening data. The control unit 201 of the host system 2 may also determine whether or not the co-infusion process can be performed by the co-infusion device 1 for each of the tentative target prescription data included in the provisional fastening data. Furthermore, when the tentative target prescription data includes multiple RPs, the control unit 201 may determine whether or not the co-infusion process can be performed by the co-infusion device 1 for each of the RPs.

[0263] Furthermore, in the co-infusion device 1, the control unit 140 may generate a list of equipment that needs to be loaded into the co-infusion device 1 based on the provisional fastening data received from the host system 2, and output the list by displaying, printing, or other methods. This allows the user to know the equipment that should be loaded into the co-infusion device 1 when the co-infusion device 1 receives the provisional fastening data, and the equipment can be loaded into the co-infusion device 1 before the co-infusion device 1 receives preparation data generated based on the prescription data corresponding to the provisional fastening data. In particular, if the extraction conditions in step S2 and the extraction conditions in step S5 described below are set to the same conditions, the equipment required for the co-infusion process performed by the co-infusion device 1 based on the preparation data generated in step S5 described below and transmitted to the co-infusion device 1 can be prepared at the time the provisional fastening process is performed. For example, in step S5 described below, the control unit 140 may display a list of provisional fastening data already generated in step S2 together with the extraction conditions for the provisional fastening data or the execution date and time of the provisional fastening process, accept selection of the provisional fastening data, and extract target prescription data using the extraction conditions corresponding to the selected provisional fastening data.

[0264] <Step S4> In step S4, the control unit 201 determines whether to execute the closing process. For example, the control unit 201 determines to execute the closing process when a closing operation for executing the closing process is performed on the operation unit 203. The closing process is an example of a specific process according to the present invention. The control unit 201 may also automatically determine to execute the closing process when a specific timing, such as a preset time, arrives. If it is determined that the closing process is to be executed (S4: Yes), the process proceeds to step S5. If it is determined that the closing process is not to be executed (S4: No), the process proceeds to step S1. The provisional closing process and the closing process may each be executed once a day or at multiple times. In this embodiment, the closing process identifies one or more preparation data to be subjected to the co-infusion process. However, the closing process may identify one or more candidate preparation data to be subjected to the co-infusion process, and a specific process executed at a different timing from the closing process may identify one or more candidate preparation data to be subjected to the co-infusion process from the candidates.

[0265] <Step S5> In step S5, the control unit 201 executes a process of generating one or more preparation data based on each prescription data stored in the storage unit 202 for which preparation data has not been generated. The preparation data includes information on the type and number of equipment, such as syringes, drug containers, and infusion containers, required to execute the co-infusion process based on the preparation data. The preparation data also includes the order number, RP number, and administration time (administration date and administration time) corresponding to the preparation data. Furthermore, the preparation data also includes information such as the patient's ward and patient identification information included in the prescription data corresponding to the preparation data.

[0266] Here, when the prescription data includes data (application data) for multiple Rp(s), the control unit 201 generates preparation data corresponding to each Rp data. Specifically, when the prescription data includes data for multiple Rp(s), the control unit 201 breaks down the prescription data into prescription data for each Rp (application unit) and generates preparation data corresponding to each prescription data. This allows the control unit 201 to select preparation data corresponding to multiple Rp(s) included in a single prescription data as output targets for the closing process in step S6 (described below) in units of Rp, rather than in units of prescription data. In other words, when a single prescription data includes multiple Rp(s), the user can select the timing for closing process processing in units of preparation data corresponding to each Rp. Note that the timing for generating preparation data by the control unit 201 is not limited to the execution timing of step S5. For example, the control unit 201 may generate preparation data based on the prescription data when it receives the prescription data. In this case, step S5 may be omitted. The control unit 201 may also generate preparation data at a preset time or at preset intervals. Furthermore, after generating each of the preparation data, the control unit 201 may determine for each of the preparation data whether or not a co-infusion process based on the preparation data can be executed by the co-infusion device 1. As described above, the determination of whether or not a co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 is possible may be made by the control unit 140 of the co-infusion device 1, and the control unit 201 may be notified of the determination result.

[0267] Furthermore, the control unit 201 groups the preparation data based on preset group conditions, and includes group identification information in the preparation data for identifying the group to which the preparation data belongs. Specifically, the control unit 201 groups the preparation data by prescription category, and then further groups the preparation data belonging to the same group by ward. Hereinafter, the group by prescription category may be referred to as a first group, and the group by ward may be referred to as a second group.

[0268] In particular, when classifying the preparation data into the first group, the control unit 201 subdivides the prescription categories included in the detailed prescription information and then classifies the preparation data based on the subdivided prescription categories. For example, the control unit 201 subdivides one prescription category, "regular," into multiple prescription categories based on administration time. Specifically, in this embodiment, the control unit 201 subdivides the prescription category "regular" into the following prescription categories: "Regular (10:00-12:00)" if the administration time is from 9:00 to 12:00, "Regular (12:00-15:00)" if the administration time is from 12:00 to 15:00, and "Regular (15:00-17:00)" if the administration time is from 15:00 to 17:00. FIG. 27 shows an example of grouping the preparation data. In the example shown in FIG. 27 , each of the preparation data is classified into a first group based on prescription categories such as "Regular (10:00-12:00)" and "Regular (12:00-15:00)," and into a second group based on wards such as "Ward A" and "Ward B." Note that the second group is not limited to classification based on wards, and may be classified based on other information included in the preparation data, such as the hospital room, person in charge, administration time, and department. In this way, the control unit 201 can classify the preparation data by subdividing the prescription category based on the administration time. Therefore, in the selection process of the preparation data to be processed for closing in step S6 described below, the user can select the preparation data to be processed for closing in units of prescription categories subdivided based on the administration time, rather than in units of the prescription category indicated in the prescription data.

[0269] <Step S6> In step S6, the control unit 201 identifies the preparation data to be subjected to the co-infusion process in response to a user operation. Specifically, the control unit 201 displays a display screen P1 on the display unit 204 for selecting the preparation data to be subjected to the closing process. FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen P1. Areas A1 to A3 and an operation unit K1 are displayed on the display screen P1 shown in FIG.

[0270] Area A1 displays the number of patients and the number of prescriptions for each prescription category for the unprocessed preparation data, along with an operation unit such as a check box for accepting the selection of one or more of the prescription categories. Here, the prescription categories in area A1 are not the prescription categories indicated in the prescription data, but the prescription categories after subdivision in step S5, and in area A1, the closing target can be selected in units of the first group. Area A1 also displays an operation unit such as a check box for switching whether or not to select a prescription category, and the control unit 201 narrows down the preparation data selection candidates based on the prescription category selected by the user in area A1.

[0271] In another embodiment, when one of the subdivided "regular" prescription categories is selected in area A1, the control unit 201 may automatically select a "regular" prescription category corresponding to an administration time earlier than the administration time corresponding to the selected "regular" prescription category. For example, if the prescription category "regular (00:00-10:00)" is selected and closing processing is performed within a day, and then the prescription category "regular (10:00-12:00)" is selected next, not only "regular (10:00-12:00)" but also "regular (00:00-10:00)" is automatically selected. Similarly, if the prescription category "Regular (10:00-12:00)" is selected and closing processing is performed, and then the prescription category "Regular (12:00-15:00)" is selected, not only "Regular (12:00-15:00)" but also "Regular (00:00-10:00)" and "Regular (10:00-12:00)" will be automatically selected. Furthermore, when one of the "Regular" prescription categories is selected in area A1, but a "Regular" prescription category corresponding to an administration time earlier than the administration time corresponding to the selected "Regular" prescription category has not been selected, the control unit 201 may notify the user of this by a pop-up screen or the like.

[0272] In this embodiment, since each preparation data is generated based on prescription data broken down into Rp units, the number of prescriptions displayed in area A1 is the number of preparation data generated based on prescription data in Rp units. Therefore, the number of prescriptions displayed in area A1 may not match the number of prescription data input to the host system 2. On the other hand, in another embodiment, for example, if the prescription data input to the host system 2 contains only one Rp data, the prescription data does not need to be broken down into Rp units, and the number of prescriptions displayed in area A1 matches the number of prescription data input to the host system 2.

[0273] Area A2 includes areas A21 to A25. Area A21 displays group identification information (e.g., ward name, department name, administration time, etc.) of one or more second groups corresponding to one or more preparation data belonging to the prescription category selected in area A1. In this embodiment, the second groups are classified based on wards, so the ward name is displayed in area A2. Area A22 displays the number of prescriptions belonging to the prescription category selected in area A1 for each second group (ward). Area A23 displays the number of prescriptions belonging to the prescription category selected in area A1 for each combination of the second group and administration date.

[0274] Area A24 is an operation display unit for selecting, for each of the second groups, a dispensing method for dispensing drug containers for the preparation data belonging to the prescription category selected in area A1. Specifically, in this embodiment, the dispensing method includes mechanical dispensing, in which drug containers are dispensed using a drug dispensing device 7, and manual dispensing, in which a user manually arranges drug containers. The control unit 201 selects either "mechanical dispensing" or "manual dispensing" in response to a user operation in area A24 and displays the selected option in area A24. Furthermore, if the co-infusion system 100 includes multiple drug dispensing devices 7, it is also possible to select one of the multiple drug dispensing devices 7 in area A24. For example, the control unit 201 may be able to select device identification information, such as the serial number of the drug dispensing device 7, in response to a user operation in area A24. The items in areas A24 and A25 are selected using, for example, a pull-down menu.

