HOW A SCRIPTPRO SP200 WITH COLLATING CONTROL CENTER ROBOTIC PRESCRIPTION DISPENSING SYSTEM WORKS
***Disclaimer. As a contract technician, I fix the Scriptpro SP200 Collating Control Center Robotic Prescription Dispensing machine for pharmacies around Vermont and Plattsburgh, New York. Based on my experience working on the hardware, this writing sample is a demonstration of my ability to explain how this machine works. Please excuse the lack of in-depth technical knowledge as some parts I don't know the technical name, but as for functionality I know how this machine works.
INTRODUCTION
Pharmacists today deal with more patients than they can handle. Even with on-staff assistants taking patients’ orders, answering phones calls, and checking paperwork, the demand to fill prescriptions is faster than the team can handle. Counting individual pills and filling bottles is time consuming in a workplace that requires constant interaction with patients. To improve and enhance productivity and customer relations, the ScriptPro SP200 with Collating Control Center Robotic Prescription Dispensing System (SP200) is the most ideal automated machine to fill out prescriptions, improve workflow up to 50-60%, and save time by allowing pharmacists to engage patients. The SP200 works very effectively:
1. A pharmacist inputs a command on a computer
2. The information is sent to the SP200 robot
3. The robotic arm grabs a vial and fills it with the requested tablets or capsules
4. The vials are moved onto a conveyor belt and wait to be sealed and delivered by a pharmacist
ScriptPro manufactures six different robot models, but this document will focus specifically on the SP200. As the largest of the six models, it takes up an area of 61.8 square feet. There are three primary sections to the robot: cell bay cabinet, labeling bay cabinet (which is divided into three shelves), and the robot control center. Each section serves its own purpose and it is important to understand what occurs where to properly use the machine and diagnose any issues that may occur.
1. CELL BAY CABINET
The first part of the SP200 is the cell bay cabinet. The cell bay cabinet houses 200 universal dispensing cells, a robotic arm that moves along a conveyor belt to fill vials with tablets and capsules, and vial dispensers. Before we look into how each part works, we must understand how the cell bay cabinet functions.
a. BI-FOLD GLASS DOORS
Two bi-fold glass doors with a special door handle keep everything running smoothly. When locked down, each door handle presses a steel rod against two door-sensors. This tells the computer that the doors are locked and allows the robot arm to retrieve vials and fill prescriptions. When the handles are turned and the rods lift off the door-sensors, the computer sees the doors are opened. This is critical. If the computer thinks the doors are opened, the machine stops running. While this may seem obvious and trivial, this is a failsafe. Pharmacists may need to refill cells or vial dispensers. Another reason, and this is key, comes to diagnosing the troubleshooting the machine while maintaining productivity. This will be explored in the preceding paragraphs.
b. 200 UNIVERSAL DISPENSING CELLS
Inside the cell bay cabinet are 200 universal dispensing cells. These are basically plastic cases with a small door and motorized gear that feeds tablets and capsules into a vial. Cells are arranged in columns and rows, utilizing the Cartesian coordinate system. Columns are arranged numerically and rows are arranged alphabetically, therefore giving each cell its respective alphanumerical placement inside the cabinet. For example, the top far left cell is A1, the one immediately right is B1, and so forth. The cell directly below A1 is A2, and for forth. To improve cell naming, each cell is labeled with a bar code with all the information regarding the tablet/capsule, from pill strength to name. These cells can be easily removed and installed for refilling or cleaning. When a cell becomes empty, the machine will stop and an error message will display on the computer at the robot control center. The message will not disappear until someone manually accepts/rejects the message.
c. VIAL DISPENSERS
To the immediate right of the cells are vial dispensers. Depending on the user’s preference, two bulk load dispensers or three vertical dispensers can be installed, carrying 12-40 dram vials or 12-60 dram vials, respectively. Each dispenser can carry approximately 100 vials per cycle. These dispensers are designed like a narrow column with an opening at the top for vials to be dropped. The first dispenser will be for 12-dram vials; the second dispenser will be for the 40-dram vials; and the third dispenser will be for the 60-dram vials. In order for the vials to drop upright 100% of the time, the vials need to be loaded into the dispenser in an alternating manner. This allows for the metal tabs inside the dispenser to catch the vials correctly. Vials are always waiting at rest on a metal platform for pickup. There is a small LED sensor focused on the vial. When there isn’t a vial present, the sensor tells the dispenser to release a vial.
