Pharmaceutical tray filing system and method
Inventors
Dent, Jacob A. • Jafri, Syed Sabih • McGill, Michaela
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-10621306-B2
Publication Date
2020-04-14
Expiration Date
Abstract
A system for facilitating the manual filling of a pharmaceutical tray is provided. The system includes an electronic display device configured to display information adjacent the wells of the pharmaceutical tray. The system includes a controller configured to control the electronic display device to display information representative of a first type of pharmaceutical adjacent to a first well to direct manual placement of the first type of pharmaceutical into the first well and to control the electronic display device to selectively display information representative of a second type of pharmaceutical adjacent to a second well to direct manual placement of the second type of pharmaceutical into the second well.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to a system for facilitating the manual filling of a pharmaceutical tray including at least two wells configured to hold a pharmaceutical. An electronic display device displays information adjacent to the at least two wells, while the electronic display device is positioned substantially horizontally. A controller controls the electronic display device to display information representative of a first type of pharmaceutical adjacent to a first well to direct manual placement of the first type into the first well, and to selectively display information representative of a second type adjacent to a second well to direct manual placement of the second type into the second well.
The system includes a support structure that supports the pharmaceutical tray above the substantially horizontal electronic display device. The electronic display device can be implemented as a flat panel display screen, and the flat panel display screen is positioned substantially horizontally such that the flat panel display screen is viewable from a position above the flat panel display screen.
The described system uses display information that can include images of pharmaceuticals and/or alphanumeric drug-code information associated with the pharmaceutical types. In one described approach, a graphical tray map is displayed with well graphics, and the wells corresponding to a first type and a second type are highlighted.
Claims Coverage
The document contains two independent claims. Across these independent claims, the inventive features include a substantially horizontal electronic display positioned to show information adjacent to individual tray wells, selective controller-controlled display for directing manual placement of first and second pharmaceutical types, and a support structure that holds the pharmaceutical tray above the display; a further independent claim specifies a flat panel display screen and viewing from above via a peripheral-edge support arrangement.
Horizontally positioned electronic display adjacent to tray wells
An electronic display device configured to display information adjacent to the at least two wells of the pharmaceutical tray, wherein the electronic display device is positioned substantially horizontally.
Selective controller-controlled pharmaceutical instructions for individual wells
A controller configured to control the electronic display device to display information representative of a first type of pharmaceutical adjacent to a first well to direct manual placement of the first type of pharmaceutical into the first well and to control the electronic display device to selectively display information representative of a second type of pharmaceutical adjacent to a second well to direct manual placement of the second type of pharmaceutical into the second well.
Tray support above the substantially horizontal electronic display device
A support structure that supports the pharmaceutical tray above the substantially horizontal electronic display device.
Flat panel display screen viewable from above with peripheral-edge support
An electronic display device configured to display information adjacent to the at least two wells of the pharmaceutical tray, wherein the electronic display device is a flat panel display screen; and a support structure around the peripheral edge of the flat panel display screen configured to support the pharmaceutical tray above the flat panel display screen, wherein the flat panel display screen is positioned substantially horizontally such that the flat panel display screen is viewable from a position above the flat panel display screen.
Both independent claims focus on directing manual filling by using a substantially horizontal electronic display positioned to show information adjacent to specific wells, with a controller selectively displaying information for different pharmaceutical types. One independent claim adds the general support structure holding the tray above the display, while the other independent claim further limits the display to a flat panel display screen and specifies peripheral-edge support with viewing from above.
Stated Advantages
Facilitates manual filling of a pharmaceutical tray.
Directs manual placement of a first type of pharmaceutical into a first well and directs manual placement of a second type of pharmaceutical into a second well.
Provides selectable information representative of different pharmaceutical types adjacent to corresponding wells.
Documented Applications
A pharmaceutical tray filling workstation/system for manual filling using an electronic display device adjacent to wells to guide which pharmaceutical goes into each well.
A workstation flow that can use a database-driven fill order and optionally includes tray identification, barcode scanning, optional lot number and expiration date entry, and a witness/quality-check flow.
An approach using a graphical tray map with well graphics and highlighting of wells corresponding to pharmaceutical types.
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