[0275] Area A25 is an operation display unit for selecting, for each of the second groups, a mixing method for performing mixing processing on the preparation data belonging to the prescription category selected in area A1. Specifically, in this embodiment, the mixing methods include machine mixing, in which mixing processing is performed by the mixing device 1, and manual mixing, in which mixing processing is performed manually by a user. The control unit 201 selects either "machine mixing" or "manual mixing" in response to a user operation in area A25 and displays the selection in area A25. Furthermore, if the mixing system 100 includes multiple mixing devices 1, it is also possible to select one of the multiple mixing devices 1 in area A25. For example, the control unit 201 may be able to select device identification information, such as the model number of the mixing device 1, in response to a user operation in area A25. When the co-infusion process is performed by the co-infusion device 1, the drug container stored in the co-infusion device 1 is used, and therefore, when "mechanical co-infusion" is selected in area A25, the control unit 201 may not accept the selection operation of the dispensing method in area A24. Even when "mechanical co-infusion" is selected in area A25, the control unit 201 may accept the selection operation of the dispensing method in area A24 in preparation for the case where the co-infusion process is not performed by the co-infusion device 1.

[0276] 28, when the feasibility of execution of the co-infusion process based on each of the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 has been determined as described above, the control unit 201 may display, on the display screen P1, the determination result of the feasibility of execution of the co-infusion process based on each of the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 as reference information. For example, on the display screen P1, the reference information may display whether the co-infusion process can be executed in the co-infusion device 1 for each of the preparation data, or may display, for each of the first groups, the number or percentage of preparation data for which the co-infusion process can be executed in the co-infusion device 1, or may display, for each of the second groups, the number or percentage of preparation data for which the co-infusion process can be executed in the co-infusion device 1. Note that, when the determination of whether the co-infusion process can be executed in the co-infusion device 1 is performed for tentative target prescription data included in the provisional close data or Rp included in the tentative target prescription data, reference information regarding the determination result of the feasibility may be displayed for each of the tentative target prescription data, each Rp, each of the first groups, or each of the second groups.

[0277] When an individual area corresponding to one of the combinations of the second group and the administration date is selected in area A23 of area A2, area A3 displays a list of the contents of the preparation data corresponding to the combination. Area A3 also displays an operation unit such as a check box for accepting an operation to select one or more of the preparation data displayed in area A3 as targets for closing processing. For example, when the preparation data is displayed in area A3, the control unit 201 selects (or deselects) all of the preparation data and switches the selection state of one or more of the preparation data to a deselected state (or selected state) in response to a user operation. That is, the control unit 201 can select whether to assign the preparation data to the co-infusion device 1 on a second group basis in response to a user operation in area A1, or on a preparation data basis in response to a user operation in area A3.

[0278] The operation unit K1 is an operation key that accepts a user operation for executing closing processing for the preparation data selected as the processing target for closing processing on the display screen P1. Specifically, in response to the operation of the operation unit K1, the control unit 201 identifies one or more preparation data selected on the display screen P1 as the processing target for co-infusion processing, and identifies the dispensing method and co-infusion method for each of the second groups selected on the display screen P1 as the dispensing method and co-infusion method for each of the preparation data belonging to the second group, and proceeds to step S7.

[0279] <Step S7> In step S7, the control unit 201 executes a preparation method selection process to select a preparation method of the one or preparation data identified as the target for executing the mixed injection process in step S6, based on the dispensing method and mixed injection method selected in step S6. Here, with reference to Figures 39 and 40, an example of the preparation method selection process executed in step S7 will be described.

[0280] First, the configuration of the host system 2, which is the premise for executing the preparation method selection process, will be described. In the host system 2, closing management information, which associates at least a closing time condition and an implementation time condition, is stored in the storage unit 202. The closing time condition is information for classifying the time indicating the specific timing at which the closing process is determined to be executed in step S4 (hereinafter referred to as the "closing system time") into groups according to preset ranges. In this embodiment, the closing system time is an example of the specific time according to the present invention. The implementation time condition is information referenced to determine whether to restrict the use of an assistance device that supports at least a portion of the co-infusion process, such as the co-infusion device 1 or the co-infusion assistance device 8. As will be described later, the control unit 201 does not restrict the use of the assistance device if the administration time corresponding to the preparation data satisfies the implementation time condition, and restricts the use of the assistance device if the administration time does not satisfy the implementation time condition. That is, the control unit 201 can select a preparation method using the assistance device if the administration time corresponding to the preparation data satisfies the implementation time condition, but will not select a preparation method using the assistance device if the administration time does not satisfy the implementation time condition. Hereinafter, excluding a preparation method that uses the assistance device from the selection candidates may be referred to as "restricting the use" of the assistance device. Note that the closing system time is not limited to the time when the closing operation for executing the closing process in step S4 is performed on the operation unit 203, but may be any time at which the timing of executing the closing process can be determined, such as the time when the process for identifying the preparation data to be executed in step S6 is executed, or the time when the preparation method selection process in step S7 is started.

[0281] The control unit 201 can set one or more closing time conditions in response to user operation, and can set the implementation time condition for each closing time condition. The control unit 201 setting the closing time condition and the implementation time condition in this manner is an example of a setting processing unit. Specifically, when a user performs a predetermined operation to start editing the closing management information, the control unit 201 displays a master management screen P2 for editing the closing management information on the display unit 204, as shown in FIG. 39. The master management screen P2 displays an area A3 displaying the contents of the closing management information. The control unit 201 performs various setting processes, such as registering, changing, or deleting records in the closing management information, in response to user operation in area A3. Specifically, area A3 includes, for each record, an area A31 displaying the closing time condition and an area A32 displaying the implementation time condition. When an operation key K11 displayed on the master management screen P2 is operated, the control unit 201 registers the information entered in area A3 as the closing management information.

[0282] More specifically, the control unit 201 sets the start time and end time indicating the range of the closing system time as the closing time condition in response to a user operation in area A31. Note that the control unit 201 restricts the setting of overlapping ranges of the closing system time between different records in area A31. Also, the control unit 201 sets the start time and end time indicating the range of the administration time as the implementation time condition in response to a user operation in area A32. Note that the control unit 201 does not restrict the setting of overlapping ranges of the implementation time between different records in area A32.

[0283] For example, in the first record in area A3 shown in FIG. 39 , the closing time condition is set to "00:00-07:49" and the implementation time condition is set to "0." The "0" in the implementation time condition is a value for restricting use of the assistance device regardless of the administration time. Therefore, if the closing system time belongs to the group of the closing time condition "00:00-07:49," the control unit 201 restricts use of the assistance device for co-infusion processing based on the preparation data regardless of the administration time corresponding to the preparation data. For example, the "0" in the implementation time condition is used to restrict use of the assistance device for co-infusion processing based on the preparation data that is the subject of the closing processing when the closing processing is performed during a time period that is not expected to be used during the operation of the facility where the upper system 2 is used. Note that the contents of the closing management information shown in FIG. 39 are merely an example, and the implementation time condition does not need to be set to "0" for records for time periods that are not expected to be used during the closing processing. For example, in another embodiment, the control unit 201 may restrict the use of the assistance device during a time period for which the cut-off time condition is not set, regardless of the administration time. Also, in another embodiment, the control unit 201 may not restrict the use of the assistance device during a time period for which the cut-off time condition is not set, regardless of the administration time.

[0284] Similarly, in the second record in area A3, the closing time condition is set to "07:50 to 08:09" and the implementation time condition is set to "10:00 to 23:59." In this case, if the closing system time belongs to the group of the closing time condition "07:50 to 08:09," the control unit 201 determines that use of the assistance device will not be restricted for mixed injection processing based on preparation data whose administration time falls within the implementation time condition "10:00 to 23:59." On the other hand, it determines that use of the assistance device will be restricted for mixed injection processing based on preparation data whose administration time does not fall within the implementation time condition "10:00 to 23:59." In other words, if the closing system time belongs to the group of the closing time condition "07:50 to 08:09," use of the assistance device will be restricted for mixed injection processing based on preparation data whose administration time falls between the end time of the closing time condition "08:09" and the start time of the implementation time condition "10:00."

[0285] In addition, on the master management screen, the control unit 201 may restrict a user operation to set the time interval between the end time of the cutoff time condition and the start time of the implementation time condition to be shorter than a preset shortest time (e.g., 2 hours). This makes it possible to ensure at least the shortest time as the time interval between the end time of the cutoff time condition and the start time of the implementation time condition. For example, after inputting either the end time of the cutoff time condition or the start time of the implementation time condition, the control unit 201 may prohibit input of the other time if the time interval between the end time of the cutoff time condition and the start time of the implementation time condition is shorter than the shortest time. Furthermore, when the end time of the cutoff time condition is set by a user operation, the control unit 201 may automatically set the start time of the implementation time condition to a time obtained by adding the shortest time to the end time. Similarly, when the start time of the target administration time is set by a user operation, the control unit 201 may automatically set the end time of the cutoff time condition to a time obtained by subtracting the shortest time from the start time. Furthermore, the control unit 201 may display a predetermined warning when the time period between the end time of the closing time condition input by a user operation and the start time of the implementation time condition is shorter than the shortest time period.

[0286] [Preparation Method Selection Process] Next, an example of the preparation method selection process executed by the control unit 201 will be described with reference to Figure 40. The preparation method selection process is a process executed for each of the preparation data identified as the target for execution of the co-infusion process. Note that the control unit 201 when executing the preparation method selection process is an example of a selection processing unit.

[0287] <Step S701> In step S701, the control unit 201 determines whether to restrict the use of the assistance device for the co-infusion process based on the preparation data to be executed based on the closing management information. If it is determined that the use of the assistance device is to be restricted (S701: Yes), the process proceeds to step S711. If it is determined that the use of the assistance device is not to be restricted (S701: No), the process proceeds to step S702. The processes from step S702 onwards are steps in which the use of an assistance device such as the co-infusion device 1 or the co-infusion assistance device 8 may be selected, and the processes from step S711 onwards are steps in which the use of an assistance device such as the co-infusion device 1 or the co-infusion assistance device 8 is not selected. That is, the control unit 201 can restrict the use of the assistance device for the co-infusion process based on the preparation data to be executed by transitioning the process to step S711 in the preparation method selection process executed for the preparation data to be executed. As another example of a method for restricting the use of the assistance device, if the control unit 201 determines that the use of the assistance device should be restricted for the co-infusion process based on the preparation data to be executed, it is also possible to suspend the closing process until the user performs a confirmation operation.