The bulk load dispenser has a very different design. Instead of vials falling freely through the dispenser into place, the bulk load dispenser is much more complex. Vials go into the bulk load dispenser in any random order. It is more like a large box with a vertical carrousel and attached pick fingers to grab vials. Unlike the vertical dispenser, which gets vials by dropping them, the carrousel will continuously turn until it grabs a vial with one of its 5 pick fingers. And instead of just dropping one vial, it will actually drop two vials. One will just be sitting on top the other. Again, an LED sensor will always be focused on the second vial to ensure there are always two on the metal platform for pickup. Because vials can only fall on the platform when the pick fingers grab them, it can be a tedious and anxious task waiting for vials to fall into place.
d. ROBOTIC ARM
The last thing inside the cell bay cabinet is the robotic arm. The robotic arm is made of a gripper, pill count sensor, spur gear, cell door actuator and bar code scanner. It slides vertically on a metal frame, which is about a foot wide and as tall as the cabinet. The metal frame is attached to a flexible conveyor belt that moves horizontally along the cabinet. When the SP200 receives a request from the pharmacist, it moves to a cell. The bar code scanner on the robotic arm reads and confirms the bar code on the call. A motor on the arm pivots the cell door actuator to open the cell door and dispenses tablets/capsules into the vials. Each time a pill drops the pill count sensor records it. Because the robotic arm handles pill counting, there is no risk of cross contamination. The robotic arm has a 99.7% counting accuracy and fills up to 150 prescriptions per hour.
When the machine first starts up, the robot arm will calibrate itself. First, the robot arm will move to the far left and very top (begins at A1). It will then move to the first vial dispenser and the robotic fingers will grab the air. After, the conveyor belt moves to the labeling bay cabinet and robot control center. From here, it will go back to the first vial dispenser and wait for a command. The door sensors become important at this point. (Please refer 1A for the door sensor). When the door sensors are pressed down, the robotic arm will move, and it will turn off when released. For troubleshooting purposes, it may become necessary to keep the doors open, but keep the machine running. Technicians will often fold up a small piece of paper so it is thick enough to keep the door sensor down while keeping the cabinet doors open. This will “trick” the computer into thinking the doors are closed, and the machine will run like normal. However, take precaution that the robot arm does not stop nor slow down if an object is in its path. The robot arm moves at approximately 3 feet per second. If you are adding or removing vials, watch out for the moving robot arm. Wait for it to completely stop before troubleshooting and repairing.
2. LABELING BAY CABINET
The labeling bay cabinet is rather simple compared to the cell bay cabinet. It is much smaller than the cell bay cabinet. First, there is a conveyor belt that moves from the exit of the cell bay cabinet through the labeling bay cabinet and ends at the robot control center. As mentioned in the beginning, there are three shelves to the labeling bay cabinet. The top shelf is for storage and a small ScriptPro toolkit. The center shelf is where the label printer is. On the bottom shelf is the computer and a red emergency button.
a. PRINT AND APPLY LABELING SYSTEM
Inside the center shelf of the labeling bay cabinet is the print and apply labeling system. In there, labels for the vials are loaded into the labeling system around a set of motors that print the customer’s information and drug information. The vials are led along a conveyor belt and stopped against two motors. These spin the vial so the label fits neatly on the vial before moving it out onto the robot control center.
3. ROBOT CONTROL CENTER
The robot control center is the end of the line for the prescriptions. They wait here until a pharmacist comes to cap the vials and package it for delivery. There is also a monitor, keyboard, mouse and infrared camera. The monitor displays the ScriptPro Central program that collects data and information regarding prescriptions in queue and those completed. The infrared camera is used to read individual pharmacists’ ID cards. Although this is the robot control center, there are work stations around the pharmacy typically assigned to certain pharmacists to send requests to the robot from remote.
CONCLUSION
The SP200 is the most convenient and efficient way to improve workflow and time management for pharmacies. By automating the pill counting process, pharmacists can engage patients at a more personal level; multitask between talking on the phone and sending orders to the machine without the worry of forgetting something. Aside from the convenience of improving the work environment, the SP200 ensures no cross contamination between prescriptions and is a very accurate and efficient machine.
