2013 Volume 83 Issue 4 Pages 347-353
Recently, the system called Auto Ampule Dispenser attracts attention. The system can automatically prepare ampules and vials that were ordered by a medical doctor. When using this system, it can reduce the workload of a medical staff in the department of pharmacy. Also it can prevent human error such as taking wrong medicines. Additionally, it enables a medical doctor to do the administration of medicine safety. But general Auto Ampule Dispenser system cannot automatically return ampules that were not used because of a change of prescription. If a change of prescription is happened, hospital pharmacists have to return medicines manually. There are hundreds of kinds of the medicine like ampule, vial, and plastic bag, so it is very hard to return ampules in hand. Therefore, the system that can return ampules automatically is required. However, fulfilling this process is not easy. Because the system cannot recognize what kind of ampules are returned. In this paper, we propose Auto Returning Ample System and technique to pick up ampules under the random circumstance. This issue has been resolved by RIM and the introduction of the evaluation function to the image area. The picking success rate of this system is 95%.