Medication Ingestion Tracking via Edible Electronic Tags
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a challenge in medical facilities to accurately track whether patients receive and ingest their prescribed medications, leading to issues such as incorrect dosages, unexplained treatment failures, and increased healthcare costs due to inadequate medication administration.
Innovation Solution
A system using edible electronic tags with sensors at different locations on the body, communicating with a computer to monitor medication ingestion by tracking the tag's movement and sending notifications if the medication is not ingested within a determined time, confirming ingestion when the tag is detected.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional manual medication tracking is used, then the system is simple to implement, but medication ingestion cannot be accurately verified
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical tracking methods with an electronic monitoring system using RFID tags embedded in medication and sensors that detect tag presence. This substitution enables automatic, accurate verification of medication ingestion without manual intervention, resolving the contradiction between tracking accuracy and system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses electronic copies (RFID tags) of medication information that can be detected and tracked digitally. Instead of tracking physical medication directly, the system tracks electronic identifiers that represent the medication, enabling precise monitoring while maintaining manageable system complexity through digital data handling.
2Reliability
If multiple sensors are used to track medication movement, then ingestion detection accuracy improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the monitoring task across multiple sensors positioned at different locations (mouth, esophagus, stomach). Each sensor segment detects tag presence in its specific region, and the system integrates these segmented detections to reliably determine overall ingestion. This segmentation improves reliability while keeping individual sensor units simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The RFID tag embedded in the medication serves as an intermediary that mediates between the medication itself and the multiple sensors. The tag carries identification information that each sensor can detect, enabling reliable tracking through multiple detection points without requiring complex direct sensor-medication interaction.
3Productivity
If real-time monitoring is implemented, then medication adherence is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic monitoring where sensors check for the presence of the RFID tag at scheduled intervals rather than continuously. This periodic action maintains effective medication adherence monitoring while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous real-time monitoring, as sensors can enter low-power states between detection cycles.
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
This system ensures accurate tracking of medication ingestion, reducing errors and healthcare costs by providing real-time notifications and data on medication adherence, thereby improving patient care.
Implementation Method 1
The sensor may then detect an electronic tag in the medication through electromagnetic radiation
Data Source
AI summary
Monitoring administration of medication to a user by receiving an identification of at least a medication and a time of administration of the medication to the user from the first sensor and storing the identification in the repository. The identification of the medication is compared to prescribed medication for the user. A time required for the medication to travel from the first location to the second location is determined. An electronic tag at the second location is monitored until the determined time has passed or the electronic tag is identified. When the determined time has passed and an electronic tag has not been identified, a notification is sent to at least one user; and when the electronic tag is identified, the ingestion of the medication is confirmed by the user and the time and electronic tag identification is stored in the repository.