Device and Method for Determining Information Related to a Medical Device

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus (2, 3), comprising a mating unit (20-1, 20-2) for releasably attaching the apparatus (2) to a medical device (1) or for releasably receiving at least a part of the medical device (1). The apparatus (2, 3) further comprises one or more optical sensors (25, 26) and/or one or more acoustical sensors (27) for determining information related to a condition and/or use of the medical device (1). The invention further relates to a system comprising such an apparatus (2, 3) and such a medical device (1), to a method (500, 600, 700) and a computer program (61) for determining information related to a condition and/or use of such a medical device (1), and to a computer-readable medium (60) storing such a computer program (61).

1 .- 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . An apparatus comprising:
 a mating unit for releasably attaching the apparatus to a medical device for ejecting a medicament or for releasably receiving at least a part of the medical device, and   one or more optical sensors for determining information related to the medical device, wherein the one or more optical sensors comprise at least one optical sensor configured to capture information representative of a color of at least a part of the medical device or to determine the color of at least the part of the medical device.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the at least one optical sensor is configured to capture the information representative of the color, and the apparatus is configured to recognize the color of at least the part of the medical device from the captured information. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the at least one optical sensor is a camera unit or a photometer. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 23 , wherein the photometer is a spectral photometer. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the at least one optical sensor is configured to capture the information representative of the color, and the apparatus is configured to further process the captured information. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the at least one optical sensor is configured to capture the information representative of the color, and the apparatus is configured to store the captured information. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the at least one optical sensor is configured to capture the information representative of the color, and the apparatus is configured to provide the captured information to another device. 
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , comprising a processor. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein the processor is configured to control light sources. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 29 , wherein the light sources comprise white and/or colored LEDs. 
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein the processor is configured to control a photometer that is configured to determine an optical property of a component of the medical device. 
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 31 , wherein the component is a housing of the medical device. 
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 28 , wherein the processor is configured to determine a type of medical device or a type of medicament contained in the medical device based on the captured information. 
     
     
         34 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , further comprising a light source which provides light of a certain wavelength or spectrum. 
     
     
         35 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , further comprising a wireless unit which is configured to transmit information to another device in a wireless fashion. 
     
     
         36 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , further comprising an interface configured to provide the captured information to another device via a wired or wireless connection. 
     
     
         37 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the apparatus is configured to optically capture information corresponding to color codes or colors that are characteristics of different types of injection devices. 
     
     
         38 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the apparatus is configured to determine a type of medicament provided by the medical device based on color recognition. 
     
     
         39 . A system comprising a medical device and an apparatus, wherein the apparatus comprises:
 a mating unit for releasably attaching the apparatus to a medical device for ejecting a medicament or for releasably receiving at least a part of the medical device, and   one or more optical sensors for determining information related to the medical device, wherein the one or more optical sensors comprise at least one optical sensor configured to capture information representative of a color of at least a part of the medical device or to determine a color of at least a part of the medical device.   
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 39 , wherein the at least one optical sensor is a camera unit or a photometer.