[0288] In step S701, the control unit 201 determines whether the preparation data satisfies the restriction condition restricting the use of the assistance device based on the closing system time, the administration time corresponding to the preparation data to be executed, and the closing management information. More specifically, the control unit 201 references the record in the closing management information corresponding to the group of the closing time conditions to which the closing system time belongs, and if the administration time corresponding to the preparation data is outside the range of the implementation time conditions, determines to restrict the use of the assistance device for the co-infusion process based on the preparation data. That is, the control unit 201 selects an assistance preparation method, such as the fourth or fifth preparation method described below, which does not use the assistance device, as the preparation method for the co-infusion process based on the preparation data based on the closing system time and the administration time. Furthermore, even if the implementation time condition is "0," the control unit 201 determines to restrict the use of the assistance device for the co-infusion process based on the preparation data regardless of the administration time. Thus, the restriction condition includes the administration time of the drug corresponding to the preparation data to be executed being outside the range of the implementation time conditions corresponding to each closing system time. On the other hand, the control unit 201 refers to the record in the closing management information corresponding to the group of closing time conditions to which the closing system time belongs, and if the administration time corresponding to the preparation data is within the range of the implementation time conditions, it determines that the use of the assistance device will not be restricted for the co-infusion process based on the preparation data.

[0289] Therefore, in the co-infusion system 100, the user can arbitrarily set the closing time condition and the implementation time condition in advance, thereby enabling operation of switching whether or not to use the assistance device depending on the closing system time and the administration time, thereby realizing a highly convenient co-infusion assistance system 100. For example, the user can set the closing time condition and the implementation time condition so that use of the assistance device is restricted when the remaining time from the closing system time to the administration time becomes short.

[0290] In this embodiment, the case where the closing time condition and the implementation time condition are set in correspondence with each other in the closing management information is described. Meanwhile, in other embodiments, the implementation time condition may be set based on the closing system time. Specifically, the control unit 201 may be configured to restrict the use of the assistance device for co-infusion processing based on preparation data whose administration time arrives before a predetermined threshold time has elapsed from the closing system time. In this case, the control unit 201, in response to a user operation, sets the threshold time in place of the implementation time condition, corresponding to each closing time condition. Then, the control unit 201 references a record in the closing management information corresponding to the group of the closing time condition to which the closing system time belongs, and determines that the use of the assistance device for co-infusion processing based on the preparation data is restricted if the difference between the closing system time and the administration time is equal to or less than the threshold time set in the record. That is, in other embodiments, the restriction condition may include a condition in which the difference between the specific time and the implementation time corresponding to the preparation data is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold time. On the other hand, when the difference between the closing system time and the administration time exceeds the threshold time, the control unit 201 determines not to restrict the use of the assistance device for the mixed injection process based on the preparation data. Also, the threshold time may be set commonly to all the closing system times, rather than being set for each group of the closing time conditions.

[0291] Furthermore, in the closing management information, the implementation time condition or the threshold time is set for each closing time condition, but in other embodiments, the implementation time condition or the threshold time may be set for one or more combinations of the closing time condition, the second group (such as a ward name), and the prescription category. In this case, the control unit 201 determines whether to restrict the use of the assistance device for mixed injection processing based on the preparation data based on the preparation data, based on the closing system time, the administration time corresponding to the preparation data, the second group to which the preparation data belongs, and the prescription category to which the preparation data belongs.

[0292] Furthermore, if the control unit 201 determines in step S701 that the use of the assistance device is to be restricted, it may notify a predetermined terminal such as a ward terminal provided in a ward or a portable terminal of a pharmacist in charge of ward operations of the determination. When the prescription data is input to the higher-level system 2 from another system such as an electronic medical record, the notification of the restriction on the use of the assistance device may be sent from the higher-level system 2 to the other system such as an electronic medical record, and then sent from the other system to a terminal such as a ward terminal or the portable terminal. Some or all of the processing executed by the control unit 201 of the higher-level system 2 may be executed by a control unit of the other system such as an electronic medical record.

[0293] <Step S702> In step S702, if the co-infusion method selected in step S6 is "mechanical co-infusion" (S702: Yes), the control unit 201 shifts the processing to step S721, and if it is not "mechanical co-infusion" (S702: No), the control unit 201 shifts the processing to step S702.

[0294] <Step S721> In step S721, if the control unit 201 determines that the co-infusion process cannot be performed in the co-infusion device 1 for the preparation data to be executed (S721: Yes), it transitions the process to step S703, and if it determines that the co-infusion process can be performed in the co-infusion device 1 (S721: No), it transitions the process to step S722.

[0295] <Step S722> In step S722, the control unit 201 selects the first preparation method as the preparation method of the preparation data to be executed. The first preparation method is an example of an assisted preparation method in which the co-infusion device 1 is used. The first preparation method is a method in which the co-infusion device 1 executes a co-infusion process based on the preparation data, and the drug dispensing device 7 prints an injection prescription and places it on the transport tray TR1 without dispensing the drug container or printing the second label LA12. In this case, the second label LA12 is printed and affixed to the infusion container by the co-infusion device 1 rather than the drug dispensing device 7. That is, when the preparation method is the first preparation method, the control unit 201 assigns the preparation data to be used for the co-infusion process by the co-infusion device 1 and for the drug dispensing process by the drug dispensing device 7.

[0296] <Step S703> In step S703, if the dispensing method selected in step S6 is "machine dispensing" (S703: Yes), the control unit 201 transitions the processing to step S704, and if the dispensing method is not "machine dispensing" (S703: No), the control unit 201 transitions the processing to step S731.

[0297] Incidentally, for the second group to which the preparation data that is determined in step S721 to be unable to execute the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 belongs, either "mechanical dispensing" or "manual dispensing" may have been selected as the dispensing method in step S6. In this case, in step S703, the control unit 201 branches the process depending on the dispensing method selected in step S6.

[0298] On the other hand, for the second group to which the preparation data determined in step S721 that the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 belongs, "mechanical dispensing" or "manual dispensing" may not be selected as the dispensing method in step S6. In this case, the control unit 201 may branch the process in step S703 depending on whether the drug container used in the co-infusion process based on the preparation data to be executed can be dispensed from the drug dispensing device 7. Specifically, the control unit 201 transitions the process to step S704 if the drug container used in the co-infusion process based on the preparation data to be executed can be dispensed from the drug dispensing device 7, and transitions the process to step S731 if the drug container used in the co-infusion process based on the preparation data to be executed cannot be dispensed from the drug dispensing device 7.

[0299] Furthermore, in another embodiment, for preparation data for which it is determined in step S721 that the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 cannot be executed, the dispensing method may be "manual dispensing" regardless of the setting content in step S6, and the process may proceed to step S703. Also, for preparation data for which it is determined in step S721 that the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 cannot be executed, the dispensing method may be "mechanical dispensing" regardless of the setting content in step S6, and the process may proceed to step S731.

[0300] <Step S704> In step S704, if the control unit 201 determines that the mixed injection process will be assisted by the mixed injection support device 8 (S704: Yes), the control unit 201 proceeds to step S705, and if the control unit 201 determines that the mixed injection process will not be assisted by the mixed injection support device 8 (S704: No), the control unit 201 proceeds to step S741. Specifically, in the higher-level system 2, whether or not the user will perform the mixed injection process without the assistance of the mixed injection support device 8 is set in advance for each second group (ward). Then, the control unit 201 determines whether or not the preparation data is preparation data for which the user will receive assistance from the mixed injection support device 8, depending on the second group to which the preparation data belongs.

[0301] For example, in a facility where the co-infusion system 100 is used, if the co-infusion method is "manual co-infusion" and the co-infusion process is performed manually by a user in a hospital ward or the like, the user may perform the co-infusion process without assistance from the co-infusion support device 8. In this case, the second label LA12 will not be printed by the co-infusion support device 8.

[0302] <Step S705> In step S705, the control unit 201 selects the second preparation method as the preparation method of the preparation data to be executed. The second preparation method is an example of an assisted preparation method in which the co-infusion support device 8 is used. The second preparation method is a method in which the drug dispensing device 7 dispenses drug containers and prints injection prescriptions, places the drug containers and injection prescriptions on the transport tray TR1 and dispenses them, and the user manually performs the co-infusion process with the support of the co-infusion support device 8. In this case, the second label LA12 is printed by the co-infusion support device 8, not by the co-infusion device 1 and the drug dispensing device 7, and is affixed to the infusion container by the user. That is, when the preparation method is the second preparation method, the control unit 201 assigns the preparation data to be used by the drug dispensing device 7 to perform the drug dispensing process and to be used by the co-infusion support device 8 to perform the co-infusion support process, including printing the second label LA12.

[0303] <Step S741> In step S741, the control unit 201 selects the fourth preparation method as the preparation method of the preparation data to be executed. The fourth preparation method is an assisted preparation method that does not use an assistance device such as the co-infusion device 1 or the co-infusion assistance device 8. The fourth preparation method is a method in which the medicine dispensing device 7 dispenses medicine containers, prints the second label LA12, and prints an injection prescription, places the medicine containers, the second label LA12, and the injection prescription on the transport tray TR1 and dispenses them, and the user manually performs the co-infusion process without assistance from the co-infusion assistance device 8. In this case, the second label LA12 is printed by the medicine dispensing device 7 and is affixed to the infusion container by the user. That is, when the preparation method is the fourth preparation method, the control unit 201 assigns the preparation data to be used by the medicine dispensing device 7 to perform the medicine dispensing process and the second label LA12 printing process.

[0304] <Step S731> Furthermore, in step S731, similarly to step S704, the control unit 201 determines whether or not to receive assistance in the mixed injection process from the mixed injection support device 8, and branches the process accordingly. Specifically, if the control unit 201 determines that assistance in the mixed injection process will be received from the mixed injection support device 8 (S731: Yes), the control unit 201 shifts the process to step S732, and if the control unit 201 determines that assistance in the mixed injection process will not be received from the mixed injection support device 8 (S731: No), the control unit 201 shifts the process to step S733.

