Smart Insulin Pen Pairing for Secure Dose Tracking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems lack an effective and reliable method for tracking and communicating insulin doses administered using medicament pens, leading to potential missed or incorrect dosages in managing chronic conditions like diabetes, and existing prescription-based medical apps are vulnerable to unauthorized access.
Innovation Solution
A prescription-regulated software application and smart medicine-injection device system that requires pairing with a companion device to unlock features, enabling dose tracking, logging, and decision support, while ensuring secure access through a medical prescription, using a smart insulin pen and companion device for wireless communication and data processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If prescription-based medical apps are made accessible without pairing verification, then ease of operation is improved, but security and authorization control deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary pairing verification between the medical device and mobile device before enabling any prescription-based features. This preliminary action ensures that only authorized devices can access the application, establishing security control before any operational features are activated.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a pairing verification mechanism as an intermediary step between device connection and feature activation. This intermediary process validates the relationship between the medical device and mobile device, serving as a gatekeeper that must be passed before access is granted.
2Productivity
If dose tracking and communication features are added to the system, then productivity and patient management are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device serves multiple functions: it acts as a communication hub for wireless signals, a data processing center for dose tracking, a storage device for patient information, and a display interface for patient education materials. This multi-functionality consolidates several systems into one device, managing complexity while improving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates digital copies of patient data, dose information, and communication logs that can be stored, transmitted, and accessed remotely. These digital copies enable efficient patient management and communication without requiring complex physical infrastructure.
3Ease of operation
If wireless communication and data processing capabilities are integrated, then ease of operation and patient engagement are improved, but use of energy by the device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses periodic wireless communication to transmit dose information and receive updates rather than continuous communication. This periodic action maintains patient engagement and data synchronization while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The medical device automatically processes and transmits dose data without requiring active patient intervention or continuous power consumption. The device self-manages its communication cycles, processing data locally and only transmitting when necessary, thereby reducing overall energy usage while maintaining operational effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, devices and methods are disclosed for a prescription-regulated software application and an associated medical device. In some aspects, a smart medicine-injection device (e.g., smart insulin pen) is configured to be in communication with a patient's companion device (e.g., smartphone) having a software application (prescription app) that serves the patient as a complimentary medical device to the smart medicine-injection device, in which only certain features and functionalities of the prescription app are fully operable based on device pairing with the smart medicine-injection device to unlock medical device capabilities only available to the patient through prescription.