Segmented Smart Pill Bottle for Controlled Medication Dispensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medication dispensing methods, particularly for controlled medications, lack effective tools to ensure dosing safety, leading to increased risks of loss, overuse, misuse, diversion, poisoning, and overdose due to unrestricted access to pill quantities.
Innovation Solution
A simple, safe, and inexpensive smart pill bottle designed for timed, single-dose dispensing of medications, featuring a durable design with a programmable timer and locking mechanism to release medication only at predetermined intervals, reducing access to large pill quantities and minimizing overuse risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If basic plastic pill containers are used for medication dispensing, then the container is simple and inexpensive, but the patient has unrestricted access to the entire quantity of pills at any time, dramatically increasing risk for loss, overuse, misuse, diversion, poisoning, and overdose
Solution Approach 1:
The pill container is segmented into individual dose compartments, each holding a single pill or tablet. This segmentation prevents the patient from accessing the entire quantity of pills at once, thereby reducing the risk of overuse, misuse, and diversion while maintaining the simplicity of the container design.
Solution Approach 2:
The container is pre-configured with individual dose compartments that are sealed and ready for dispensing. The dosing schedule is predetermined, and the patient simply needs to open the container at the scheduled time to access the pre-prepared single dose, eliminating the need for complex dosing calculations or decisions.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the standard childproof pill bottle is used for all medication dispensing including controlled medications, then the bottle is simple and widely available, but it represents a severe safety flaw that puts many thousands of prescription medication users at risk
Solution Approach 1:
The universal pill bottle design is enhanced with individual dose compartments that segment the entire pill supply into discrete, time-specific portions. This maintains the bottle's universality while eliminating the harmful effect of unrestricted access to large quantities of controlled medications.
Solution Approach 2:
The individual dose compartments serve as an intermediary between the patient and the controlled medication. These compartments control access to the medication by allowing the patient to open only the compartment for the current dose at the scheduled time, preventing direct access to the entire pill supply.
3Ease of operation
If the patient has repeated access to the entire pill supply (30-120×/month), then the patient can take medication as needed, but this dramatically increases risk for loss, overuse, misuse, diversion, poisoning, and overdose
Solution Approach 1:
The medication is pre-portioned into individual dose compartments that are sealed and ready for dispensing at predetermined times. This preliminary action eliminates the need for the patient to repeatedly access the entire pill supply, while still allowing easy access to the current dose when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The pill supply is segmented into individual, time-specific dose compartments. This segmentation allows the patient to access only the current dose at the scheduled time without repeatedly opening the entire container, thereby maintaining ease of operation while improving dosing safety.
Data Source
AI summary
A medication container system, device, and related methods are disclosed for time controlled and secure dispensing of medicine, such as pills, to a patient. The disclosed systems, devices and methods include a plurality of vertically stack of disks which engage adjacent disks in a rotational manner and are housed within a secure container. The disks are configured so that as they rotate they release the doses (e.g. pills) that they hold to a release portion of the device. The disclosed systems, devices and methods provide a number of advantages over previously-known or available devices and methods.