[0305] <Step S732> In step S732, the control unit 201 selects the third preparation method as the preparation method of the preparation data to be executed. The third preparation method is an example of an assisted preparation method in which the mixed injection support device 8 is used. The third preparation method is a method in which the drug dispensing device 7 prints an injection prescription and places it on the transport tray TR1 without dispensing the drug containers or printing the second label LA12, and the user manually arranges the drug containers and manually performs the mixed injection process with assistance from the mixed injection support device 8. In this case, the second label LA12 is printed by the mixed injection support device 8, not by the mixed injection device 1 and the drug dispensing device 7, and is affixed to the infusion container by the user. That is, when the preparation method is the third preparation method, the control unit 201 assigns the preparation data to be used in the mixed injection support process, including printing the second label LA12, by the mixed injection support device 8.

[0306] <Step S733> In step S733, the control unit 201 selects the fifth preparation method as the preparation method of the preparation data to be executed. The fifth preparation method is an assisted preparation method that does not use an assistance device such as the co-infusion device 1 or the co-infusion assistance device 8. The fifth preparation method is a method in which the medicine dispensing device 7 prints the second label LA12 and the injection prescription, places the second label LA12 and the injection prescription on the transport tray TR1 and dispenses them, and the user manually arranges the medicine containers and manually executes the co-infusion process without assistance from the co-infusion assistance device 8. In this case, the second label LA12 is printed by the medicine dispensing device 7 and affixed to the infusion container by the user. That is, when the preparation method is the fifth preparation method, the control unit 201 does not assign the preparation data to be used for the medicine dispensing process by the medicine dispensing device 7, but assigns the preparation data to be used for the printing process of the second label LA12 by the medicine dispensing device 7.

[0307] <Step S711> As described above, if it is determined in step S701 that the use of the assistance device is to be restricted for the co-infusion process based on the preparation data to be executed is to be restricted, the process proceeds to step S711. In step S711, if the dispensing method selected in step S6 is "machine dispensing" (S711: Yes), the control unit 201 proceeds to step S741. If the dispensing method is not "machine dispensing" (S711: No), the control unit 201 proceeds to step S733. That is, when restricting the use of the assistance device for the co-infusion process based on the preparation data to be executed and the dispensing method is "machine dispensing," the control unit 201 selects the fourth preparation method as the preparation method for the preparation data to be executed. On the other hand, when restricting the use of the assistance device for the co-infusion process based on the preparation data to be executed and the dispensing method is not "machine dispensing," the control unit 201 selects the fifth preparation method as the preparation method for the preparation data to be executed.

[0308] In addition, in the co-injection system 100, the preparation method candidates selected by the control unit 201 do not have to be all of the first preparation method to the fifth preparation method, but rather may be selected from the first preparation method and at least one of the second preparation method to the fifth preparation method.

[0309] In addition, in this embodiment, the control unit 201 executes, as an example of a method of restricting the use of the assistance device, not using either the co-infusion device 1 or the co-infusion assistance device 8 for the co-infusion process based on the preparation data. Meanwhile, in other embodiments, the method of restricting the use of the assistance device may include a situation in which the co-infusion assistance device 8 is used without using the co-infusion device 1. That is, when it is determined in step S701 that the use of the assistance device is restricted, the processing may proceed to step S703, thereby allowing the selection of the second or third preparation method, in addition to the fourth or fifth preparation method. Similarly, in other embodiments, the method of restricting the use of the assistance device may include a situation in which the co-infusion device 1 is used without using the co-infusion assistance device 8. Furthermore, in other embodiments, the assistance device may include, but is not limited to, the co-infusion device 1 that executes the co-infusion process to support the entire co-infusion process, and the co-infusion assistance device 8 that displays the contents of the tasks performed by the user in the co-infusion process to support part of the co-infusion process, and may also include various devices that support part or all of the co-infusion process executed based on the preparation data.

[0310] Furthermore, as described above, the control unit 201 can set the closing time condition and the implementation time condition for restricting the use of the assistance device in the closing management information, separately from the selection of one or more prescription categories in area A1 of the display screen P1. Therefore, for example, when a user selects any of the "regular" prescription categories in area A1 of the display screen P1, by simultaneously selecting a prescription category with an administration time earlier than the selected prescription category, it is possible to realize an operation that prevents unprocessed preparation data from being omitted from the closing process, while also realizing a restriction on the use of the assistance device according to the closing system time and the administration time.

[0311] In this embodiment, the case where the administration time is used as an example of the execution time in the present invention has been described as an example, but if the preparation data or the like contains information on the execution time of the co-infusion process based on the preparation data, the execution time of the co-infusion process may be used as the execution time. In this case, the control unit 201 may be able to set a range of the execution time of the co-infusion process instead of the administration time in the closing management information, or may be able to select either the administration time or the execution time of the co-infusion process and set the time range.

[0312] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the host system 2 determines whether or not to restrict the use of the assistance device, but in other embodiments, the co-infusion device 1 or the co-infusion assistance device 8 may determine whether or not to restrict the use of the co-infusion device 1 or the co-infusion assistance device 8. For example, in the co-infusion device 1, the control unit 140 may acquire the closing management information from the host system 2 and determine, based on the closing management information, whether or not to restrict the use of the co-infusion device 1 for the co-infusion process based on the preparation data to be executed. In this case, when the co-infusion device 1 determines that the use of the co-infusion device 1 should be restricted for the co-infusion process based on the preparation data to be executed, it is considered that the same process as when the co-infusion process based on the preparation data is canceled is executed.

[0313] In this embodiment, the control unit 201 selects a preparation method based on other conditions, such as whether machine co-infusion is selected (S702) or whether machine dispensing is selected (S704), in addition to the closing system time and the administration time (see FIG. 40). Alternatively, the control unit 201 may select either an assisted preparation method using the assistance device or a preparation method not using the assistance device based on the closing system time and the administration time. That is, the present invention may be viewed as an invention that switches whether to use the assistance device in a co-infusion process based on the preparation data, or an invention that switches whether to restrict use of the assistance device in a co-infusion process based on the preparation data, based on the closing system time and the administration time. For example, if it is determined in step S701 that use of the assistance device is to be restricted (S701: Yes), one of the preset fourth or fifth preparation methods may be selected. If it is determined that use of the assistance device is not to be restricted (S701: No), one of the preset first to third preparation methods may be selected. The co-infusion system 100 may be provided with either one of the co-infusion device 1 or the co-infusion support device 8. For example, when the co-infusion device 1 is provided and the drug dispensing device 7 and the co-infusion support device 8 are not provided, it is considered that the fifth preparation method is selected when it is determined in step S701 that the use of the co-infusion device 1 is to be restricted (S701: Yes), and the first preparation method is selected when it is determined that the use of the co-infusion device 1 is not to be restricted (S701: No).

[0314] <Step S8> In step S8, the control unit 201 executes an assignment process to assign the preparation data to be executed to the transport tray TR1. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 29, an example will be described in which four divided regions TR11 are provided on the transport tray TR1. For example, each divided region TR11 may be a small tray detachable from the transport tray TR1, or may be a partial region formed on the transport tray TR1. The transport tray TR1 is assigned a code BC1 containing tray identification information that can identify the transport tray TR1, and each divided region TR11 is assigned a code BC21 containing region identification information that can identify the divided region TR11. Then, for the preparation data to be executed, the control unit 201 assigns the preparation data in the same second group to the divided regions TR11 of the transport tray TR1 in order, four at a time. That is, the preparation data assigned to the same transport tray TR1 belong to the same second group. In this case, for example, preparation data for not only one patient but multiple patients may be assigned to multiple divided regions TR11 in the transport tray TR1. In this case, the control unit 201 generates correspondence information that associates identification information such as patient identification information, order number, and Rp number that can identify the preparation data, tray identification information of the transport tray TR1 to which the preparation data is assigned, and region identification information of the divided region TR11 to which the preparation data is assigned, and stores this information in the memory unit 202 and outputs it to the medicine dispensing device 7 and the collation terminal 9. Note that the control unit 201 when executing step S8 is an example of a correspondence processing unit according to the present invention.

[0315] <Step S9> In step S9, the control unit 201 assigns the preparation data belonging to each of the second groups to be executed to the co-infusion device 1, the drug dispensing device 7, or the co-infusion support device 8 using an output method in accordance with the preparation method selected in step S7, and executes a process of outputting the preparation data to the co-infusion device 1, the drug dispensing device 7, the co-infusion support device 8, etc.

[0316] Specifically, for preparation data for which the preparation method selected in step S7 is the first preparation method, the control unit 201 outputs the preparation data to the co-infusion device 1 and outputs a first dispensing instruction indicating that drug dispensing and label printing are not required and the preparation data to the drug dispensing device 7. That is, the control unit 201 outputs the preparation data to the co-infusion device 1 as the allocation result of step S7. As a result, the co-infusion device 1 executes the co-infusion process based on the input preparation data, and dispenses an infusion container with the second label LA12 affixed. Note that, in this embodiment, an example is given in which the output of the preparation data to the co-infusion device 1 serves as an instruction to execute the co-infusion process and an instruction to execute the recording process. However, when outputting the preparation data to the co-infusion device 1, the control unit 201 may also transmit to the co-infusion device 1 a co-infusion instruction including an instruction to execute the co-infusion process based on the preparation data and an instruction to record the recording process of the second label LA12 for the preparation data. Meanwhile, in the drug dispensing device 7, no drug containers and second labels LA12 are placed in each divided region TR11 of the transport tray TR1 corresponding to each of the input preparation data, but an injection prescription is placed therein, and the transport tray TR1 is dispensed. That is, for the preparation data assigned to the co-infusion device 1, the control unit 201 outputs a first dispensing instruction together with the preparation data to the drug dispensing device 7, thereby not causing the second recording unit 704 or second recording unit 804, which is provided separately from the co-infusion device 1, to record the second information on the second label LA12. Furthermore, for the preparation data assigned to the co-infusion device 1, the control unit 201 also does not cause the drug dispensing device 7 to dispense drug containers.

