Description

Technical Field

The present invention finds application in the field of devices for administering drugs and medicines in general and particularly has as its object an apparatus for the assisted supplying of drugs and medicines in general, suitable for controlling the correct supplying and administering of any type of drug, medicine, food or other body care substance to be taken at a predetermined rate.

State of the art

As known, with the lengthening of the general life expectancy, the number of elderly people who are not totally self-sufficient and need to take one or more drugs on a regular basis, often of vital importance and whose constant intake is essential for the full effectiveness of the therapy, is always higher.

However, not infrequently elderly people do not have the constant assistance of family members or other relatives suitable to provide adequate paramedical assistance, or of people, such as nurses or carers, used for these purposes, with the consequence that the correct intake of drugs, both in terms of timing and dosage, often does not take place in the appropriate times and ways.

Therefore, there are numerous cases in which the elderly person does not take drugs or take the wrong drugs and/or incorrect doses, with often very dangerous consequences.

From the state of the art, some devices are known which aim to assist the patient in the correct performance of the therapy, providing for the controlled delivery of one or more drugs according to predetermined dosages and times that can be set directly in the supplying device, both remotely and via a hardware support containing data relating to the therapy.

An example of such a dispensing device is disclosed in US2016042150, which device is provided with a plurality of compartments designed to contain respective drugs and to supply them according to indications stored in the memory and also remotely controllable in order to allow a doctor to verify the correct course of therapy, with the possibility of modifying times and dosages according to needs.

However, these known devices have some drawbacks, a first of which is represented by the fact that they are configured exclusively to carry out the control up to the moment of the drug delivery and not to verify that the same is correctly taken. Secondly, these devices can only be used with products suitable to be inserted and stored in the appropriate compartments, while they cannot be used with products that need to remain in their packaging until the moment of their intake, such as vials, liquids in general, two-component products to be prepared on the spot.

Further solutions, such as those disclosed in WO2014/159933 and WOOl/47466, try to overcome these drawbacks by means of devices for exclusive domestic use which aim to prevent a patient from forgetting to take a medicine or taking an incorrect medicine, by sending an alarm in otherwise.

To this end, these known devices have a series of compartments inside which the containers of specific medicines are inserted, after association of the medicine to the specific compartment through the use of scanning systems, such as barcode or QR code readers. .

In this way, when it is necessary to take one of the medicines, on the basis of a program inserted inside a CPU, the compartment containing this medicine is activated by means of a special warning. If a medicine is taken from a different compartment, a specific alarm is activated.

These solutions are primarily limited by the absence of additional control systems and verification of the correct intake of the drug by the user.

For example, the device of WO2014/159933 has no means to ensure that the medicine once picked up from its compartment is actually taken, nor that the medicine placed in the compartment is the correct and previously associated one, so that there is a risk that the medicine taken may be a medicine with the same packaging but different strength.

A further limitation of the known solutions is then constituted by the fact that these devices do not provide means that prevent the taking of correct medicines that do not correspond to those for which the notice was sent.

For example, the device of WO2014/159933 provides that in this case an alarm signal is sent to indicate the removal of the wrong container. However, there is always the risk that the patient, particularly in the case of an elderly person or with reduced autonomy, will take and ingest the wrong medicine.

Scope of the invention

The object of the present invention is to overcome the above drawbacks by providing an apparatus for the assisted supplying of drugs and medicines in general that is characterized by high efficiency and relative cheapness.

A particular object is to provide an apparatus for the assisted supplying of drugs and medicines in general that has a high level of safety against the possible risks of taking wrong drugs by the patient or the person in charge of assisting him in the therapy.

Still another object is to provide an apparatus for the assisted supplying of drugs and medicines in general that provides in a clear and unambiguous manner all the information necessary to proceed with the taking of the correct drug.

Still another object is to provide an apparatus for the assisted supplying of drugs and medicines in general which reduces the risk that the medicine, once removed from its compartment, is not actually taken, or that the medicine stored in the compartment does not is the correct one.

