Download Automatic Home Medication Dispenser

Automatic Home Medication
Dispenser
Project # P07009
Team Guide - Dr. Daniel Phillips
Project Sponsor - Dr. Michel Berg
Team Members
Alan Strandburg Chris Abramo
Ntongho Amin
Gordon Yeung
Nick Columbare Albert Lam
Project Background
• Warfarin is an anticoagulant used for blood
clotting medical conditions.
• Dosages of warfarin need to be frequently
adjusted to maintain effectiveness.
• For the first few months of the regimen,
adjustments are made based on weekly or biweekly blood test results. This requires frequent
coordination with the physician, patient and
pharmacist.
Problem Statement
• Frequent coordination between the
physician, patient, and pharmacist is time
consuming, inconvenient, and poses a risk
to the patient’s health by increasing the
chances of error or a missed dose.
• A real-time adaptive system needs to be
developed.
Objective / Scope
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To create a prototype home medication dispensing device that will
administer a one month course of warfarin.
The device must reliably dispense the medication in correct
dosages with a success rate as close as possible to 100%.
Device must be able to communicate with the physician via a
computer interface and relay patient’s usage information.
Device must be equipped with operating checks and alerts.
Device must be easily refilled by the pharmacist and tamper
evident.
Easy to use and simple user interface.
It was decided that tubes/trays with consistent pill orientation
would be used to increase dispensing accuracy.
A 6 stack design would be used to minimize size and
accommodate varying dosages.
A modular design will minimize manufacturing cost.
Primary Subsystem Focus
• Dispensing Mechanism
– Reliable
• Must be jam-proof and not cause damage to pills.
– Robust
• Must be able to tolerate driving vibrations and be able to operate after being
inverted.
• Minimal use of sensitive parts that require frequent calibration.
– Accurate
• Must accurately dispense the medication in correct dosages with a success
rate as close as possible to 100%.
– Efficient
• Minimal use of moving parts.
• Ideally, have the most direct path to solving the problem.
– Cost effective
• Uses the least number of motors.
• Minimize the misallocation of expensive components to perform minor tasks.
QFD
Existing Technologies /
Research
– Gumball machine
– Vending machine
– Coin sorter
– Paintball gun hopper
– Production bulk bin sorter
– Vacuum
– Cement truck
– Pez dispenser
Existing Pill Dispensers /
Benchmarks
Concept Selection Process
• Each team member developed concepts individually to
meet dispensing design requirements.
• Concepts were shared; team members gave feedback
and were evaluated in a screening matrix. The selection
criteria were based off of QFD analysis.
• Concepts were refined and optimized to produce a few
hybrid designs.
• These designs were evaluated in the Pugh matrix for our
concept selection process.
• Our final two designs are pending further refinement and
component selection.
Round 1
Concept A - Pusher
Concept B –Tray Feed
Concept C – Rotating Slotted
Disc
Concept D – Actuating Arm
Concept E – Spring Actuated
Sliding Plate Pusher
Concept F – Cam Actuated
Sliding Plate Pusher
Concept G – Compartmented
Ring
Concept H – Helical Dispenser
Concept Screening Matrix
Round 2
Concept A1.0 – Pusher
Concept A1.1 – Puller
Concept B – Tray Feed
Concept CD – Rotary Design
Concept AD – Six Pack
Pugh Matrix
Final Two
Ranked # 1
Ranked # 2
Puller Concerns
• Violent solenoid actuation may cause shearing
of pills
• Additional time and cost to design custom
solenoid
• Additional cost of Soft Shift® solenoids over
conventional solenoids and servo-motors.
Six Pack Design Justification
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Smoother pill dispensing
Accurate
Cost effective
Simplified balance of design
Minimal force requirement and in a single plane
Alternate Driving Option
Additional Design Consideration
Pill Follower
• Helps to maintain pill orientation within
tube
• Spring
• Ratcheting mechanism
• Weighted follower
Alternatives to a Color Screen
• LCD with electro-luminescence backlight
• LED indicators
• Vacuum fluorescent display
Pill Detection Systems
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Infrared Optical Detection
Gravimetric Sensor
Mechanical Switch
Laser
Questions ?
Suggestions?