[0317] Furthermore, for preparation data for which the preparation method selected in step S7 is the second preparation method, the control unit 201 does not output the preparation data to the co-infusion device 1, but outputs a second dispensing instruction indicating that drug dispensing is required and label printing is not required, and the preparation data to the drug dispensing device 7, and also outputs the preparation data to the co-infusion support device 8. That is, the control unit 201 outputs the second dispensing instruction or preparation data, etc., to the drug dispensing device 7 or the co-infusion support device 8 as step S7. As a result, in the drug dispensing device 7, a drug container and an injection prescription are placed in each divided area TR11 of the transport tray TR1 corresponding to each input preparation data, without placing the second label LA12, and the transport tray TR1 is dispensed. Furthermore, in the co-infusion support device 8, a co-infusion support process is executed to support the co-infusion process performed manually by the user based on the preparation data, and the second label LA12 is printed for the preparation data. In this embodiment, an example is given in which the output of preparation data to the mixing assistance device 8 serves as both an instruction to execute the mixing assistance process and an instruction to execute the recording process. However, when outputting preparation data to the mixing assistance device 8, the control unit 201 may also send a mixing instruction to the mixing assistance device 8 that includes an instruction to execute the mixing assistance process based on the preparation data and an instruction to record the recording process of the second label LA12 for the preparation data.

[0318] Furthermore, for preparation data for which the preparation method selected in step S7 is the third preparation method, the control unit 201 does not output the preparation data to the co-infusion device 1, but outputs a third dispensing instruction indicating that drug dispensing and label printing are not necessary and the preparation data to the drug dispensing device 7, and also outputs the preparation data to the co-infusion support device 8. That is, the control unit 201 outputs the preparation data to the co-infusion support device 8 as the allocation result of step S7. As a result, in the drug dispensing device 7, an injection prescription is placed in each divided area TR11 of the transport tray TR1 corresponding to each input preparation data, without placing a drug container and a second label LA12, and the transport tray TR1 is dispensed. Furthermore, in the co-infusion support device 8, a co-infusion support process is executed to support the co-infusion process performed manually by the user based on the preparation data, and the second label LA12 is printed for the preparation data.

[0319] Furthermore, for preparation data in which the preparation method selected in step S7 is the fourth preparation method, the control unit 201 does not output the preparation data to the co-infusion device 1 or the co-infusion support device 8, but outputs a fourth dispensing instruction indicating that medicine dispensing and label printing are required, and the preparation data to the medicine dispensing device 7. That is, the control unit 201 outputs the fourth dispensing instruction and preparation data to the medicine dispensing device 7 as the allocation result of step S7. Note that the fourth dispensing instruction is an example of the recording instruction described above. As a result, in the medicine dispensing device 7, a medicine container, a second label LA12, and an injection prescription are placed in each divided area TR11 of the transport tray TR1 corresponding to each of the input preparation data, and the transport tray TR1 is dispensed.

[0320] Furthermore, for preparation data for which the preparation method selected in step S7 is the fifth preparation method, the control unit 201 does not output the preparation data to the co-infusion device 1 or the co-infusion support device 8, but outputs a fifth dispensing instruction indicating that label printing is required and that drug dispensing is not required, and the preparation data to the drug dispensing device 7. That is, the control unit 201 outputs the fifth dispensing instruction and the preparation data to the drug dispensing device 7 as the allocation result of step S7. Note that the fifth dispensing instruction is an example of the aforementioned recording instruction. As a result, in the drug dispensing device 7, a second label LA12 and an injection prescription are placed in each divided area TR11 of the transport tray TR1 corresponding to each of the input preparation data, and the transport tray TR1 is dispensed.

[0321] <Step S10> In step S10, the control unit 201 causes the printing unit 205 to print (output) a preset patient list, a summary table, or other forms based on the preparation data to be executed, and returns the process to step S1. Note that the patient list, summary table, and other forms may be printed by the co-infusion device 1, the medicine dispensing device 7, the co-infusion support device 8, or the like. In this way, the control unit 201 when outputting the patient list is an example of an output processing unit according to the present invention.

[0322] The patient list lists various information, including the number of infusion containers corresponding to the preparation data in the same second group and / or the type of the infusion container. For example, as shown in FIG. 30(A), the patient list prints information such as the execution time of the closing process for the preparation data, the date and time of drug administration based on the preparation data (administration date and time), patient identification information indicated in the preparation data, the RP number corresponding to the preparation data, the type and number of drug containers and infusion containers, and the order number of the prescription data corresponding to the preparation data. The patient list sorts each patient's information in a predetermined order of priority based on the date or time of drug administration based on the preparation data. Furthermore, the control unit 201 may print the patient list for the group upon receiving a notification from the co-infusion device 1 that a co-infusion process based on the preparation data of the same group has been performed. The patient list is not limited to being output by the second group, but may also be output by any other unit, such as the first group or the closing process.

[0323] The summary table lists the drug containers and infusion containers that the user must manually prepare for mixed injection processing based on the preparation data within the same second group. For example, as shown in Figure 30(B), the summary table prints information such as the execution time of the closing process for the preparation data, the date of drug administration based on the preparation data (administration date), the type and number of drug containers, and the type and number of infusion containers.

[0324] [Co-infusion Control Process of Co-infusion Apparatus 1] In the co-infusion apparatus 1, the control unit 140 executes a co-infusion control process (see FIG. 31) for executing a co-infusion process based on preparation data.

[0325] 31 , in step S21, the control unit 140 determines whether or not preparation data has been received. If preparation data has been received (S21: Yes), the process proceeds to step S22, and the process waits in step S21 until preparation data is received (S21: No). The preparation data received from the higher-level system 2 is stored in the storage unit 200. As described above, the preparation data is grouped based on predetermined group conditions, and the preparation data includes group identification information.

[0326] In this embodiment, a case will be described in which, when the control unit 140 receives preparation data from the host system 2, it determines that the preparation data has been issued and executes a co-infusion process based on the preparation data. For example, when the control unit 140 receives multiple preparation data from the host system 2, it issues the multiple preparation data as targets for execution of the co-infusion process. On the other hand, in another embodiment, preparation data received from the host system 2 that has been issued by the user may be issued as targets for execution of the co-infusion process. Note that, of the unprocessed preparation data received from the host system 2 and stored in the storage unit 200, only issued data is subject to execution of the co-infusion process, and unissued data is not subject to execution of the co-infusion process until it is issued.

[0327] <Step S22> In step S22, the control unit 140 determines the execution order of the mixed injection process for each group to which each unprocessed preparation data currently stored in the storage unit 200 belongs. Specifically, if the preparation data is grouped by administration time, the control unit 140 determines the execution order of the mixed injection process for each group so that the group's administration time is arranged in ascending order. Furthermore, if the preparation data is grouped by a combination of administration time and ward or person in charge, the control unit 140 determines the execution order of the mixed injection process for each group so that the group's administration time is arranged in ascending order. If there are multiple groups with the same administration time, the control unit 140 determines the execution order of the mixed injection process for each group in alphabetical order, alphabetical order, or numerical order for the ward or person in charge. Note that a priority can be set for each group in the upper system 2, and the control unit 140 may determine the execution order of the mixed injection process for each group based on the priority.

[0328] <Step S23> In step S23, the control unit 140 determines, for each group, the execution order of the co-infusion processes based on the unprocessed preparation data currently stored in the storage unit 200. Specifically, the control unit 140 determines the execution order of the co-infusion processes based on the preparation data within the same group based on the contents of one or more pre-set items, such as the order number, patient name, ward, person in charge, or drug name. For example, when the execution order of the co-infusion processes is determined based on the order number, the execution order of the co-infusion processes is determined so that the execution order of the preparation data with the smaller order number (earlier order) is given first. When the execution order of the co-infusion processes is determined based on the patient name, the execution order of the co-infusion processes is determined so that the execution order of the preparation data is given first in alphabetical order. Note that the host system 2 can set a priority for each preparation data, and the control unit 140 may determine the execution order of the co-infusion processes based on the preparation data within the group based on the priority. The execution order of the preparation data within the same group may also be determined by the host system 2.

[0329] <Step S24> In step S24, the control unit 140 selects the group with the earliest execution order as the group to be subjected to the mixed injection process, in accordance with the execution order of the mixed injection process for the groups determined in step S22.

[0330] <Step S25> In step S25, the control unit 140 selects the preparation data that has the earliest execution order within the group to be executed as the preparation data to be subjected to the mixed injection process, in accordance with the execution order of the mixed injection process based on the preparation data determined in step S23.

[0331] <Step S26> In step S26, the control unit 140 executes a mixed injection process based on the preparation data selected as the execution target in step S25. Note that the control unit 140 stores the preparation data for which the mixed injection process has been completed as processed preparation data in the storage unit 200 in association with the results of the mixed injection process and the inspection results, etc.

[0332] <Step S27> In step S27, the control unit 140 determines whether the mixed injection process based on one preparation data is completed. If the mixed injection process is completed (S27: Yes), the control unit 140 proceeds to step S28 and keeps the process on standby at step S27 until the mixed injection process is completed (S27: No).

[0333] Specifically, in step S27 of this embodiment, the control unit 140 determines that the mixed injection process is complete when the injection process in which the medicinal liquid is injected into the infusion container is completed. In this case, the process can be continued regardless of the results of the inspection performed by the mixed injection device 1 after the injection process is completed, and mixed injection processes based on other preparation data can also be started, so mixed injection processes based on multiple preparation data can be performed efficiently.

[0334] On the other hand, in another embodiment, in step S27, the control unit 140 may determine that the mixed injection process is complete when either the injection process in which the medicinal solution is injected into the infusion container is completed or a shortage of equipment necessary for executing the mixed injection process is detected. This allows the process to proceed not only when the injection process is completed but also when an equipment shortage occurs. It is also possible to start a mixed injection process based on other preparation data in which the equipment is not in short supply, thereby enabling efficient mixed injection processes based on multiple preparation data. Even when a mixed injection process based on preparation data in which a necessary equipment shortage has occurred is skipped and a mixed injection process based on other preparation data is executed, the control unit 140 executes the mixed injection process based on the preparation data in groups. That is, when an equipment shortage occurs during a mixed injection process based on the preparation data to be executed, the control unit 140 executes a mixed injection process based on other preparation data belonging to the same group as the target preparation data, but does not execute a mixed injection process based on other preparation data belonging to other groups until the mixed injection processes based on all preparation data belonging to the group have been successfully completed. In addition, the control unit 140 may execute a mixed injection process based on other preparation data belonging to another group when a condition such as a user operation or the passage of a preset period of time is met.

