JP2009112324A - Medication apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medication apparatus capable of displaying information on a medicament when the medicament is ejected to the skin. <P>SOLUTION: The medication apparatus includes a medicament cartridge 15 filled with the colored medicament; a liquid discharge head 14 for discharging and medicating the medicament in the medicament cartridge 15; a storing device for storing information on the medicament; and a control means for controlling the discharge from the liquid discharge head so that at least the information on the medicament is printed or drawn when the medicament is medicated from the liquid discharge head 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dosing device using an ink jet system, and more particularly to a device for simultaneously applying dosing information during dosing.

Conventionally, a percutaneous absorption type medicine is directly applied to the skin by hand or a spray method is known. However, in these methods, there is a problem that it is difficult to control the dose of the drug, and it is not possible to apply locally. For this reason, there has been proposed a method of spraying and applying a medicine to the skin using an ink jet method (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).
JP 2003-290356 A JP 2004-41463 A JP 2007-11114 A

  In the method of spraying and applying a drug to the skin using the ink jet method, the dosage is appropriately controlled. However, there is a problem in that information about the applied medicine cannot be directly grasped, causing a problem.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a dosing device that can also display information about a medicine when the medicine is spray-applied to the skin. And

  The dispensing device according to the present invention includes a cartridge filled with a colored medicine, a droplet discharge head for discharging and administering the medicine in the cartridge, a storage device for storing information on the medicine, and the droplet Control means for controlling the discharge of the droplet discharge head so that at least information related to the medicine is printed when the medicine is dispensed by the discharge head. In the present invention, when the medicine filled in the cartridge is dispensed by the droplet ejection head, information on the medicine (for example, medicine name, manufacturer, etc.) is printed. It is also displayed and information about the administered drug can be directly grasped.

  The dispensing device according to the present invention discharges and administers a first cartridge filled with a medicine, a second cartridge filled with a colored ink agent, and the medicine in the first cartridge, A droplet discharge head that discharges the ink agent of the second cartridge; a storage device that stores information relating to the drug; and at least the drug when the drug of the first cartridge is dispensed by the droplet discharge head Control means for controlling the ejection of the liquid droplet ejection head so as to print the information on the ink agent of the second cartridge. In the present invention, when the medicine filled in the first cartridge is dispensed by the droplet ejection head, information relating to the medicine filled in the first cartridge (for example, drug name, manufacturer, etc.) Since printing is performed with the ink filled in the cartridge No. 2, information about the medicine is also displayed.

  A dosing device according to the present invention includes a dosing device body housing the cartridge, the droplet discharge head, the storage device and the control means, at least one pair of rollers rotatably attached to the dosing device body, A rotary encoder attached to the roller for detecting the moving speed of the droplet discharge head, and the control means generates a drive pulse based on the moving speed information of the droplet discharge head from the rotary encoder. The timing of discharging the droplets of the droplet discharge head is controlled based on the drive pulse. In the present invention, the drive pulse is generated based on the moving speed of the droplet discharge head from the rotary encoder, and the droplet discharge timing of the droplet discharge head is controlled based on the drive pulse. The droplet discharge timing of the droplet discharge head is synchronized with the movement speed of the droplet discharge head, and even if the rotation speed of the roller fluctuates, the printed information is not distorted and a beautiful print can be obtained. It is done.

Embodiment 1. FIG.
1A and 1B are a side view and a front view of a dosing device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The dosing device 10 includes a dosing device main body (hereinafter referred to as a main body) 11, a handle 12, a pair of rollers 13 a and 13 b, a liquid discharge head 14, and a medicine cartridge 15. The main body 11 includes a sensor, a control circuit (see FIG. 3 described later), and the like. The handle 12 is fixedly attached to the main body 11, and the rollers 13 a and 13 b are rotatably attached to the main body 11. Further, a liquid ejection head 14 and a medicine cartridge 15 are attached to the main body 11. The liquid ejection head 14 is the same as the ink jet head used in conventional printing processing and color printing. The medicine cartridge 15 is also filled with medicine (for example, transdermal drug, skin-applied medicine), but the same cartridge as the conventional ink cartridge is used. For example, if the handle 12 is lifted and the handle 12 is operated with the rollers 13a and 13b placed on the patient's skin, the main body 11, the liquid ejection head 14 and the drug cartridge 15 move together on the skin. It will be. Further, a rotary encoder 21 is attached to the rollers 13a and 13b, so that the speed of the liquid discharge head 14 (moving speed of the main body 11) can be grasped. A distortion sensor 22 is attached to the axle 17 to which the pair of rollers 13a and 13b are connected. When the rollers 13a and 13b are placed on the skin, the distortion generated on the axle 17 is detected and detected. Thus, it is detected that the rollers 13a and 13b are in contact with the skin. That is, it is detected that the medicine can be discharged. The pair of rollers 13a and 13b constitutes a roller of the present invention.

