Medical Dose Imaging With Auto-Cropping for Reliable Documentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional pharmacy management techniques face inefficiencies and errors in medical dose preparation due to reliance on physical labels, manual record-keeping, and lack of reliable documentation, leading to unprepared, lost, or duplicate doses, and increased administrative overhead.
Innovation Solution
A medical dose preparation management system that automates the tracking and documentation of medical doses using digital image processing to identify regions of interest in images of medication receptacles, reducing the need for human intervention and improving documentation accuracy and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If physical labels are used to track medical doses, then pharmacy personnel can manually record and manage dose orders, but this leads to unprepared, lost, or duplicate doses and increased administrative overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical labels with digital image copies of medication receptacles. The imaging device captures digital images of the receptacles, and the system processes these images to extract and store information about the medications. This digital copying eliminates the need for physical labels while maintaining reliable tracking, as the digital images can be stored, searched, and managed without risk of being lost or duplicated erroneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the mechanical system of physical labels and manual record-keeping with an automated imaging and image processing system. The imaging device automatically captures images, and the processor automatically extracts information from these images, replacing the manual mechanical processes of writing, filing, and retrieving physical labels. This substitution significantly improves pharmacy efficiency while maintaining reliable dose tracking.
2Reliability
If pharmacists physically check prepared doses by entering the clean room, then they can verify materials and processes, but this requires protective clothing and equipment that takes time and resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates digital copies (images) of the medication preparation process and materials. Instead of requiring the pharmacist to physically enter the clean room to verify doses, the system captures digital images of the preparation area, receptacles, and materials. The pharmacist can then review these digital images remotely, eliminating the need to wear protective clothing and spend time physically present in the controlled environment while maintaining verification accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces digital images as an intermediary between the pharmacist and the physical preparation area. The imaging device acts as a mediator that captures the state of the preparation area and transmits this information to the pharmacist. This intermediary allows the pharmacist to verify doses without direct physical contact with the clean room environment, saving time and resources while maintaining verification reliability.
3Productivity
If digital image processing is used to document medical dose preparation, then documentation accuracy and efficiency are improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the documentation system into distinct functional segments: an imaging device for capturing images, a processor for extracting and processing information from the images, and a database for storing the extracted information. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently, managing the overall system complexity by breaking it down into manageable, specialized parts that work together to improve documentation efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Use of improved image acquisition for a medical dose preparation system. The medical dose preparation system may include a work station for capturing medical dose preparation images (e.g., to document preparation of a mediation dose). The medical dose preparation image may be captured by a video data stream processor capable of performing an auto cropping technique on a video data stream received from an image device.