U.S. patent application number 13/321974 was filed with the patent office on 2012-03-22 for device with an electromechanical lock for the safe distribution of blood or hemocomponents.
This patent application is currently assigned to VERIDENTIA, S.L.. Invention is credited to Eduardo Graells Ferrandez, Francesc Ribas Arino.
Application Number | 20120067894 13/321974 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41328851 |
Filed Date | 2012-03-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120067894 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Graells Ferrandez; Eduardo ;
et al. |
March 22, 2012 |
Device with an Electromechanical Lock for the Safe Distribution of
Blood or Hemocomponents
Abstract
A transparent rigid-material container (1), has an access mouth
(11) and is fitted with a closing cover (2) with a rear appendix
(21) for coupling, in an axial direction, with the container mouth
(11); with the container mouth (11) and the rear appendix (21) of
the cover presenting similar, irregular outlines for coupling in a
single position; and the cover (21) includes an electronic circuit
(3) that includes an electronic control card (31), and a data
memory (33), a data entry and downloading arrangement (32a, 32b,
32c), a data display screen (34), an electric battery (35) and a
low-consumption electromechanical lock (36), all connected with the
data memory (33).
Inventors: |
Graells Ferrandez; Eduardo;
( Barcelona, ES) ; Ribas Arino; Francesc; (
Girona, ES) |
Assignee: |
VERIDENTIA, S.L.
Ripollet, Barcelona
ES
|
Family ID: |
41328851 |
Appl. No.: |
13/321974 |
Filed: |
October 6, 2009 |
PCT Filed: |
October 6, 2009 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/ES09/00485 |
371 Date: |
November 22, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/315 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61J 1/05 20130101; A61J
2200/72 20130101; A61J 1/16 20130101; A61J 1/1437 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/315 |
International
Class: |
B65D 45/00 20060101
B65D045/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 25, 2009 |
ES |
U200930124 |
Claims
1. A device with electromechanical locking for secure distribution
of blood or hemocomponents comprising: a transparent rigid
container having an access mouth, and a closing cover with a rear
appendix for coupling, in an axial direction, with the container
mouth, with the container mouth and the rear appendix of the cover
presenting similar, irregular outlines for coupling in a single
position; and wherein said cover includes an electronic circuit
that comprises: an electronic control card, and components
connected with the electronic control card, the components
including: a data memory for storing specific patient
identification details, a information display screen, an electric
battery, a low-consumption electromechanical lock, and at least one
data entry and downloading device for uploading and downloading
data and unblocking the electromechanical lock by entering patient
identification data and biunivocal correspondence with data held in
the memory.
2. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein: said container
includes a lateral seating adjacent the mouth, and the
electromechanical lock comprises: a stop a that is movable between
a protruding blocking position in which said stop is housed inside
said lateral seating defined in the container adjacent the mouth
and a non-operative position in which said stop a is housed inside
the cover permitting the release of the container and an electric
low-consumption blocking device for moving the stop and governed by
the electronic control card of which operates in response to at
least one of codes and data received via the at least one data
entry and downloading device.
3. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one
data entry and downloading device includes a keypad that is
accessible from outside the cover.
4. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one
data entry and downloading device includes a wireless
transmitter-receiver.
5. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one
data entry and downloading device includes a connection for
external data processing and recording devices.
6. A device in accordance with claim 2, wherein the movable
blocking device for the stop includes an electric low-consumption
piezoelectric mechanism.
7. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein cover comprises a
temperature sensor at a rear end thereof that is connected to the
electronic control card for detection and recording of temperature
changes inside the container during device usage.
8. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the cover comprises
an acoustic signal emitter connected to the electronic control
card, for emission of acoustic signals indicating acceptance or
rejection of entered data.
9. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the entered data
includes electromechanical lock opening codes.