  2A, 2 </ b> B, and 2 </ b> C are explanatory diagrams illustrating a configuration example of the medicine cartridge 15. FIG. 2A shows an example of a single medicine cartridge, in which a single medicine is colored with a pigment or the like. FIG. 5B shows an example of a cartridge of a plurality of drugs, and at least a part of the plurality of drugs is colored with a pigment or the like. FIG. 3C shows an example of a cartridge having ink and medicine separately. In addition, when the chemical | medical agent itself is colored, said coloring becomes unnecessary. In any example, the medicine cartridge 15 is provided with a label, for example. The label is in any one of the above (A), (B), and (C), the medicine name, the manufacturer, etc. It is printed with a code or the like, and is read by a data reader 40 described later. Further, instead of this label, an IC chip storing these data may be attached. The cartridge filled with the medicine in FIG. 2C constitutes the first cartridge of the present invention, and the cartridge filled with ink constitutes the second cartridge of the present invention, which are integrated. However, both may be configured separately.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing details of the main body 11 of FIG. The main body 11 incorporates the rotary encoder 21 and the strain sensor 22 described above, and outputs thereof are supplied to the CPU 23. The CPU 23 is connected to the ROM 24, RAM 25, character generator 26, logic gate array 27, and D / A converter 28 via a bus. A speaker 29 is connected to the output of the D / A converter 28. A driving pulse generation circuit 30 and a driver IC 31 are connected to the logic gate array 27, and the liquid ejection head 14 is connected to the driver IC 31. The liquid discharge head 14 is mounted so that a medicine filled with the medicine cartridge 15 can be conducted. The CPU 23, ROM 24, RAM 25, character generator 26, logic gate array 27, drive pulse generation circuit 30, and driver IC 31 constitute the control means of the present invention.

  Further, the data reading device 40 is connected to the CPU 23, and the data reading device 40 reads the drug name or the like of the label attached to the drug cartridge 15 and outputs it to the CPU 23. The data reader 40 is attached to the main body 11 when reading the data of the label affixed to the medicine cartridge 15, but is normally removed from the main body 11. The CPU 23 executes processing based on a control program stored in the ROM 24, and functions as a storage device of the present invention when data from the rotary encoder 21, the strain sensor 22, and the data reading device 40 are fetched. After storing in the RAM 25, a discharge control signal is generated based on these data. At this time, the storage area in the RAM 25 is used as a work area, and when printing characters or the like, processing based on the character generator stored in the character generator 26 is performed. For example, when printing a medicine name, a character generator or the like corresponding to the medicine name is read to generate an ejection control signal. The ejection control signal generated by the CPU 23 is transmitted to the logic gate array 27 via the internal bus. The logic gate array 27 generates a signal for supplying electric charges to be supplied to the liquid discharge head 14 based on the discharge control signal (provided that the liquid discharge head 14 is of an electrostatic actuator type), and is also rotary. A pulse based on the position information from the encoder 21 is output to the drive pulse generation circuit 30. The drive pulse generation circuit 30 generates a drive pulse that defines the timing for driving the liquid ejection head 14 based on the pulse from the logic gate array 27 and outputs it to the driver IC 31. The driver IC 31 drives the liquid ejection head 14 based on the signal from the logic gate array 27 and the drive pulse from the drive pulse generation circuit 30. Further, the CPU 23 operates the speaker 29 via the D / A converter 28 via the internal bus, and generates and guides sound such as how to use the medication device 10.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the medication apparatus of FIG. 1. When there is an operation of a power switch or the like (not shown) provided on the main body 11, the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 4 starts.
The CPU 23 prompts the rollers 13a and 13b to contact the patient's skin. For example, a voice control signal corresponding to the message “Please contact the skin” is output to the D / A conversion circuit 28, and the D / A conversion circuit 28 converts the voice control signal into an analog signal to Operate and generate a message "Please contact the skin" (S11). The CPU 23 determines whether or not the rollers 13a and 13b are in contact with the patient's skin based on the output from the strain sensor 22 (S12). If it is determined that the contact has not occurred, the process waits until a predetermined time elapses (S13). Repeatedly, the rollers 13a and 13b are urged to contact the patient's skin.

