Method for providing a singling device of a storage and dispensing container
AssigneeBecton Dickinson Rowa Germany GmbH
InventorChristoph Hellenbrand
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for providing a singling device of a storage and dispensing container for drug portions is provided. A singling device is adapted to a specific drug portion based on the measurement of the drug portion. The measurement is obtained by generating at least one image of a to-be-measured drug portion by a detection device and using image analysis to process the at least one image. Drug information for the specific drug portion is determined, the drug information including at least the dimensions of the specific drug portion. Based on the determined drug information, a singling device fitting the drug portion to be singularized is identified and provided for use in the storage and dispensing container. A system for identifying a singling device is also provided.
Claims16
A method for providing a singling device of a storage and dispensing container for drug portions, the method comprising the steps of:
- a) providing a to-be-measured drug portion of a specific drug type;
- b) generating, by a detection device, a plurality of images of the to-be-measured drug portion by physically rotating the to-be-measured drug portion a specified angular step before generating each successive image;
- c) image-analytically processing, by a control device, the at least one generated image, wherein specified drug information for the provided drug portion is determined, the specified drug information comprising at least the size dimensions of the drug portion;
- and
- d) identifying, on the basis of the determined drug information, a suitable singling device fitting the drug portion of the specific drug type to be singularized,
- wherein drug information of a plurality of drug portions of the same drug type are determined by repeating steps a) through c) and the singling device is identified based on the plurality of the determined drug information of the plurality of drug portions,
- wherein the suitable singling device has a rotor duct size that is adapted to the size dimensions of the drug portion to be singularized.
A system for identifying a drug singling device, the system comprising:
- a light transmission source;
- a detection device;
- a rotary plate, the rotary plate configured to receive a drug portion;
- a control device operatively coupled to the detection device and the rotary plate, the control device configured to control the angular position of the rotary plate and to actuate the detection device to generate one or more images of the drug portion, the control device further configured to provide image-analytical processing of the one or more images to determine specified drug information comprising at least the size dimensions of the drug portion and to identify a suitable drug singling device for the drug portion, wherein identifying the suitable singling device comprises making an inquiry in a database in which data for a plurality of singling devices are stored, the inquiry based on results of the image-analytical processing of the one or more images,
- wherein the suitable singling device has a rotor with multiple ducts, wherein the size of each duct is adapted to the size dimensions of the drug portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.