Automated Medication Dose Assembly System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for assembling medication doses, particularly controlled substances like methadone and buprenorphine, face challenges in efficient and secure dispensing, storage, and remote access, requiring manual handling and lacking integration with electronic medical records for streamlined order fulfillment.
Innovation Solution
An automated system that integrates with electronic medical records to prepare and assemble medication doses, featuring a compliant safe for storing and dispensing controlled substances without opening the safe, and a remote treatment booth for secure opioid recovery treatment, utilizing robotics and software to manage orders and inventory efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual handling is used for assembling medication doses, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but productivity and efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The automated dose assembly system performs operations autonomously without requiring manual intervention for each dose. The system self-manages the assembly process by automatically dispensing medications, filling containers, labeling doses, and organizing assembled doses into collections, thereby resolving the contradiction between productivity improvement and operational simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The system integrates multiple functions into a single automated platform including medication dispensing, container filling, label application, dose assembly, and collection organization. This multi-functional approach enables high productivity while managing complexity through integrated design rather than separate manual processes
2Ease of operation
If traditional safe storage is used for controlled substances, then security is maintained, but ease of operation and remote access deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an automated dispensing mechanism as an intermediary between the secure safe storage and the user. The safe remains locked and secure while the automated mechanism retrieves medications through the safe's interface, dispenses doses remotely, and returns items without requiring the safe to be opened or manual access, thus enabling remote operation while maintaining security compliance
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual mechanical access to the safe with an automated robotic mechanism that operates through the safe's existing interface. The robotic arm and dispensing mechanisms perform retrieval and dispensing operations without human hands opening the safe, substituting mechanical automation for manual handling while preserving the safe's security integrity
3Reliability
If frequent patient travel to medical centers is required, then treatment monitoring and communication are ensured, but loss of time and patient convenience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables patients to receive their medication doses and engage in treatment monitoring through remote automated interactions. Patients can access the system remotely to receive doses and communicate with healthcare providers without traveling to the medical center, maintaining treatment monitoring quality while eliminating travel time through self-service capability
Data Source
AI summary
An automated system for preparing and assembling a collection of doses of a medication, such as liquid medication including but not limited to methadone and buprenorphine, for fast and accurate order fulfillment. The automated system and its components may be configured to occupy a small footprint for integration in a clinic. The automated system may feature a system for dispensing medication into medication bottles, capping and labeling the bottles, and organizing or collating a collection or group of medication doses into an array for fulfillment of the medication order.