  When the CPU 23 determines that the rollers 13a and 13b have come into contact with the patient's skin, the CPU 23 reads information on the medicine stored in the RAM 25 (S14) and sets the position of the liquid ejection head 14 to the rotary encoder 21. Based on the output, the speed of the liquid ejection head 14 (the moving speed of the main body 11) is detected (S14). The CPU 23 generates ejection control information based on the medicine information and the speed information of the liquid ejection head 14 and outputs the ejection control information to the logic gate array 27. The logic gate array 27 generates a signal for supplying a charge to be supplied to the liquid discharge head 14 based on the discharge control signal, and speed information of the liquid discharge head 14 (speed information from the rotary encoder 21). Is output to the drive pulse generation circuit 30. The drive pulse generation circuit 30 generates a drive pulse and outputs it to the driver IC 31. The driver IC 31 drives the liquid discharge head 14 based on the signal from the logic gate array 27 and the drive pulse from the drive pulse generation circuit 30, and discharges the drug in the drug cartridge 15 to the skin (S15). In the above-described process (S11), voice guidance is not performed in the first stage, and the system waits until a predetermined time elapses (S13), or the predetermined time has elapsed. If the rollers 13a and 13b do not contact the patient's skin until then, the processing may be terminated.

  FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the relationship between the output from the rotary encoder 21 and the medicine discharge timing (drive pulse). As shown in the figure, the medicine discharge timing is synchronized with the output of the rotary encoder 21. For example, even if the rotation speed of the rollers 13a and 13b varies, the medicine discharge timing also changes accordingly. Even when characters are printed, the characters are not distorted.

  The method of discharging the medicine at this time is the same as the printing by the conventional ink jet head, but in this embodiment, it differs slightly depending on the form of the medicine cartridge 15 (see FIG. 2). In the example of the cartridge shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, printing of information about a medicine is administration of the medicine, and it is not particularly necessary to be aware that the medicine is administered. Of course, when the information about the medicine is printed less than the dosage, the shortage is dispensed and administered regardless of the information. In the example of the cartridge in FIG. 2C, since the medicine and the ink are separated, the information about the medicine is printed and the administration of the dosage is performed separately. The CPU 23 determines whether or not the dosage has reached a preset amount (S16), and if not, repeats the above processing (S14) to (S16), and the dosage is a predetermined amount. If it has reached, the process ends (S16).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example in which a drug is administered to the skin as described above. In this example, the drug cartridge 15 of FIG. 2A is used, and the drug name (drug name), dose, product manufacturer, and date of administration (including hour and minute) are printed on the skin as information about the drug. Is shown.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the liquid ejection head 14 is used to administer the medicine. However, as a characteristic of the liquid ejection head (inkjet head), a very small liquid is ejected. Therefore, a very small amount of medicine can be administered. In addition, a plurality of medicines can be administered to a small area (for example, using the medicine cartridge of FIG. 2B), and the burden on the patient can be reduced. For example, in this method, when a drug for skin diseases, burns, etc. or a transdermal drug is applied, the amount can be controlled in picoliter units with extremely high accuracy. Also, if used for allergy testing, a label applied with an allergic substance called a conventional patch test is affixed to the surface of the human body, and compared to a system that tests the human reaction to the allergic substance, it is more suitable for adhesive bandages called patches. Since an allergic reaction can be avoided, it is possible to confirm an accurate reaction. In addition, since the amount of allergic substances can be controlled very finely, it is also possible to confirm the strength of the allergic reaction minutely.