[0335] In yet another embodiment, in step S27, the control unit 140 may determine that the mixed injection process is complete when the injection process in which the medicinal liquid is injected into the infusion container is completed and the result of the inspection performed after the injection process is determined to be normal.In yet another embodiment, in step S27, the control unit 140 may determine that the mixed injection process is complete when any of the following conditions is met: the injection process in which the medicinal liquid is injected into the infusion container is completed and the result of the inspection performed after the injection process is determined to be normal, or a shortage of equipment necessary for performing the mixed injection process has occurred.

[0336] <Step S28> In step S28, the control unit 140 determines whether the co-infusion process based on all preparation data for the currently targeted group has been completed. If the co-infusion process based on all preparation data for the currently targeted group has been completed (S28: Yes), the process proceeds to step S29. If the co-infusion process based on all preparation data for the currently targeted group has not been completed (S28: No), the process proceeds to step S25. As a result, in steps S25 to S28, the control unit 140 sequentially selects each preparation data as the co-infusion process target according to the execution order and sequentially executes the co-infusion process based on each preparation data. Furthermore, when the co-infusion process based on all preparation data for the currently targeted group has been completed, the control unit 140 notifies the user by displaying a message to that effect on the touch panel 80 of the co-infusion device 1 or the collation terminal 9.

[0337] <Step S29> In step S29, the control unit 140 determines whether there is any unprocessed preparation data for a group other than the group that was the target of execution. If there is preparation data for another group (S29: Yes), the process proceeds to step S22. If there is no preparation data for another group (S29: No), the process terminates and returns to step S21. As a result, in steps S22 to S29, the control unit 140 sequentially selects the preparation data to be subjected to the mixture injection process by group in accordance with the execution order of each group, and causes the mixture injection device 1 to execute the mixture injection process based on the preparation data for that group. In other words, in the mixture injection device 1, the mixture injection process based on all preparation data belonging to one group is completed before the mixture injection process based on the preparation data belonging to the next group is started.

[0338] [Co-infusion cancellation process of co-infusion device 1] Furthermore, in the co-infusion device 1, after the control unit 140 assigns preparation data for executing the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 to the co-infusion device 1, a co-infusion cancellation process (see FIG. 32) is executed to cancel the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1. The co-infusion cancellation process is executed by the control unit 201 substantially in parallel with the co-infusion control process and the like.

[0339] <Step S51> As shown in FIG. 32 , in step S51, the control unit 140 determines whether an event has occurred to cancel the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 for any of the preparation data assigned by the higher-level system 2 as preparation data to be used in the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1. For example, the control unit 140 determines that an event has occurred to cancel the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 when an error occurs during the execution of the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1, making it impossible to complete the co-infusion process successfully. Note that, when the error occurs, the control unit 140 may issue a notification to the user to inquire whether to cancel the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1, and determine that an event has occurred to cancel the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 in response to a user operation. Furthermore, the control unit 140 may determine that an event has occurred to cancel the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 when a specific user operation to cancel the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 has been performed for preparation data arbitrarily selected by user operation. That is, the cancellation of the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 can occur either before or after the start of the co-infusion process based on the preparation data. The process waits in step S51 until it is determined that an event has occurred that cancels the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 (S51: No), and when it is determined that an event has occurred that cancels the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 (S51: Yes), the process proceeds to step S52.

[0340] <Step S52> In step S52, the control unit 140 cancels the co-infusion processing based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 by deleting the preparation data for which it is determined in step S51 that an event canceling the co-infusion processing in the co-infusion device 1 has occurred from the unprocessed preparation data stored in the storage unit 200. Note that the control unit 140 may leave the preparation data for which it is determined in step S51 that an event canceling allocation to the co-infusion device 1 has occurred in the storage unit 200 as a processing history without deleting it.

[0341] <Step S53> In step S53, the control unit 140 outputs cancellation data to the higher-level system 2 to notify the cancellation of the co-infusion process based on the cancellation of the preparation data for which it was determined in step S51 that an event to cancel the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 has occurred, and returns the process to step S51. The cancellation data includes identification information such as patient identification information, order number, and RP number for identifying the preparation data for which the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 has been canceled.

[0342] The transmission of the cancellation data to the host system 2 in step S53 may be performed each time the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 is canceled, but the control unit 140 may collectively transmit the cancellation data for one or more preparation data to the host system 2 as an execution target at a predetermined time or at predetermined intervals. The transmission of the cancellation data to the host system 2 in step S53 is performed each time the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 is canceled, and in step S61 described below, which is executed by the host system 2, one or more cancellation data received up to that point may be collectively selected as an execution target at a predetermined time or at predetermined intervals.

[0343] [Transfer Control Process of Upper System 2] Furthermore, the control unit 201 of the upper system 2 executes a transfer control process (see FIG. 33) for transferring the co-infusion process for the preparation data for which the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 has been canceled to another method and executing the same. Note that the transfer control process is a process executed by the control unit 201 substantially in parallel with the data output process, etc. Furthermore, the transfer control process may be executed by the control unit 140 of the co-infusion device 1.

[0344] <Step S61> As shown in Figure 33, in step S61, the control unit 201 determines whether the cancellation data has been received from the co-infusion apparatus 1. Here, if it is determined that the cancellation data has not been received (S61: No), the process waits in step S61. If it is determined that the cancellation data has been received (S61: Yes), the process proceeds to step S62. Note that the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion apparatus 1 may be cancelable by a user operation in the host system 2. In this case, the control unit 201 also proceeds to step S62 when an operation to cancel the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion apparatus 1 is performed in the host system 2 (S61: Yes).

[0345] <Step S62> In step S62, the control unit 201 notifies the user by printing cancellation information on the third label LA13 (see FIG. 34) by the third recording unit 206, indicating that the co-infusion process performed by the co-infusion device 1 based on the preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data has been canceled. This allows the user to easily understand that the co-infusion process performed by the co-infusion device 1 based on the preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data has been canceled and that the user must manually prepare drug containers and perform the co-infusion process based on the preparation data. For example, as shown in FIG. 34, the cancellation information printed on the third label LA13 may include a message indicating that the co-infusion process based on the preparation data has been canceled by the co-infusion device 1 or a message indicating that drugs must be prepared. Note that in step S62, the control unit 201 may transmit the cancellation information to the collation terminal 9 and notify the user by displaying the cancellation information on the collation terminal 9. Furthermore, the control unit 201 may transmit the cancellation information to the mixed injection assistance device 8 and notify the user of the cancellation information by displaying or printing it on the mixed injection assistance device 8.

[0346] The cancellation information may include identification information such as patient identification information, order number, and RP number for identifying the preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data. Furthermore, in step S62, the control unit 201 may print the second information (an example of recorded information) related to the preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data on the second label LA12 using the third recording unit 206. In particular, as shown in FIG. 34 , the control unit 201 may print the second label LA12 immediately after the third label LA13 printed in step S62. By referring to the third label LA13 and the second label LA12, the user can thereby recognize that the preparation data printed on the second label LA12 indicates that the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 has been canceled and that the user should manually assemble drug containers and perform the co-infusion process for the preparation data.

[0347] <Step S63> In step S63, the control unit 201 determines whether the drug container used in the co-infusion process based on the preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data can be dispensed from the drug dispensing device 7. For example, the control unit 201 acquires information on the type of drug container contained in the drug dispensing device 7 from the drug dispensing device 7, and determines whether the drug container can be dispensed from the drug dispensing device 7 based on the information. Alternatively, the control unit 201 may inquire of the drug dispensing device 7 whether the drug container can be dispensed, and determine whether the drug container can be dispensed from the drug dispensing device 7 based on the response from the drug dispensing device 7. If it is determined that the drug container cannot be dispensed from the drug dispensing device 7 (S63: No), the process proceeds to step S631. If it is determined that the drug container can be dispensed from the drug dispensing device 7 (S63: Yes), the process proceeds to step S64.

[0348] <Step S631> In step S631, the control unit 201 determines whether or not to use the mixed injection support device 8 in the mixed injection process based on the preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data. Specifically, the control unit 201 determines that the mixed injection support device 8 will be used in the mixed injection process based on the preparation data if the second group to which the preparation data belongs is preset as a group that uses the mixed injection support device 8. Here, if it is determined that the mixed injection support device 8 will not be used (S631: No), the process proceeds to step S632, and if it is determined that the mixed injection support device 8 will be used (S631: Yes), the process proceeds to step S633.

[0349] <Step S632> In step S632, the control unit 201 outputs preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data to the medicine dispensing device 7 together with the fifth dispensing instruction, thereby causing the medicine dispensing device 7 to dispense the second label LA12 and the injection prescription onto the transport tray TR1. Thereafter, the control unit 201 returns the process to step S61. Note that in each step of the transfer control process, when the control unit 201 transmits preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data to the medicine dispensing device 7 or the co-infusion support device 8, the control unit 201 may output cancellation target information indicating that the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 has been canceled for the preparation data.

[0350] <Step S633> In step S633, the control unit 201 outputs preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data together with the third dispensing instruction to the medicine dispensing device 7, thereby causing the medicine dispensing device 7 to dispense an injection prescription. Thereafter, the control unit 201 returns the process to step S61.

[0351] <Step S64> On the other hand, if it is determined that the medicine container can be dispensed from the medicine dispensing device 7 (S63: Yes), in the subsequent step S64, the control unit 201 determines whether or not to use the mixed injection support device 8 in the mixed injection process based on the preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data, similar to step S631. Here, if it is determined that the mixed injection support device 8 will not be used (S64: No), the process proceeds to step S641, and if it is determined that the mixed injection support device 8 will be used (S64: Yes), the process proceeds to step S65.