Still another object is to provide an apparatus for the assisted supplying of drugs and medicines in general that allows to verify the correct intake of drugs and medicines according to the assigned therapy.

Still another object is to provide an apparatus for the assisted supplying of drugs and medicines in general that can be used with any type of drug.

Still another object is to provide an apparatus for the assisted supplying of drugs and medicines in general that allows an authorized person to intervene remotely and in real time to modify the therapy or in the event that the therapy is not carried out correctly. Still another object is to provide an apparatus for the assisted delivery of drugs and medicines in general which also allows the management of several patients, even if they are subjected to different therapies, in order to be used within hospitals and clinics.

Another object is to provide an apparatus for the assisted supplying of drugs and medicines in general which allows the simple and automatic management of the stocks of medicines and which at the same time verifies the correct intake of the medicines by checking the consumption thereof.

These objects, as well as others that will become clearer hereinafter, are achieved by an apparatus for the assisted supplying of drugs and medicines in general, in accordance with claim 1.

The apparatus will allow the taking only of the product provided according to the therapy, preventing the patient or the person in charge of his assistance from taking a different product from that indicated by the apparatus, guaranteeing high safety against any negligent behaviour, even if involuntary.

Advantageously, each of said compartments may be provided with a presence sensor adapted to detect the presence of the respective product to enable the respective retention mechanism after the repositioning of the product within the respective of said compartments.

In this way, the device will be even safer as you will get further feedback on the correct intake of the drug or medicine as the control unit will be able to detect whether the drug has been correctly repositioned after taking thereof.

This will also avoid errors due to incorrect positioning of the medicine (for example taking a wrong medicine placed in the correct compartment) and which in the state of the art would lead to a false positive.

In addition, the possibility that the medicine once taken from the compartment may not be taken by the patient is reduced as the repositioning operation (and relative re acquisition of the image or other information connected to the package) makes it unlikely that there will be forgotten about taking the medicinal.

In fact, the apparatus according to the present invention provides that after the taking of the drug, a new acquisition of the information relating to the drug taken is carried out, so that the control unit compares it with the information in memory.

This second acquisition may be carried out by optical scanning (barcode reader, QR code or similar) or by acquiring an image of the package to be compared with an image in memory.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are obtained in accordance with the dependent claims.

Brief disclosure of the drawings

Further features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent in the light of the detailed description of some preferred but non-limiting embodiments of the apparatus according to the present invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example with the aid of the attached drawing tables, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the apparatus in a first embodiment wherein the various parts are represented by functional blocks;

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of the apparatus in a second embodiment and wherein the upper part is removed to allow viewing inside;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the apparatus of Fig. 2 in closed condition;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the apparatus of Fig. 2 in closed condition;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the apparatus of Fig. 2 in the open condition;

FIG. 6 is a sectional side view of the apparatus of Fig. 2 in the open condition;

FIG. 7 is a schematic front view of the apparatus in a second preferred configuration and in an open condition;

FIG. 8 is a side schematic view of the apparatus of Fig. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic top view of the apparatus of Fig. 7;

FIG. 10 is a schematic front view of the apparatus in a third preferred embodiment; FIG. 11 is a schematic top view of the apparatus of Fig. 10;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the apparatus in a fourth preferred embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the apparatus of Fig. 12 in use.

Best modes of carrying out the invention

The figures schematically show some preferred but not exclusive configurations of an apparatus according to the invention designed to contain one or more medicines to be administered to one or more patients undergoing therapy, in particular in the case of elderly people or people with reduced physical and/or mental autonomy. The apparatus may either be used personally by the patient or by a person assigned to assist him in the context of home therapies or be used within hospitals and nursing homes in general by specialized personnel.

In its more general configuration, illustrated in Fig. 1, the apparatus, indicated generically with 1, comprises a dispenser 2 having one or more compartments 3 each suitable for housing at least one respective product, in particular a drug, to be dispensed on the basis of what is prescribed in the therapy.

