Wearable OCR for Medicament Dose Recording
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for monitoring medicament doses, such as insulin injections, are prone to user error and require manual input, which can lead to inaccurate recording and tracking of medication administration.
Innovation Solution
A data collection method using a wearable electronic device equipped with a video camera that captures images of a medicament delivery device's dosage indicator, adjusts for skew, and employs optical character recognition to determine the medicament dose, providing a reliable and user-independent recording system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual input methods are used for recording medicament doses, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision and reliability deteriorate due to user error
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses optical copying techniques to capture images of the dosage indicator from the medicament delivery device. Instead of requiring manual input, the system creates a visual copy of the dose information and processes it through image recognition algorithms, thereby eliminating user error while maintaining simplicity in the user interaction model
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical input methods with an automated optical recognition system. The video camera captures images, and software algorithms automatically identify and record the dosage information, substituting the mechanical act of manual entry with an automated vision-based system that improves precision without significantly increasing perceived device complexity
2Reliability
If automated optical character recognition is used to record doses, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity increases due to additional processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a video camera, which is a universal device already present in many smartphones and wearable electronics, to capture images of the dosage indicator. This multi-functional approach allows the same device to serve both as a recording medium and an imaging tool, reducing the need for specialized components while maintaining high reliability through automated OCR processing
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically capturing, processing, and recording dosage information without requiring user intervention in the data entry process. The optical character recognition software automatically identifies the dose value from the captured image, eliminating the need for manual transcription and significantly improving reliability while keeping the user interface simple
3Measurement precision
If specialized data collection devices are used, then measurement precision improves, but ease of operation deteriorates due to user learning curve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages universal devices like smartphones or wearable electronics with built-in video cameras that users are already familiar with. By using these existing devices rather than specialized equipment, the system maintains ease of operation while achieving high measurement precision through automated image recognition and processing algorithms
Solution Approach 2:
The system captures a visual copy of the dosage indicator using the user's existing device camera. This approach allows users to leverage their familiarity with their own devices while the automated image processing ensures accurate dose recording, eliminating the need to learn new specialized equipment
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach eliminates user error by automatically recording medicament doses with high accuracy, allowing for reliable monitoring of medication administration without the need for specialized devices, and can be applied to various medicament delivery devices.
Implementation Method 1
capturing, by a video camera of the data collection device, a video showing a medicament dose indicator
Data Source
AI summary
A method of recording a medicament dose using a data collection device comprises capturing, by a video camera of said data collection device, a video showing a medicament dose indicator of a medicament delivery device, adjusting a scale of an image of said medicament dose indicator in said video, adjusting said image for skew of one or more characters displayed on a component of the medicament delivery device in said video, determining the position of at least one of said one or more characters in the image, identifying the at least one character using optical character recognition and determining a medicament dose shown by the medicament dose indicator based on a result of said optical character recognition. The method may include determining whether more than one delivery of medicament is recorded in the video and, if so, whether said more than one delivery includes one or more prime shots, so that an overall dosage delivered to a user may be determined based on multiple determined medicament doses. A wearable electronic device comprising a video camera may be used to obtain and analyze the video, for example, using software provided in an “app”. The wearable electronic device may be configured to be worn on the head of a user, to capture the video from the user's point of view.