Medicine Image Collation With Feedback Master Image Collection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing medicine recognition systems face challenges in accurately identifying over 8,000 types of medicines due to the difficulty in obtaining and registering images of all medicines, especially rare or expensive ones, which hinders effective image recognition.

Innovation Solution

A medicine comparing system that includes a medicine audit device and a medicine audit system, utilizing a local database and a server device to collect and update master images, perform image processing, and correct image recognition errors through learning models, ensuring comprehensive medicine identification.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If master images are registered for all medicines to improve recognition accuracy, then recognition accuracy is improved, but the difficulty in obtaining medicine images increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverecognition accuracyVSAvoiddifficulty in obtaining medicine images
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses feedback from indeterminate recognition results to automatically collect medicine images and update the master image database. When a medicine cannot be recognized, the system captures its image, identifies it through barcode or other methods, and adds it to the master image repository, thereby continuously improving recognition accuracy without manual intervention

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The medicine recognition system performs self-improvement by automatically collecting images of unrecognized medicines and updating its own master image database. The system serves itself by using its own operational data (indeterminate recognition cases) to enhance its capabilities, eliminating the need for external manual image collection

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Measurement precision

If comprehensive medicine image collection is performed to improve recognition accuracy, then recognition accuracy is improved, but the time required for image collection increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverecognition accuracyVSAvoidtime required for image collection
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously collects and processes medicine images in real-time during normal operation. Instead of periodic batch processing, the image collection and master image update operations continue uninterrupted as medicines are scanned and recognized, maximizing the useful action time while minimizing idle time

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Solution Approach 2:

The feedback mechanism ensures that time spent on indeterminate recognition cases is directly converted into useful master image data. The system immediately processes failed recognition attempts by capturing images and updating the database, ensuring that time investment yields immediate improvements in recognition capability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP4039242B1Medicine collation device, medicine collation system, medicine management method, and program
Publication Date: 2025.11.19 FUJIFILM MEDICAL CO LTD
  • EP4039242B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4039242B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4039242B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

To provide a medicine collation device, a medicine collation system, a medicine management method, and a program, capable of collecting medicine images that are candidates for master images. The medicine collation device includes: a medicine image acquiring unit (60) configured to acquire a medicine image generated by imaging a medicine to be collated; a first master image storing unit (64) configured to store a master image of the medicine; a collating unit (62) configured to collate the medicine image with the master image; an associating unit (66) configured to associate the medicine image collated by the collating unit, with identification information on the medicine image; and a transmitting unit (68) configured to transmit the medicine image and the identification information that are associated in the associating unit, to an outside.