  In addition, when dispensing with the liquid ejection head, the ejection of the droplet ejection head is controlled so that at least information about the medicine is printed, so information on the medicine is also added to the site where the medicine is administered. It is displayed, and it is possible to directly grasp what kind of medicine has been administered. In addition, since the rotary encoder 21 detects the speed of the liquid discharge head 14 and generates a drive pulse based on the detected speed, the droplet discharge timing of the droplet discharge head is controlled based on the drive pulse. Even if the rotational speeds of 13a and 13b fluctuate, printed characters and the like are not distorted.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the first embodiment, the example in which the strain sensor 22 is provided to detect that the rollers 13a and 13b contact the skin has been described. However, for example, a photo sensor is provided and the skin rollers 13a and 13b are provided. You may make it detect that roller 13a, 13b contacted the skin by detecting that the bottom of the main body 11 becomes dark in the state which contacted skin with a photo sensor.
Further, in the first embodiment, the example shown in FIG. 6 is shown as the information about the medicine. However, the information about the medicine of the present invention is only one of the information in FIG. May be.

  In the first embodiment, the data reading device 40 is described as being separate from the main body 11. However, the data reading device 40 may be incorporated in the main body 11. Further, as described above, the data reading device 40 reads the drug name or the like of the label affixed to the drug cartridge 15, but it is also possible to prevent a medication error by utilizing the read information. For example, the medication information of this embodiment is accumulated in cooperation with a system (electronic medical record system) that manages the medication history, treatment history, etc. of the patient, or the cumulative dosage is printed by referring to past medication history, etc. It is also possible to do. For example, for example, when the dose is divided into 7 days and the dose is completed at a total of 14 mg, the information from the electronic medical record system is read every time the dose is taken, and the cumulative dose is calculated and printed on the skin. Visualize dosage management. Such visualization of dosage management makes it possible to prevent medication errors.

In the first embodiment, an example of a liquid discharge head using an electrostatic actuator (electrostatic method) has been described. However, a liquid discharge head employing a piezo method or a bubble jet (registered trademark) method is used. It may be used.
In the first embodiment, the example of printing the information about the medicine has been described. However, in the case where the patient is a child, in addition to this, a character such as a cartoon is drawn together so that the child's medicine is printed. You may make it remove the fear of administration.
Moreover, in said Embodiment 1, although the example of the hand-held type was demonstrated as a structure of a medication apparatus, the system which sorts (self-propelled) may be sufficient as a fixed type. In the case of the sorting (self-running) method, a drive source for driving the rollers 13a and 13b may be provided in the apparatus shown in FIG. In the first embodiment, the example in which the data reading device 40 is connected to the dosing device 10 has been described. However, the data read by connecting the data reading device 40 to, for example, a personal computer is temporarily stored in the personal computer, and Data may be transmitted from the personal computer to the medication apparatus 10.

It is the side view and front view of a prescription apparatus which concern on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structural example of the chemical | medical agent cartridge. It is the block diagram which showed the detail of the main body. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the medication apparatus of FIG. It is a timing chart of the output of a rotary encoder and chemical | medical agent discharge timing. It is the figure which showed the example which administered the chemical | medical agent to skin.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Dosing apparatus, 11 Dosing apparatus main body (main body), 12 Handle, 13a, 13b Roller, 14 Liquid discharge head, 15 Drug cartridge, 17 Axle, 21 Rotary encoder, 22 Strain sensor, 26 Character generator, 27 Logic gate array, 28 D / A converter, 29 Speaker, 30 Drive pulse generation circuit, 40 Data reader.

Claims (3)

A cartridge filled with a colored drug;
A droplet discharge head for discharging and administering the medicine in the cartridge;
A storage device for storing information about the medicine;
And a control unit that controls discharge of the liquid droplet ejection head so that at least information related to the medicine is printed when the liquid is dispensed by the liquid droplet ejection head. A first cartridge filled with a medicament;
A second cartridge filled with a colored ink agent;
A liquid droplet ejection head that ejects and administers the medicine of the first cartridge and ejects the ink agent of the second cartridge;
A storage device for storing information about the medicine;
Control means for controlling the ejection of the droplet ejection head so that at least information relating to the medication is printed by the ink agent of the second cartridge when the medication of the first cartridge is administered by the droplet ejection head. And a dosing device comprising: A prescription device main body containing the cartridge, the droplet discharge head, the storage device and the control means;
At least one pair of rollers rotatably attached to the dosing device body;
A rotary encoder attached to the roller for detecting a moving speed of the droplet discharge head;
Further comprising
The control means generates a drive pulse based on the movement speed information of the droplet discharge head from the rotary encoder, and controls the droplet discharge timing of the droplet discharge head based on the drive pulse. The dosing device according to claim 1 or 2.

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