Description
PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention refers to a device with electromechanical
closing for the safe distribution of blood or hemocomponents
applicable preferably to medical centers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In hospitals and health centers in which supplies of
hemocomponents and drugs are made for patient treatments, it is
very important to ensure that the hemocomponent is supplied to the
correct patient. Control of these processes is always delicate,
especially in hospitals with large numbers of patients.
[0003] In such centers, it is usual for bags of blood or
hemocomponents to be transferred by health staff to the patients'
rooms, which could produce mistakes leading to the wrong patient
being given the blood or hemocomponent transfusion with the
subsequent health risks.
[0004] One employed system for blood or hemocomponent
identification to be applied to a patient, is the use of patient
identification at the head of the bed, which is annotated on the
sample containers that are sent to the blood bank. After performing
the corresponding analyses, the blood bank sends the hemocomponents
to the requesting personnel or the requested drugs from the
pharmacy, together with a tracking code for said hemocomponents.
The health staff receiving the hemocomponents or drugs are usually
responsible for several patients and distribute them in accordance
with the supplied codes and fill out a report if there are any
incidents or problems. These codes are normally handwritten which
involves the possibility of the personnel intervening in the
successive steps misreading the codes or accidentally changing the
packages employed, with subsequent risk to the patent's health.
[0005] One alternative is to make use of a bracelet with several
self-adhesive labels for printed codes, a writable area for the
patient's name and the label codes, together with a simple closing
mechanism. The bracelet is worn on the patient's wrist and the
sample containers are identified with the self-adhesive labels.
However, there is the problem of hemocomponents or drug reception
because the staff who are going to administer the product must
visually read the numeric code with the accompanying possibility of
a mistake in reading such abstract data.
[0006] There are other systems based on the use of handheld
computers by the health staff involved in all the steps for
supplying the hemocomponents or drugs so that patient
identification is not made on the sample, but within the computer
network. This system is much safer and objective, but does mean
higher costs and more complex handling because the health staff is
obliged to learn more or less complex computer applications.
Moreover, in services such as emergencies or operating theaters,
agility and simplicity of use are essential and so, systems that
are complicated to use by the associated health staff cannot be
employed.
[0007] The problem thus lies in the development of a device with an
electro-mechanical locking mechanism for safe blood distribution,
the opening of which requires the entering of certain previously
assigned codes in a biunivocal manner to the corresponding patient
to prevent the blood transported in the mentioned container being
mistakenly given to another patient.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The device with electromechanical lock for the safe
distribution of blood or hemocomponents, the object of the
invention, present certain constructional peculiarities intended to
allow at least one bag of blood or hemocomponent to be placed
inside with the device lock preventing access to the contents
because it is necessary to enter codes into the device, associated
with the patient for whom the blood or hemocomponent is intended,
in order to unblock and open the device. In this way, undesired
content manipulation and mistakes in supplying patients are
avoided.
[0009] In accordance with the invention, this device comprises a
transparent rigid-material container, fitted with an access mouth
for placing the bag of blood or hemocomponent to be transported
inside and a closing cover fitted with a rear appendix for axial
coupling to the container mouth; with the container mouth and the
rear appendix of the cover presenting similar irregular outlines
for coupling in a single position.
[0010] The lock cover incorporates an electronic circuit that, in a
basic configuration, comprises an electronic control card, the
means to enter and download data, a data memory, a data display
screen, an electric battery and low consumption electromechanical
closing.
[0011] Said electromechanical lock is fitted with a stop that is
moveable between a protruding blocking position in which the stop
is housed inside a lateral seating defined on the container mouth
and an inoperative position in which said stop is housed inside the
cover allowing it to be released from the container and electric,
low consumption closing blocking means governed by the electronic
control card when the code or data received via the data
acquisition means are correct.
[0012] The shape of the transparent rigid-material container allows
the bag of blood or hemocomponent inside to be identified without
having to open the device.
[0013] The means for entering and downloading the data in the
memory that are associated with the electronic control card inside
the container cover comprise pushbuttons that are accessible from
outside the cover and an external device connection for data
processing and recording.
