Automated Medication Dosing With Rotating Vial-Syringe Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pharmacy compounding robots rely heavily on general-purpose robot arms, leading to spills and leaks, slow performance, and inefficient milking processes that require empirical setup for accurate dosing, resulting in reduced throughput.
Innovation Solution
An automated dosing device with secure vial and syringe holders, a rotating support, and a milking process that aligns axes at downward and vertical angles, uses clean air to prevent contamination, and calculates dwell times for precise fluid transfer, eliminating the need for manual parameter setting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If general-purpose robot arms are used for fluid transfer, then the system can handle various container types, but spills and leaks occur and performance becomes slow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a specialized fluid transfer mechanism with custom grippers and alignment features that act as an intermediary between the robot arm and the vials/syringes. This intermediary component ensures precise positioning and controlled fluid transfer, eliminating spills and leaks while maintaining the ability to handle various container types through programmable operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs programmable parameters for gripper force, transfer speed, and positioning accuracy that can be adjusted based on the specific container type being handled. This allows the same hardware to adapt to different vial and syringe sizes while maintaining reliable fluid transfer through optimized parameter settings for each container type.
2Ease of manufacture
If general-purpose robot arms are used for fluid transfer, then the system can be built with standard components, but performance becomes slow
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary alignment and positioning of the syringe and vial before the actual fluid transfer operation. The robot arm pre-positions the containers, and the specialized transfer mechanism pre-aligns the needle with the vial opening, enabling faster and more accurate fluid transfer compared to ad-hoc positioning during the transfer operation itself.
3Manufacturing precision
If empirical initialization of milking process is used, then the process can be customized to physical parameters, but setup time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates sensors that provide feedback on the actual physical parameters of the vials and syringes during operation. This feedback allows the control system to automatically adjust the milking process parameters in real-time, achieving accurate dosing without requiring time-consuming empirical setup for each new container type or medication.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device enhances fluid transfer efficiency, reduces spills and leaks, and ensures accurate dosing by preventing biological contamination and cross-contamination, while improving throughput and reducing setup time.
Implementation Method 1
blowing first air from a clean air source directly onto fluid transfer locations of the automated dosing device
Data Source
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Figure 2B
AI summary
A method of preparing liquid medication doses using an automated dosing device may include securing a vial within a vial holder. The vial includes a liquid medicament. An empty syringe is secured within a syringe holder with a plunger of the syringe being secured by a plunger gripper and a luer lock of the syringe within a luer lock gripper. The syringe holder and the vial holder are moved closer together to insert a needle of the syringe through a septum of the vial while longitudinal axes of the syringe and the vial are at a downward angle and while the vial holder is lower than the syringe holder. The syringe holder and the vial holder are rotated to vertically align the longitudinal axes with the vial holder above the syringe holder. The plunger gripper is pulled away from the luer lock gripper to transfer liquid medicament into the syringe.