The shape and technical features of the dispenser 2 are not limiting for the purposes of the present invention and may be modified according to the needs and the products to be dispensed, or, again, to the type and duration of the therapy.

The dispenser 2 will be provided or in any case associated, even in a removable way, with an electronic control unit 4 provided with a memory portion 5 wherein it will be possible to store first information II relating to the therapy to be followed and in particular relating to the dosage of each drug and the timing of the administration thereof, both within the same day and over a longer period of time.

In particular, the first information II will define the instructions for the operation of dispenser 2 according to the prescribed therapy.

The storing of the information II in the memory portion 5 of the control unit 4 may be carried out both remotely, for example by means of a specific software application, possibly managed directly by the doctor responsible for the therapy, also through removable mass memories, such as keys USB or similar, or via internet connection or wireless connection.

Alternatively, the dispenser 2 may be provided with its own means for entering information of an integrated type.

In this way it will be possible to modify the information II and therefore the instructions at any time and also in real time and remotely, generally by the doctor or other qualified person, according to the patient’s needs.

The compartments 3 will also be associated with automatic dispensing means adapted to selectively enable one or more compartments 3 to deliver the respective drug according to the instructions provided by said control unit 4 based on the first memorized information II.

Fig. 2 illustrates a first configuration of the apparatus 1 wherein the dispenser 2 is provided with means for accessing said one or more compartments 3 and means 14 for the acquisition of the first information II relating to the dosage and times administration of the drugs contained in said dispenser 2.

The electronic control unit 4, for example integrated within an electronic board placed in the dispenser 2, will be provided with the memory portion 5 suitable for storing the first information II and to selectively associate it with a corresponding one of these compartments 3.

Automatic dispensing means are then provided to selectively enable one or more compartments 3 to deliver the respective drug according to the instructions provided by the control unit 4 on the basis of the first stored information II.

In particular, the control unit 4 is designed to enable access to one compartment 3 at a time based on the correspondence between the instructions received from the acquisition means 14 and the information associated with compartment 3.

The access means comprise a reclosable door 25 operatively connected to the dispensing means, wherein in turn they comprise a carousel mechanism 26 adapted to selectively bring one compartment 3 at a time in correspondence with the door 25 according to the information acquired by the acquisition means.

The control unit 4 may also comprise sensor means designed to detect the compartment 3 present at the door 25 and to enable its opening only when the information associated with this compartment 3 corresponds to the information acquired by the acquisition means 14.

For example, the sensor means, not shown, may comprise a first detector adapted to detect the approach of compartment 3 and to enable the opening of the door 25 only if the information associated with the compartment 3 corresponds to the information acquired by the acquisition means.

A second detector may instead detect the positioning of the compartment 3 in a predetermined dispensing position common to all the compartments and placed in front of the door 25, so as to lock the mechanism 26 and allow the taking of medicines from the compartment 3.

The door 25 may be either of the hinged or sliding type, without particular limitations. The carousel mechanism 26 may comprise a wheel 27 which rotates around a central axis 28 and associated with motor means which will make it rotate around said central axis 28.

For example, the motor means may comprise an electric motor 29 having a transmission shaft directly associated with the central axis or, as in the figures, having a motion transmission member which meshes with the peripheral edge of the wheel 27 to produce a continuous motion thereof or discrete motion of the step-by-step type, depending on the configuration.

The power may be obtained by means of a cable connecting to the network or by means of a battery 30, as in the figure, or by various means, including renewable ones, such as a small solar panel.

The compartments 3 may be obtained by arranging dividing walls 31 on the wheel 27 so as to have a plurality of compartments 3 also of different shapes and which will be suitable for receiving packages C of medicines of different formats.

The dispenser 2 will also comprise a closing lid 6 common to all the compartments 3 and provided with a display 9 on which the instructions relating to times and dosages of the respective drug will be reproduced.

The display 9 may perform both an information function for dosages and a guide to a correct diet, as in the case of a diet, showing the facsimile of a menu and food doses, for healthy physical activity, or, again, bring the link to the drug leaflet in case further information is required, or, again, provide further information useful for correct therapy, as described in more detail below.

