Universal Medication Injection Supervisor with Dosage Dial Reader
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients with chronic medical conditions face challenges in managing their medication administration schedules, particularly with insulin injections, where incorrect dosages can lead to severe health complications such as hypoglycemia or overdose, due to the complexity of various insulin types and the need for precise tracking and adherence.
Innovation Solution
A medication injection supervisor device with a universal header mountable on prefabricated injection pens, featuring an electronics assembly that automatically records injection times, includes a sleeve for secure attachment, a sensor to detect injections, a display for data manipulation, and a micro optics subsystem for reading dosage dials, providing reminders and warnings to ensure accurate administration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a supervisor device is attached to injection pens to monitor dosages, then medication administration accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The supervisor device is divided into two separate components: a pen-specific sleeve that attaches to the injection pen and a universal header that houses the electronics and display. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently - the sleeve is customized for specific pen models while the header remains universal across different pen types, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining monitoring accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The universal header serves multiple functions: it houses the electronics assembly, provides the display interface, contains the sensor for detecting injections, and serves as the mounting interface for different sleeve types. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed, thereby reducing device complexity while improving medication administration accuracy through comprehensive monitoring capabilities.
2Reliability
If automatic injection tracking is implemented, then patient safety is improved, but ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The device automatically detects injections through the sensor that monitors plunger movement, automatically records the injection event, and automatically displays the elapsed time since the last injection. This self-service capability eliminates the need for patients to manually input injection data, improving patient safety through accurate automatic tracking while maintaining ease of operation through hands-free automatic functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The display provides real-time feedback to the patient by showing the elapsed time since the last injection, allowing patients to immediately understand whether they have adhered to their injection schedule. This feedback mechanism improves patient safety by enabling self-monitoring while keeping the system simple and easy to interpret for the patient.
3Measurement precision
If multiple insulin types and dosages are tracked, then medication management precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device uses pen-specific sleeves that are customized to match specific injection pen models and insulin types. Each sleeve contains pen-specific information such as the correct dosage scale and injection timing parameters. This segmentation allows the universal header to maintain simple, standardized electronics while achieving high measurement precision through the customized sleeve that is matched to the specific pen and insulin type being used.
Data Source
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AI summary
A medication injection supervisor device, in one example embodiment, comprises a particular sleeve, the particular sleeve being designed to lock onto to a prefabricated injection pen of a particular design, a universal header designed slide onto the particular sleeve irrespective of the particular model of the prefabricated injection pen, an electronics assembly housed by the universal header, a sensor to detect an injection automatically, the sensor being communicatively coupled to the electronics assembly, a display to display injection data, and a button to allow manipulation and display of the injection data, including resetting of the time. The medication injection supervisor device can infer the completion of the injection from a plunger of the injection pen being depressed. The medication injection supervisor device can further include a dosage reading system to read a dosage of medication delivered by the prefabrication injection pen, the dosage reading system including a clip specific to the prefabricated injection pen coupled to a plunger of the prefabricated injection pen, the dosage being determined by a position of the clip. The medication injection supervisor device can further include a micro optics subsystem communicatively coupled to the electronics assembly and having a dial reader to take one or more images of a dosage dial of the prefabricated injection pen, and an imaging subsystem communicatively coupled to the electronics assembly to recognize characters in the images taken by the dial reader.