Drug information acquisition device and method

A drug information acquisition method that is performed in a drug information acquisition device including an imaging tray that is provided between a drug supply unit and a packet insertion guide and has a bottom in which a row of V-shaped grooves, each having a first inclined surface and a second inclined surface, is formed, a vibration unit that vibrates the imaging tray, an illumination unit that illuminates drugs on the imaging tray, first and second imaging units that are provided so as to face the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface in the bottom of the imaging tray, respectively, and a drug information acquisition unit, the method comprising:

• a drug supply step of supplying each dose of a plurality of types of drugs from the drug supply unit to the imaging tray;
• a vibration step of vibrating the imaging tray with Ube vibration unit to remove an overlap between the drugs corresponding to a dose supplied to the imaging tray and to correct the posture of the drugs using the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface of the V-shaped groove;
• an imaging step of capturing images of the drugs on the imaging tray illuminated by the illumination unit, using the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, to acquire a first image and a second image after the vibration step;
• and
• a drug information acquisition step of processing the first image and the second image acquired in the imaging step, using the drug information acquisition unit, to acquire drug information including at least outward appearance information of the drugs in the first image and the second image.

A drug information acquisition method that is performed in a drug information acquisition device including an imaging tray that is provided between a drug supply unit and a packet insertion guide and has a bottom in which a row of V-shaped grooves, each having a first inclined surface and a second inclined surface, is formed, a vibration unit that vibrates the imaging tray, an illumination unit that illuminates drugs on the imaging tray, first and second imaging units that are provided so as to face the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface in the bottom of the imaging tray, respectively, and a drug information acquisition unit, the method comprising:

• a drug supply step of supplying each dose of a plurality of types of drugs from the drug supply unit to the imaging tray;
• a vibration step of vibrating the imaging tray with the vibration unit to remove an overlap between the drugs corresponding to a dose supplied to the imaging tray and to correct the posture of the drugs using the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface of the V-shaped groove;
• a first imaging step of continuously capturing images of the drugs on the imaging tray illuminated by the illumination unit, using at least one of the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, to acquire a continuous image during the vibration of the imaging tray in the vibration step;
• a determination step of determining whether the overlap between the drugs corresponding to a dose supplied to the imaging tray has been removed and whether the posture of the drugs has been corrected, on the basis of the image acquired in the first imaging step;
• a step of stopping the vibration of the imaging tray in the vibration step when it is determined in the determination step that the overlap between the drugs has been removed and the posture of the drugs has been corrected;
• a second imaging step of capturing images of the drugs on the imaging tray illuminated by the illumination unit, using the first imaging unit and the second imaging unit, to acquire a first image and a second image after the vibration of the imaging tray is stopped;
• and
• a drug information acquisition step of processing the first image and the second image acquired in the second imaging step, using the drug information acquisition unit, to acquire drug information including at least outward appearance information of the drugs in the first image and the second image.