The display 9 may be of the reclosable type to pass from a lowered configuration visible in Fig. 4, to the raised one of Fig. 5.

The upper lid 6 may also be provided with one or more signalling lights 32, 33 which may provide indications regarding the operation of the dispensing means and the achievement of the correct compartment in the front position of the access and dispensing door 25. Fig. 7 shows a second embodiment of the apparatus in which the dispenser 2 comprises a plurality of compartments 3 of the type with side by side cells, accessible by lifting a common closing lid 6.

In turn, each cell 3 will be provided with a respective door 7 defining a closing element adapted to be opened only when the specific drug contained therein has to be taken, following the sending of a specific instruction or signal from control unit 4. Advantageously, the compartments or cells 3 may have different dimensions or have a reconfigurable structure in order to adapt their volume to the shape and dimensions of the specific product to be housed, according to the methods described below. According to a further configuration, schematically illustrated in Fig. 10, the compartments 3 will be designed as drawers with respective frontal sliding and/or hinged doors 8 which will act as closing elements of respective compartments or drawers 3 and which will be selectively made openable only following the sending of a specific instruction or signal by the control unit 4.

Advantageously, even in this case the drawer-like compartments 3 may have different shapes with each other in order to accommodate products with different formats thereinside.

In all the configurations described up to now, it will also be possible to use the dispenser 2 with products that need to remain in their packaging until the moment of administration, such as blisters, vials or other containers for liquids, or for products consisting of two or more components to be mixed when taken or powders to be diluted in water.

In this case it will be possible to insert the product still packaged or only part of the product packaging.

According to yet another method of use, one or more compartments 3 may be left empty and the dispenser 2 will send information relating to the product to be taken and its dosage, as in the case of products to be stored at a controlled temperature, for example in the refrigerator, until consumption, as described more clearly below.

For example, the compartments 3 may be associated with one or more displays 9, possibly associated with the access lid 6 and/or with one or more of the closing elements 7, 8, on which the instructions relating to times and dosages of the respective drug will be reproduced.

The display 9 may provide both an information function for dosages and a guide to correct nutrition, as in the case of a diet, showing the facsimile of a menu and food doses, for healthy physical activity, or, again, bring the link to the drug leaflet in case further information is required, or, again, provide further information useful for correct therapy, as described in more detail below.

According to a peculiar feature of the present invention, regardless of the specific configuration of the dispenser 2 and of the compartments 3, as well as of their spatial arrangement, the closing elements 7, 8 of the compartments 3 will each be associated with a respective holding mechanism, not illustrated in the figures, connected with the electronic control unit 4 to prevent the closing element 7, 8 from being opened to access the product contained in the corresponding compartment 3 for the taking of the respective product in the absence of specific authorization from the control unit 4. These retention mechanisms will be adapted to be selectively disabled by the electronic control unit 4 to allow access to the relative product or drug only after receiving an instruction provided by the control unit 4 on the basis of the first information II, i.e. of the particular therapy set.

The electronic control unit 4 will therefore be programmed to keep the remaining retention mechanisms blocked, so as to prevent the taking of the corresponding products if these do not correspond to the drug that must be taken at a given time.

For example, in the case of a dispenser 2 with cells 3 of Fig. 7, the closing elements 7 may be associated with a respective holding mechanism electrically connected to the control unit 4 by means of electrical contact tracks which extend along one or more dividing walls of the cells 3, which may be fixed and/or movable.

In an exemplary but not limiting manner, both on the external perimeter and on the dividers, there will be copper-plated contact tracks that allow electrical contacts between the various parts.

Normally excited magnets or micromagnets or pins on which to anchor the holding element, in turn equipped with a normally compressed return spring, may also be inserted on the dividers.

In this way, in order to access a compartment 3 and the relative product, the control unit 4 will send, on the basis of the first information II in memory, a specific instruction which will translate into an electrical signal towards the magnet of the specific compartment 3, going to de-energize the spring and to allow the release of the closing element 7.