[0352] <Step S641> In step S641, the control unit 201 outputs preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data together with the fourth dispensing instruction to the medicine dispensing device 7, thereby causing the medicine dispensing device 7 to dispense a medicine container, a second label LA12, and an injection prescription. Thereafter, the control unit 201 returns the process to step S61.

[0353] <Step S65> In step S65, the control unit 201 outputs preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data together with the second dispensing instruction to the medicine dispensing device 7, thereby causing the medicine dispensing device 7 to dispense a medicine container and an injection prescription. Thereafter, the control unit 201 returns the process to step S61.

[0354] <Step S66> In step S66, the control unit 201 outputs preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data to the mixed injection support device 8, thereby causing the mixed injection support device 8 to execute a mixed injection support process that supports the user's mixed injection process based on the preparation data, and to print a second label LA12 for the preparation data. Thereafter, the control unit 201 returns the process to step S61.

[0355] Thus, in the co-infusion transfer process, for preparation data for which the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 has been canceled, the control unit 201 outputs the second dispensing instruction to the drug dispensing device 7 along with the preparation data, thereby causing the second recording unit 704 or the second recording unit 804, etc., provided separately from the co-infusion device 1, to record the second information on the second label LA12. Also, as described above, in the co-infusion system 100, when the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 is canceled, the control unit 201 switches the co-infusion method of the co-infusion process based on the preparation data from "mechanical co-infusion" to another co-infusion method, such as "manual co-infusion." In other words, after the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 has been canceled, the control unit 201 may be configured not to reassign the preparation data to the co-infusion device 1 and not to cause the co-infusion device 1 to execute the co-infusion process based on the preparation data. In another embodiment, the control unit 201 may be configured to be able to reallocate the preparation data to the co-infusion device 1 after the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 is canceled, and to cause the co-infusion device 1 to execute the co-infusion process based on the preparation data. In another embodiment, an example of the cancellation of the co-infusion process may include a case where the inspection result of the co-infusion process in the co-infusion device 1 is found to be inappropriate, and then the user performs an operation to confirm the inspection result.

[0356] [Drug dispensing process of drug dispensing device 7] Furthermore, the control unit 701 of the drug dispensing device 7 executes a drug dispensing process (see FIG. 35 ) in which second labels LA12, drug containers, injection prescriptions, etc. corresponding to each of the preparation data corresponding to the same transport tray TR1 are placed on the transport tray TR1 and dispensed, based on the preparation data and the correspondence information input to the drug dispensing device 7. Note that the order in which the second labels LA12, drug containers, injection prescriptions, etc. are placed on the transport tray TR1 in the drug dispensing device 7 is not limited to that described here, and the items may be placed on the transport tray TR1 in another order, such as the order of drug container, second label LA12, injection prescription, or the order of the second label LA12, injection prescription, drug container.

[0357] <Step S71> As shown in FIG. 35 , in step S71, the control unit 701 determines whether preparation data corresponding to the transport tray TR1 has been input based on the correspondence information. Specifically, in this embodiment, when multiple preparation data are assigned to multiple divided regions TR11 provided on the same transport tray TR1, the control unit 701 determines that the preparation data corresponding to the transport tray TR1 has been input when all of the multiple preparation data have been input. Note that when only one preparation data is assigned to the same transport tray TR1, the control unit 701 determines that the preparation data corresponding to the transport tray TR1 has been input when that one preparation data has been input. Then, until it is determined that the preparation data has been input (S71: No), the process waits at step S71. When it is determined that the preparation data has been input (S71: Yes), the process proceeds to step S72. Then, in the following steps S72 to S76, one or more preparation data corresponding to the same transport tray TR1 are each targeted for execution, and the second label LA12, medicine container, injection prescription, etc. are dispensed onto the transport tray TR1.

[0358] <Step S72> In step S72, the control unit 701 determines whether printing of the second label LA12 is necessary. Specifically, if the fourth dispensing instruction or the fifth dispensing instruction has been input together with the preparation data, the control unit 701 determines that printing of the second label LA12 is necessary. Furthermore, if the first dispensing instruction, the second dispensing instruction, or the third dispensing instruction has been input together with the preparation data, the control unit 701 determines that printing of the second label LA12 is not necessary. Here, if it is determined that printing of the second label LA12 is necessary (S72: Yes), the process proceeds to step S73. If it is determined that printing of the second label LA12 is not necessary (S72: No), the process proceeds to step S74.

[0359] <Step S73> In step S73, the control unit 701 prints the second information on the second label LA12 based on the input preparation data using the second recording unit 704, and places the second label LA12 in the divided area TR11 of the transport tray TR1 that corresponds to the preparation data. On the other hand, if neither the fourth dispensing instruction nor the fifth dispensing instruction has been input (S72: No), step S73 is not executed, and the second label LA12 is not dispensed.

[0360] <Step S74> In step S72, the control unit 701 determines whether or not dispensing of the drug container is necessary. Specifically, the control unit 701 determines that dispensing of the drug container is necessary when the second dispensing instruction or the third dispensing instruction is input together with the preparation data. Furthermore, the control unit 701 determines that dispensing of the drug container is not necessary when the first dispensing instruction, the fourth dispensing instruction, or the fifth dispensing instruction is input together with the preparation data. Here, if it is determined that dispensing of the drug container is necessary (S74: Yes), the process proceeds to step S75. If it is determined that dispensing of the drug container is not necessary (S74: No), the process proceeds to step S76.

[0361] <Step S75> In step S75, the control unit 701 places the drug containers required for the mixed injection process based on the preparation data in the divided area TR11 of the transport tray TR1 associated with the preparation data. On the other hand, if neither the second dispensing instruction nor the third dispensing instruction has been input (S74: No), step S75 is not executed, and the drug containers are not dispensed.

[0362] <Step S76> In step S76, the control unit 701 prints the injection prescription based on the preparation data and places it on the transport tray TR1 associated with the preparation data. That is, in this embodiment, the drug dispensing device 7 switches between printing the second label LA12 and dispensing the drug container depending on the situation, but the injection prescription is always printed and placed on the transport tray TR1. On the other hand, when the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 is canceled, the preparation data may already have been input into the drug dispensing device 7, and the drug dispensing device 7 may have dispensed an injection prescription and transport tray TR1 corresponding to the preparation data. Therefore, when the control unit 701 receives preparation data identical to the previously received preparation data, the control unit 701 may not print the injection prescription corresponding to the preparation data, and the drug container or the second label LA12, etc., may be placed on a temporary tray for temporarily dispensing only drugs or a new transport tray TR1, and dispensed. For example, when the cancellation information is output together with the preparation data in the transfer control process, the control unit 701, upon receiving the cancellation information, may not print an injection prescription corresponding to the preparation data, but may instead place a medicine container or a second label LA12, etc., on the temporary tray or a new transport tray TR1, etc., and dispense the medicine. Furthermore, when a transport tray TR1 already dispensed from the medicine dispensing device 7 is loaded into the medicine dispensing device 7, the control unit 701 may place a medicine container or a second label LA12, etc., corresponding to the preparation data input by the transfer control process on the transport tray TR1 (divided region TR11), and dispense the transport tray TR1. Note that, in the medicine dispensing device 7, when the injection prescriptions corresponding to each of the preparation data are of a size that can be placed in the divided region TR11 of the transport tray TR1, the injection prescription corresponding to the preparation data is placed in the divided region TR11 corresponding to the preparation data. On the other hand, in the drug dispensing device 7, if the injection prescription corresponding to each of the preparation data is of a size that can be placed in the divided area TR11 of the transport tray TR1, the injection prescription corresponding to the preparation data will be placed in a stacked state spanning multiple divided areas TR11 on the transport tray TR1 corresponding to the preparation data.

[0363] FIG. 36 shows an example of the injection prescription corresponding to a case where the preparation method is the first preparation method, and the co-infusion process based on the preparation data corresponding to some of the multiple Rps included in one prescription data is performed by the co-infusion device 1, while the co-infusion process based on the preparation data corresponding to the other Rps is not performed by the co-infusion device 1. As shown in FIG. 36 , area A11 of the injection prescription is printed with information such as the drug and infusion container for each of one or more Rps included in the patient's prescription data. Furthermore, area A12 of the injection prescription is printed with information such as graphics or text indicating that the co-infusion process for Rps to be performed by the co-infusion device 1 is performed. This allows the user to easily determine for each Rp whether the co-infusion process based on the preparation data corresponding to one or more Rps included in the prescription data will be performed by the co-infusion device 1. Therefore, for example, if a drug container is not placed in the divided region TR11 of the transport tray TR1 corresponding to the preparation data because the co-infusion device 1 is executing a co-infusion process based on the preparation data, the user can easily understand that it is correct that no drug container is placed in the divided region TR11. Note that area A12 of the injection prescription may be printed with information such as graphics or text indicating that the drug container and second label LA12 will not be placed on the transport tray TR1. Furthermore, area A13 of the injection prescription is printed with the administration time to the patient of the drug in the infusion container, which was generated based on the preparation data corresponding to each Rp.

[0364] Furthermore, for preparation data in which the preparation method is the second preparation method and the mixed injection process is performed manually by the user, the second label LA12 is not placed on the transport tray TR1 dispensed from the medicine dispensing device 7. Therefore, the control unit 701 may print information such as a graphic or text indicating that the second label LA12 will not be placed on the transport tray TR1 on the injection prescription for preparation data in which the preparation method is the second preparation method. Similarly, for preparation data in which the preparation method is the third preparation method and both the drug assembling and the mixed injection process are performed manually by the user, the drug container and the second label LA12 are not placed on the transport tray TR1 dispensed from the medicine dispensing device 7. Therefore, the control unit 701 may print information such as a graphic or text indicating that the drug container and the second label LA12 will not be placed on the transport tray TR1 on the injection prescription for preparation data in which the preparation method is the third preparation method. Furthermore, for preparation data in which the preparation method is the fifth preparation method and both the drug assembling and the mixed injection process are performed manually by the user, no drug container is placed on the transport tray TR1 dispensed from the drug dispensing device 7. Therefore, for preparation data in which the preparation method is the fifth preparation method, the control unit 701 may print information such as a figure or text indicating that no drug container will be placed on the transport tray TR1 on the injection prescription.