[0014] These means for entering and downloading the data allow the
dumping of the data held in an external device and to format the
data memory inside the container cover, leaving the device ready
for subsequent usage.
[0015] In an embodiment of the invention, the closing stop
unblocking means comprise an electrically operated low-consumption
piezoelectric mechanism. This low-consumption mechanism is governed
by the electronic control card that produces its unblocking when
opening codes, coinciding with those held in the data memory and
previously assigned to a determined patient, are entered by keypad
or a wireless transmitter-receiver.
[0016] In this way, device opening is guaranteed to only occur via
the codes associated with a patient, thus preventing mistakes in
opening it and in manipulation of the contents by unauthorized
persons.
[0017] In accordance with the invention, the cover comprises, at
one end, a temperature sensor connected to the electronic control
card, which detects and records the temperature inside the
container. This temperature record will determine whether the bags
of blood or hemocomponents being transported inside the device have
been exposed to unsuitable temperatures during distribution.
[0018] In an embodiment of the invention, the cover additionally
comprises an acoustic signal emitter, connected to the electronic
control card that emits different acoustic signals indicating
acceptance or rejection of the entered data, such as
electromechanical lock opening codes.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0019] To complement this description and to facilitate
understanding of the characteristics of the invention, this
descriptive report is accompanied by a set of drawings, having
merely an illustrative, non-limiting character in which the
following is represented:
[0020] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of
the device in the open position.
[0021] FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the device with the container
sectioned by a vertical plane and with the cover partially
sectioned and blocked in the locked position.
[0022] FIG. 3 shows a schematic of the electronic circuit
associated with the cover for entering, displaying and recording
data and the cover blocking device operation.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
[0023] The exemplary embodiment shown in the attached figures
comprises a rigid transparent material container (1), fitted with a
mouth (11) for access inside and a cover (2) the end of which
presents a rear appendix (21) that can be coupled to the container
mouth (11).
[0024] The container (1) and the cover (2) present a generally
cylindrical configuration of suitable dimensions for use in
conventional pneumatic transporters.
[0025] The container (1) and the rear appendix (21) of the cover
each present lateral curvo-concave configurations (12, 22) that
determine a single coupling position between cover (2) and
container (1).
[0026] The cover (2) incorporates an electronic circuit (3) which,
in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 3, comprises an
electronic control card (31), data entering and downloading means
represented by a keypad (32a), a connection (32b), in this case USB
type, a wireless transmitter-receiver (32c), a data memory (33), a
data display screen (34), an electric battery (35), a
low-consumption electromechanical lock (36), a temperature sensor
(37) and an acoustic signal emitter (38).
[0027] The electromechanical lock (36), responsible for blocking
the cover (2) in the container (1) closed position, is fitted with
a movable stop (36a), represented by a ball, intended to be housed
in a lateral seating (13) defined in the container mouth and
unblocking means (36b) specifically consisting of a low consumption
piezoelectric mechanism.
[0028] As previously indicated, the data to be recorded in memory
(33), such as the electromechanical lock opening codes associated
with the patient, or any others, can be entered by two pushbuttons
(32a) or in a wireless manner via the wireless transmitter-receiver
(32c).
[0029] When the cover (2) is in the container (1) locked, the
previously stored opening codes have to be re-entered in order to
unblock the electromechanical lock (36) and open the top, thus
preventing the device being opened by unauthorized persons.
[0030] Once the container has been used, the stored data are
downloaded and the memory is formatted, using the connector (32b)
and the transmitter receiver (32c).
[0031] The acoustic signal emitter (38) is responsible for using
different acoustic signals to indicate whether the codes entered to
open the electromechanical lock are correct or not.
[0032] Once the nature of the invention is sufficiently described,
together with an exemplary embodiment, it is placed on the record
for whatever purpose that the materials, shape, size and
arrangement of the described elements may be modified, provided
this does not involve any alteration to the essential
characteristics of the invention that are claimed below.
* * * * *