Obviously, the configuration of the retention mechanism described above is only one of the possible configurations, since it is also possible to use different mechanically different solutions, for example provided with a retaining tooth adapted to act against a corresponding groove of the closing element 7, controlled by a mechanism holding electrically controlled by the control unit 4.

The compartments 3 will also be equipped with a presence sensor, not shown, which may possibly be placed on the bottom, adapted to detect the presence of the respective product to enable the respective holding mechanism after the product has been repositioned inside the respective compartment 3.

In this way, when the drug is repositioned in the cell and is read by the presence sensor, the latter will allow the magnet to be excited again to allow the patient to close the door 7, which in the absence of this new signal could not remain closed.

This operating mode will have the advantage of ensuring that the patient carries out the drug intake procedure correctly, preventing the drug from not being repositioned or repositioned in an incorrect compartment.

In all the configurations described, the dispenser 2 may also be provided with signalling means 10 suitable for communicating the need to take the specific drug, signalling the release of the holding mechanism corresponding to compartment 3 containing the product to be taken.

The signalling means 10 may be of the audio and/or video and/or data type, vibrating, such as buzzers, warning lights and/or messaging systems suitable for sending a message remotely to a communication device, such as SMS, email, push notifications to a specific application connected to the dispenser 2.

For example, each compartment 3 may be provided with a signalling LED arranged on the bottom and/or on the closing element and/or on one of the lateral dividing walls. The same signalling means 10 may also be adapted to send an error message if the drug is not taken according to the instructions contained in the memory portion 5, as will be described more clearly below.

Any display 9 will be adapted to reproduce one or more information relating to the product to be taken, which may be both product images and textual information, for example relating to the product name and dosage based on the therapy in memory. Eventually, the display 9 may reproduce a grid which reproduces the distribution of the compartments 3 so that the position of the compartment 3 unlocked each time is illuminated or in any case indicated in order to provide further information to the patient or to the person in charge of administering the drug.

The display 9 may be integrated in one of the faces of the lid 6 or it may be a tablet 13 associated with the lid 6 in a position such as to be accessible at least in the condition of the lid raised or possibly removed to be used autonomously.

For example, in the case of dispenser 2 with cell compartments 3, the tablet 13 or the display 9 may be arranged on the internal face of the common lid 6 so that it may be used after lifting it.

In the case of dispenser 2 with drawer compartments 3, on the other hand, the tablet 13 or the display 9 may be fixed on the upper face of the dispenser 2 so as to be always easily accessible.

Eventually, the tablet 13 or other display 9 may be connected to the control unit 4 by means of a serial cable or other type of connection which can also allow its power supply, which will in turn be delegated to an additional power supply cable of the dispenser 2, the position of which is in no way limiting to the present invention.

The acquisition of the first information II relating to the drugs to be taken may be carried out through appropriate acquisition means 14 designed to store a data relating to the product/dmg and automatically transfer it to the memory portion 5 of the control unit 4.

The acquisition means 14 will also be adapted to detect, automatically or by manual insertion by the user, auxiliary information such as the expiry date of the drug and/or its duration when the package is open, transmitting this information to the control means 4 which will be adapted to generate the related alerts.

The control unit 4 will be designed to receive the first information II detected by the acquisition means 14 and to selectively associate them with the compartment 3 selected to contain the specific drug.

According to a further particularly advantageous feature of the invention, the apparatus 1 may also comprise checking means 15 suitable for acquiring a second information 12 relating to the drug dispensed from time to time.

The electronic control unit 4 will be operationally connected to the checking means 15 to receive the second information 12 acquired by the latter and compare it with the first information II contained in the memory portion 5 to verify that they coincide with each other and that the drug prescribed by the stored instructions has been actually taken.

The control means 4 may also be designed to manage the supplying of drugs by the supplying means according to a daily/weekly/monthly schedule or according to personalized temporal recurrences.

Furthermore, the acquisition means 14 may be configured to allow guided programming by means of a classification of the compartments 3 on the basis of their respective dimensions and/or other structural features.

