Wearable HUD Workflow for Sterile Pharmacy Dose Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pharmacy technicians face inefficiencies and contamination risks due to frequent hand decontamination when interacting with non-sterile touchscreens during medication preparation, leading to potential errors and increased preparation time.
Innovation Solution
A heads-up display (HUD) system using smart-glasses with a camera, barcode scanner, microphone, and embedded display for hands-free interaction, enabling voice and gesture data entry within the sterile compounding area, and allowing remote communication with pharmacists.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If technicians interact with non-sterile touchscreens during medication preparation, then they can access preparation instructions and enter verification data, but they must repeatedly decontaminate their hands, increasing preparation time and risk of contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the display and input functions from the non-sterile touchscreen environment and relocates them to sterile wearable devices. Smart glasses with augmented reality displays provide preparation instructions directly in the technician's field of view, while voice recognition and gesture control systems enable data entry without hand contact, thereby eliminating the need for repeated hand decontamination while maintaining ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces voice recognition and gesture control systems as intermediaries between the technician and the pharmacy workflow management system. These intermediaries enable communication and data entry without direct hand contact with non-sterile surfaces, resolving the contradiction by providing ease of operation through natural interaction while preventing time loss from hand decontamination
2Ease of operation
If technicians frequently leave the sterile compounding area to interact with external devices, then they can access verification systems, but they risk contamination and increase preparation time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the verification data entry function from external non-sterile devices and relocates it to sterile wearable smart glasses. The augmented reality display and integrated voice/gesture control systems allow technicians to complete verification tasks within the sterile compounding area, eliminating the need to leave the sterile environment and thereby maintaining sterility reliability while preserving ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables the verification system to come to the technician through wearable technology rather than requiring the technician to access external systems. The smart glasses provide preparation instructions and verification interfaces directly in the technician's field of view, and voice/gesture controls allow data entry without leaving the sterile area, making the system self-adaptable to sterile environment constraints
3Reliability
If technicians use manual data entry methods, then they can verify medication preparation, but preparation time increases and error risk rises
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements real-time feedback mechanisms where the augmented reality display immediately confirms verification data entry and displays preparation status. The system provides step-by-step guidance with visual feedback on completion status, and voice/gesture controls offer immediate confirmation of commands, enhancing reliability through instant verification while maintaining high productivity through streamlined interaction
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical data entry methods with voice recognition and gesture control systems. This substitution eliminates the time-consuming and error-prone manual typing process while maintaining verification accuracy through voice-activated data entry and gesture-based navigation, thereby improving both reliability and productivity
Data Source
AI summary
A wearable heads-up display (“HUD”) for a pharmacy workflow management system is disclosed herein. An example HUD includes smart-glasses that are communicatively coupled to a client device. The smart-glasses include at least one camera and/or barcode scanner to record verification information needed for the verification of a medication dose during medication formulation preparation. Further, the smart-glasses include at least one embedded display screen that shows sequential steps of a preparation protocol for guiding a pharmacy technician to prepare a medication dose. An application on the client device and/or the smart-glasses is configured to record the verification information obtained from the camera and/or barcode scanner for remote verification to ensure the medication dose was prepared properly.