# US 11,439,555 B2 · Medical technology station and method of use > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,439,555 B2 - Document ID: US11439555B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/910,988 - Filed: 2020-06-24 - Published: 2020-10-08 - Granted: 2022-09-13 - Earliest claimed: 2015-11-13 - Assignees: Capsa Solutions LLC - Applicants: Capsa Solutions LLC - Inventors: Robert Volek; Jack Finnerty; Jin Chen; Krzysztof Sosniak; Marcel Ipince; Charles Pfeiffer; Adam Piotrowski; Harry Tan - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11439555B2 ## CPC - A61G 12/001: {Trolleys for transport of medicaments, food, linen, nursing supplies (carts specially adapted for surgery or diagnosis A61B50/13; hand carts B62B3/00)} - A47B 31/00: Service or tea tables, trolleys, or wagons ({serving trays A47G23/06}; features relating to running gear or to movement by hand B62B) - A61J 7/0084: {for multiple medicaments} - G16H 20/13: delivered from dispensers - G16H 40/63: for local operation - A47B 67/02: Cabinets for shaving tackle, medicines, or the like - A47B 2031/003: {with drawers, trays or shelves} - A47B 2031/006: {Medication carts} - A47B 2067/025: {having safety means} - A61G 2203/16: Touchpads - A61G 2203/20: Displays or monitors - A61G 2205/60: using magnetic or electronic identifications, e.g. chips, RFID, electronic tags - G16H 40/20: for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms - A61G: TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS (appliances for aiding patients or disabled persons to walk A61H3/00); OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES (embalming corpses A01N1/00) - A47B: TABLES; DESKS; OFFICE FURNITURE; CABINETS; DRAWERS; GENERAL DETAILS OF FURNITURE (furniture jointing F16B) - A61J: CONTAINERS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR MEDICAL OR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES; DEVICES OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR BRINGING PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS INTO PARTICULAR PHYSICAL OR ADMINISTERING FORMS; DEVICES FOR ADMINISTERING FOOD OR MEDICINES ORALLY; BABY COMFORTERS; DEVICES FOR RECEIVING SPITTLE - G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA ## Abstract The invention includes a medical technology station and a method for using the medical technology cart. The station can be a portable cart that can be movable, such as rollable, and has a computer system. Attached to the cart is a housing that communicates with the computer system. Insertable in the housing is a cassette system that includes a series of drawers. The drawers are openable and preferably closeable on command from a user. The drawers have a readable unique drawer identifier that is readable by sensors in the cassette. The cassette also preferably includes proximity sensors, while the drawers contain a target for the proximity sensors. In use, an operator, with proper credentials, can, though the computer system, identify a drawer to be opened by the computer system. The cassette and drawers can be removed from the housing and transported to another location for filling of the drawers with medications or other supplies. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A medical station comprising: (a) a movable cart; (b) a computer system comprising an input device, a display device, and a processor, the computer system positioned on the cart and including computer memory in communication with the processor; (c) a housing mounted on the cart; (d) at least one portable cassette system removably coupled to the housing, wherein the processor is in electronic communication with the input device, the display device, and the cassette system; and (e) wherein the cassette system comprises: (i) a cassette frame defining an interior divided into compartments; (ii) drawers, each of the drawers occupying, and being slidably positioned in, at least one of the compartments; (iii) each of the compartments having an actuator associated therewith in communication with the processor and associated with an actuator latch that is movable in response to operation of the associated actuator; (iv) each of the drawers having at least one drawer latch, and each of the drawers capable of moving from a locked and closed position to an unlocked position in response to movement from the associated actuator latch; (v) whereby the computer system is configured to automatically transition a specific one of the drawers from the unlocked position to the locked position where the specific one of the drawers remains in the unlocked position for at least a selected period of time. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The medical station of claim 1, wherein the computer system is configured to move the specific one of the drawers into the unlocked position by movement of the actuator associated with the specific one of the drawers in response to receipt of an open drawer command for the specific one of the drawers received from the input device. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The medical station of claim 1, further comprising electronically readable identifier tags, each associated with one of the drawers and comprising a unique drawer identifier; and electronic readers, each associated with one of the drawers and configured to read the identifier tags, wherein the computer system is configured to identify a position of each of the drawers in the cassette frame based on positions of the electronic readers relative to the unique identifiers for the drawers. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The medical station of claim 3, whereby in response to a drawer open command, the actuator associated with a specific one of the drawers actuates to move the actuator latch of the specific one of the drawers from the locked and closed position to an unlocked and almost closed position. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The medical station of claim 1, further comprising a series of proximity sensors each in electrical communication with the processor, each of the drawers being associated with one of the series of proximity sensors. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The medical station of claim 5, wherein the computer system is configured to detect whether one of the drawers is in a closed position or an almost closed position based on output of the proximity sensors. ### Claim 7 (depends on 3) The medical station of claim 3, wherein each of the identifier tags comprise a radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The medical station of claim 7, wherein each of the RFID tags also indicate a number of the compartments occupied by an associated one of the drawers. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The medical station of claim 7, wherein the computer system is configured to classify a respective one of the drawers as in an open position when the proximity sensor associated with the respective one of the drawers is not detected. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The medical station of claim 7, wherein the electronic readers are capable of reading the RFID tag of a first one of the drawers one which is in a closed position, but are not capable of reading the RFID tag of an adjacent one of the drawers when the adjacent one of the drawers is in the closed position. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The medical station of claim 10, wherein the electronic readers are configured to read only the RFID tag of the first one of the drawers by way of a low power signal which is incapable of energizing the RFID tag of the adjacent one of the drawers. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The medical station of claim 1, wherein the computer system is configured to prevent a second one of the drawers from movement into an opened position when a first one of the drawers is in the opened position, unless the computer system receives at least one of an override command, an administrator access command, or a pharmacy access command. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The medical station of claim 1, wherein the cassette system further comprises: (a) a spring-loaded graspable handle slidably mounted on the cassette frame for movement between a closed position when the handle is not accessible or graspable by a user and released position; and (b) a handle actuator mounted to the housing for moving the handle between the closed position and the released position. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The medical station of claim 1, further comprising a configuration map located in the computer memory, the configuration map comprising, for each respective one of the drawers, a unique drawer identifier and an indicator of a location of the respective one of the drawers in an interior of the cassette frame. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The medical station of claim 1, wherein the cassette system includes a drawer manual override configured to allow a hardware key to mechanically unlatch all of the actuator latches so that the drawers are capable of opening. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The medical station of claim 15, wherein the housing includes a cassette manual override allowing the cassette system to be mechanically unlocked and removed from the housing. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The medical station of claim 16, wherein the cassette manual override includes a lockable cassette handle activated by a manual hardware key.