According to a preferred but non-limiting configuration of the invention, both the acquisition means 14 and the checking means 15 may be of the optical reading type. By way of example, these means 14, 15 may be selected from scanners, cameras, barcode readers or similar devices, depending on the information to be acquired.

For example, the information relating to the drugs can be acquired by the acquisition means 14 and the checking means 15 in automatic mode by means of a software that allows the reading of a given identifier present on the packaging of the drug, such as a bar code, an image, a logo, a QRcode or similar, which allows the unique identification of the drug.

The electronic unit 4 will be adapted to receive this information to store it in the memory portion 5 and carry out subsequent checks. The control unit 4 may also have a drug database in memory or may connect via the internet to an external database in order to associate the name of the drug and/or additional information useful for therapy to the information acquired.

According to an embodiment, the acquisition means 14 and/or the checking means 15 may be integrated in the dispenser 2 or in any case integral therewith.

In a particular variant, these means may consist of a keypad designed to allow manual entry of information, such as the name of the drug or the alphanumeric code placed under the bar code.

In a particular, non-limiting variant, the keypad 11, possibly of the digital type, may be integrated into the display 9 or into the tablet 13.

In an alternative form, the acquisition means 14 and/or the checking means 15 may be integrated in an external mobile device, such as a mobile communication device, for example a smartphone, a tablet or similar, provided with the software for the acquisition of the information and adapted to communicate with the control unit 4 remotely or through an external memory medium.

Fig. 12 shows a further embodiment of the apparatus 1, provided with one or more compartments 16 designed to be transportable.

In particular, according to a first not shown variant, the apparatus 1 may be composed of a dispenser 2 of the type described above which houses this transportable compartment 16 in one or more of its fixed compartments 3.

In a second variant, the apparatus 1 will consist of this transportable compartment 16. The transportable compartment 16 will be provided with a base 17 for positioning the product and with a holding mechanism 18 adapted to lock the product to the base 17 and to release it only after receiving the specific instruction from the control unit 4, which in turn can be integrated in the possible dispenser 2 or in the same base 17. According to yet another variant, the control unit 4 will be defined by an external electronic device, such as a computer, tablet or smartphone, inside which a software application will be stored which contains the therapy and is suitable to communicate with the compartment 16 in wireless mode, for example through the internet, to send the release signal of the holding mechanism 18 from time to time on the basis of the instructions inserted and dependent on the therapy itself.

This embodiment will have the advantage of not requiring the presence of the entire dispenser 2, so as to allow the therapy to continue even outside the home. Advantageously, the base 17 will be provided with a display 19 adapted to reproduce all the information necessary for the correct execution of the therapy, in a manner similar to that described above.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the holding mechanism 18 may comprise a pair of arms 20, 21, 22, 23 which extend radially from the base 17 to define a housing 24 for the product to be conveyed.

At least one of the arms 20-23 will slide radially with respect to the base 17 or hinged thereto to adjust the size of the housing seat 24 and adapt it to the dimensions of the product inserted each time.

Furthermore, the movable arm or arms 20-23 may be associated with a retaining member, for example designed in the manner described above, i.e. with an electrically excitable magnet suitable to operate on a spring retaining mechanism, so as to slide and allow the taking of the product only after receipt of the signal by the control unit 4, sent at the exact moment in which it is necessary to take the therapy.

Furthermore, the movable arm or arms 20-23 may be associated with an elastic return element so as to return to the initial position after their release by the user. Advantageously, the positioning base 17 may be associated with signalling means suitable for indicating the release of the holding mechanism 18 following the sending of the instruction by the control unit 4.

Preferably, the signalling means may be both luminous and sound or, again, vibrating so as to alert the user even if the compartment is not visible.

From an operational point of view, valid for all configurations according to the present invention, the user, who may be the patient or a person assigned to his assistance, will receive the therapy prescribed by the doctor, who may possibly have an application in which to insert the instructions relating to the therapy itself.