[0365] Furthermore, as described above, when cancellation data for multiple preparation data are collectively subject to the transfer control process, the transfer control process may group the multiple preparation data into a single cancellation group, and the preparation data within the cancellation group may be collectively output to the drug dispensing device 7, the co-infusion support device 8, etc. Specifically, the control unit 201 may select multiple preparation data belonging to the cancellation group as a single closing processing group and execute processing similar to step S8 and subsequent steps. As a result, the preparation data belonging to the cancellation group are assigned to the divided region TR11 of the same transport tray TR1. In this case, the control unit 201 may print the summary table for the cancellation group using the printing unit 205. Note that the control unit 201 may print the summary table for each preparation data corresponding to the cancellation data individually.

[0366] <Step S77> In step S77, the control unit 701 transports the transport tray TR1 on which the injection prescription and either or both of the second label LA12 and the medicine container are placed to a position where the user can take it out, and dispenses the transport tray TR1.

[0367] [Tray Verification Process of Verification Terminal 9] The control unit 901 of the verification terminal 9 also executes a medicine dispensing process (see FIG. 37) in which the transport tray TR1 is verified against the second label LA12 of the infusion container.

[0368] 37, in step S81, the control unit 901 displays on the display unit 904 information prompting the user to read identification information, such as an order number and an Rp number, for identifying preparation data corresponding to the infusion container from code information printed on the second label LA12 attached to the infusion container, and reads the identification information using the code reading unit 903. At this time, the control unit 901 may display on the display unit 904, for example, tray identification information of the transport tray TR1 corresponding to the preparation data, based on the correspondence information.

[0369] <Step S82> In step S82, the control unit 901 displays information on the display unit 904 prompting the user to read the tray identification information of the transport tray TR1 from the code BC1 attached to the transport tray TR1, and causes the code reading unit 903 to read the tray identification information.

[0370] <Step S83> In step S83, the control unit 901 executes a matching process to check whether the combination of the identification information of the preparation data read in step S81 and the tray identification information read in step S82 matches the combination associated in the correspondence information. In this way, the control unit 901 when executing the process to determine whether the identification information of the preparation data read from the second label LA12 and the identification information of the transport tray TR1 read from the transport tray TR1 are associated by the correspondence processing unit is an example of a determination processing unit according to the present invention.

[0371] <Step S84> In step S84, if the result of the comparison process in step S83 is a match (S84: Yes), the control unit 901 proceeds to step S85. If the result of the comparison process in step S83 is a mismatch (S84: No), the control unit 901 displays an error or the like on the display unit 904 and then returns the process to step S81.

[0372] <Step S85> In step S85, the control unit 901 notifies the user of the position of the divided region TR11 on the transport tray TR1 where the infusion container should be placed. Specifically, the control unit 901 causes the display unit 904 to display the position of the divided region TR11 where the infusion container should be placed, based on the divided region identification information of the divided region TR11 associated with the combination of the preparation data identification information read in step S81 and the tray identification information read in step S82 in the correspondence information. Note that the control unit 901 executing step S85 is an example of a notification processing unit according to the present invention.

[0373] For example, as shown in Fig. 38(A), the control unit 901 displays, on the display screen P2 of the display unit 904, patient identification information and the like corresponding to the preparation data assigned to each divided region TR11 at the position of each divided region TR11 on the transport tray TR1. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 38(B), the control unit 901 may display, on the display screen P2 of the display unit 904, the patient identification information corresponding to the preparation data only at the position of the divided region TR11 on the transport tray TR1 to which the preparation data corresponding to the identification information read in step S81 is assigned. This allows the user to easily place infusion containers in each divided region TR11 of the transport tray TR1 by referring to the display screen P2.

[0374] In addition, in step S85, when the code BC21 attached to the divided area TR11 is read by the code reading unit 903, the control unit 901 may determine whether the area identification information of the divided area TR11 corresponding to the code BC21 is associated in the correspondence information with the adjustment data corresponding to the identification information read in step S81.

[0375] As described above, in the co-infusion system 100, if the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 is canceled for some reason, such as an error or a change in schedule, the second label LA12 is printed by the second recording unit 704 or the second recording unit 804, which is provided separately from the co-infusion device 1. Therefore, even if the co-infusion process based on the preparation data in the co-infusion device 1 is canceled, the user can use the second label LA12 printed by the second recording unit 704 or the second recording unit 804, etc., and therefore, the user's work efficiency can be improved.

[0376] [Other Functions] The following describes other functions of the co-infusion system 100. Note that the functions described below may be possessed by either the co-infusion device 1 or the host system 2, as long as they are possessed by the co-infusion system 100 as a whole, or may be realized by the co-infusion device 1 and the host system 2 working together.

[0377] [Equipment Transfer Function] The control unit 201 of the host system 2 has an equipment transfer function that transfers equipment required for the mixed injection process based on the preparation data but that cannot be used with the mixed injection device 1 to another equipment. For example, in the mixed injection process based on the preparation data, a special infusion container that has the function of injecting medicine and therefore does not require a syringe for drug injection may be used. However, in the mixed injection device 1, the special infusion container may not be usable in the mixed injection process due to mechanical limitations, etc. The special infusion container is also commonly referred to as a saline solution kit.

[0378] Therefore, when the special infusion container is required in the co-infusion process based on the preparation data and the special infusion container cannot be used with the co-infusion device 1, the control unit 201 transfers the special infusion container to an infusion container and syringe that can be used with the co-infusion device 1. As a result, the co-infusion process that cannot be performed with the co-infusion device 1 because it requires the special infusion container can be performed with the co-infusion device 1 by using the infusion container and the syringe.

[0379] [Prescription inspection function] The control unit 201 of the upper system 2 has a prescription inspection function that performs a duplicate administration inspection process to determine whether or not a drug has been administered twice when there are multiple preparation data corresponding to the same patient, and an upper limit amount inspection process to determine whether or not the amount of drug exceeds the upper limit amount per day.

[0380] Specifically, in the duplicate administration inspection process, when there are multiple preparation data corresponding to the same patient and the drug type indicated in each of the preparation data and the administration date included in the administration time indicated in each of the preparation data are the same, the control unit 201 determines that duplicate drug administration has occurred and notifies the user of the determination result. In particular, if the drug type and administration date are the same in each of the preparation data, the control unit 201 determines that duplicate drug administration has occurred and notifies the user of the determination result, even if the standard dosage, such as the dosage per body surface area, of the drug in each of the preparation data is different. This makes it possible to notify the user of the occurrence of duplicate drug administration in the duplicate administration inspection process, even if the patient's body surface area differs due to differences in the issuance timing of each of the preparation data.

[0381] Similarly, in the upper limit amount inspection process, if there are multiple preparation data corresponding to the same patient and the drug type indicated in each of the preparation data and the administration date included in the administration time indicated in each of the preparation data are the same, the control unit 201 of the upper system 2 determines that the upper limit amount has been exceeded if the total amount of the drug indicated in each of the preparation data exceeds the daily upper limit amount, and notifies the user of the determination result. In particular, if the drug type and administration date are the same in each of the preparation data, even if the standard dosage, such as the drug dosage per body surface area, in each of the preparation data is different, the control unit 201 determines that the upper limit amount has been exceeded if the total amount of the drug exceeds the daily upper limit amount, and notifies the user of the determination result. This makes it possible to notify the user of the occurrence of a drug upper limit amount being exceeded in the upper limit amount inspection process, even if the patient's body surface area differs due to differences in the issuance timing of each of the preparation data.

Claims

1. A co-infusion system comprising a selection processing unit that selects a preparation method for the co-infusion process based on each of the preparation data based on a specific time at which a specific process is executed to identify one or more preparation data that are to be subjected to a co-infusion process in which a drug in a drug container is injected into an infusion container and based on the implementation time of the drug corresponding to each of the preparation data.

2. The co-infusion system of claim 1, wherein the preparation method includes an assisted preparation method that uses an assistance device to assist in at least a part of the co-infusion process, and the selection processing unit does not select the assisted preparation method as the preparation method for the co-infusion process based on each of the preparation data when a predetermined restriction condition is satisfied.

3. The co-infusion system according to claim 2, wherein the assisted preparation method includes at least one of a preparation method using a co-infusion device that automatically performs the co-infusion process and a preparation method using a co-infusion assistance device that assists a user in manually performing the co-infusion process.

4. The co-infusion system of claim 2 or 3, wherein the restriction conditions include that the execution time of the drug corresponding to the preparation data to be executed is outside the range of execution time conditions that are pre-set in correspondence with each specific time.

5. The co-infusion system according to claim 4, further comprising a setting processing unit that sets the range of the implementation time condition corresponding to each specific time in response to a user operation.

6. The co-infusion system according to claim 5, wherein the setting processing unit sets groups of the specific times and ranges of the implementation time conditions corresponding to each group in response to a user operation.

7. The co-infusion system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the restriction condition includes that the difference between the specific time and the execution time corresponding to the preparation data is equal to or less than a preset threshold time.

8. The co-infusion system according to claim 7, further comprising a setting processing unit that sets the threshold time corresponding to each of the specific times in response to a user operation.

9. The co-infusion system according to claim 8, wherein the setting processing unit sets groups of the specific times and the corresponding threshold times for each group in response to a user operation.

10. A co-infusion system as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the drug administration time is the administration time of the drug corresponding to the preparation data, or the execution time of the co-infusion process based on the preparation data.

11. A program for causing a processor to execute a selection step of selecting a preparation method for the mixing process based on each of the preparation data, based on a specific time at which a specific process is executed to identify one or more preparation data that are to be subjected to a mixing process for injecting a drug from a drug container into an infusion container, and the drug implementation time corresponding to each of the preparation data.

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