The instructions II relating to therapy will be loaded by the patient or by the person in charge of his assistance or, again by the medical staff, within the memory portion 5 of the control unit 4.

The insertion can be performed remotely, for example with an internet connection, or via a mass memory such as a USB key or through a data transfer cable.

The user will thus purchase one or more drugs prescribed in the therapy and through the acquisition means 14 will enter the first information II inside the control unit 4 associated with dispenser 2.

To this end, the procedure may provide for the activation of the display 9 or tablet 13 which will have a specific icon for Inserting Drugs through which the control unit 4 will ask if it is necessary to insert or withdraw the drug.

In the event that the device 1 is dedicated to the assistance of several patients, there will be the possibility to recall the name of the specific patient.

For example, the user can bring the drug package near the optical reader or other acquisition device to send the information to the control unit 4 which will indicate to which compartment 3 of the dispenser 2 the drug should be assigned based on the instructions previously loaded.

The loaded image may also appear on display 9 in order to allow verification and possible reacquisition if this image is not clear.

Eventually, a list of drugs may be stored in the control unit 4 so that the drug may be recalled directly by entering its name, so that its image appears automatically.

On the page of the image you may be asked to write the name of the medicine and the important information of the therapy, such as the start date of the treatment, the dosage, the times of intake, the methods of intake, the expiry date of the drug.

Then, the user may enter the number of the compartment 3 to be used, which will thus be enabled for opening by releasing the respective holding mechanism or by bringing the compartment to the front position of the taking door, to insert the drug still in its packaging, while the remaining compartments will not be accessible.

The closure of the closing element 7, 8 of the previously enabled compartment 3 or the door will authorize the continuation of the insertion procedure, although it will still be possible to provide a command to repeat the procedure in the event of an error.

The grid 11 representing the compartments 3 will appear on the display 9 and the position in which the drug has been inserted will be illuminated or highlighted in another way.

If you want to store a drug previously inserted in a compartment 3 inside a specially set up external warehouse or in another suitable container, as in the case in which it is necessary to store the drug at a controlled temperature, or to be brought to different premises, such as for example, in case of travel, it will be possible to call up a special “Moving to warehouse” procedure that will allow you to unlock compartment 3 to take the drug.

To this end, a Warehouse icon may be provided wherein to manage these drugs and always have in memory product movements made and which could provide evidence of any errors.

This sequence of operations will be carried out for all the drugs indicated in the therapy, in order to receive a signal that the procedure has been carried out correctly. If all the packs provided are not inserted within a certain time, an error message may appear on display 9 informing you that the operation has not been completed, offering some options such as “ drug not available ”, “drug ordered ’ together with the date of availability, with the subsequent possibility of running the automatic functions or waiting for the missing drug to close the operation.

Once all the drugs are available, the dispenser 2 will activate to signal the need to take a specific drug based on the instructions II stored in the control unit 4.

In particular, at the time set during the insertion step, the dispenser 2 will emit a warning signal.

The signal may be a buzzer, an indicator light, a vibration or other signal, comprising data such as a message to be sent to one or more smartphones or similar devices to inform not only the patient but also other people assigned to his assistance.

The user will see the image of the drug on display 9, including the position of compartment 3 in which it is located.

The compartment 3 of the dispenser 2 in which the drug to be taken is present will be illuminated and will be the only one that will have opened the locking element 7, 8 unlocked and open or suitable to be opened and the relative holding mechanism disabled or positioned in front of the door.

If the dispenser 2 has a single and transportable compartment, the compartment 16 may be illuminated and/or vibrate.

Once the drug has been taken, the dose to be taken and what was described in the insertion step will appear on display 9.

If the drug is not in the dispenser 2, but in the external warehouse, for example in the refrigerator, the display 9 will show the indication of the warehouse in which the drug was placed and the relative indications for taking.

If the drug is to be put back into dispenser 2, the same does not authorize the closure of the closing element and its holding mechanism, until the drug has been inserted into compartment 3, where it will be detected by the presence sensor.

Once the door is closed, or the closing element 7, 8 lowered or the transportable compartment 16 locked, the control unit 4 may send a message to a person responsible for patient care to inform him of the drug intake.

The control unit 4 may also be programmed to allow the user to customize the therapy, for example by allowing to postpone the intake of some drugs or to withdraw a drug ahead of time to allow the user to leave home or place without having to carry the entire dispenser with him 2.

After taking the drug, the patient will have to confirm the intake through the checking means 15, which will acquire the second information 12 and transmit it to the control unit 4.

For example, the patient will pass the package with the barcode on the reader and the display 9 will indicate in which compartment to reinsert it, opening compartment 3 and sending an indication of insertion carried out via the sensor.

In the event that the second information 12 does not correspond with the first information II, the control unit 4 will send an error signal which may be audible, for example a buzzer, and/or visual, for example an intermittent warning light, and/or data, for example a message, an email, a pre-recorded phone call, to be preferably sent to a person other than the patient and assigned to assist.

Apparatus 1 may also be implemented with additional functions that improve its management and allow the user and the people involved in his care to always know the therapy process in real time.

To this end, display 9 may show various icons which refer to specific auxiliary functions.

Each single icon may also allow the management of multiple patients, both in the case of members of the same family and in the case of patients in a clinic or nursing home. For example, a Privacy icon will allow access to a section reserved for the patient and not accessible by the doctor or other person assigned to care.

An additional icon will allow you to communicate with the medical staff in order to get news, information and send requests; it will be possible to receive the necessary recipes on the display by connecting to the regional Electronic Health Record.

The doctor, always with the consent of the patient or whoever works for him, may access all those icons that the patient will allow, so as to check that the patient’s care is certain and constant and that in case of renewal or reuse of a drug taken in previously and in the need to reuse it, that the one in stock is finished and that it has not expired. Through the apparatus, the doctor could also follow the supply of white prescription drugs and over-the-counter products. In addition, it could communicate with the pharmacy to send the prescription of the drugs directly to the control unit 4 and to the pharmacy, to allow the pharmacy to prepare the drugs and warn the patient of the possibility of collection or delivery.

An additional Pharmacy icon, with functions similar to the previous one, may be used for the management of drugs, for their purchase, even in automatic mode if the pharmacy is authorized to access the virtual warehouse, for checking stocks and expirations, so as to order the drug needed by the patient in time, in case of repetition thereof, and to warn the patient that the drug is running out and that it is available in the pharmacy.

A further particularly useful function will be that of the Warehouse icon which will allow the creation and management of a virtual warehouse in which to keep track of the products in the house and the respective quantities in stock in order to avoid the purchase of drugs already present or for refuel a drug necessary for the therapy before it ends.

If you stop using a drug, but keep it in the compartment, it will be followed as if it were in use: you must take care, at the end of use, to go to a drug management screen, remove the periodicity of the taking the drug, the time reminder alarm and inserting it in the virtual warehouse.

If you physically remove the drug from dispenser 2, then just press the icon to add to the warehouse, specifying the exact place where it was stored.

This allows the correct management of both the quantity and the expiry date of the product, and if the doctor prescribes it again in the future, both the patient and the pharmacist could access the virtual warehouse to check its availability, so as to also obtain a significant reduction in waste.

An additional icon may be dedicated to statistics: this icon will be automatically associated with information relating to the patient or patients, the drugs taken and the relative doses and methods of intake.

The person in charge of the patient’s care may verify the continuity of the care to be sure that it is conducted in the appropriate manner; it will then be possible to have a history of the medicines taken over time and a picture of all the previous history and any anomalies found, which may be used to improve the therapy.

The structure described above will be substantially similar both in the case in which the apparatus 1 is for personal or family use and in the case it is to be used inside hospitals or nursing homes or rest homes in general.

In this second case, it may be possible to enter the various names of the operators involved, who must enter their name before proceeding with each action, and then access an area dedicated to the specific patient.

In this configuration it will however be possible to provide for common management of the virtual warehouse.

From above it is evident that the apparatus according to the invention achieves the intended objects.