JP6743000B2 - Dispensing canister for robotic pick-and-place packaging of solid oral pharmaceuticals - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates generally to the field of automated oral solid drug packaging mechanisms for packaging oral solid drug products according to patient prescription information. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for automatically verifying oral solid drug placement within a package according to patient prescription data. Various systems and methods are disclosed for quickly and efficiently confirming the placement of an oral solid pharmaceutical product within a package in accordance with patient prescription data. The systems and methods described below provide multiple, different confirmations with one automated operation that ensures reliable placement of the oral solid medication within the package to exactly match the patient's prescription medication information. ..

Currently, there are various automated packaging systems for placing oral solid medications into packaging solutions that associate individual dosing times with patient prescription dates. Examples include U.S. Patent Nos. 5,837,698 and 5,037,049, which are incorporated herein by reference. These patent documents describe systems capable of placing one or more oral solid pharmaceutical products in a package cavity corresponding to patient prescription data, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Incorporated into the book. Existing packaging solutions include a variety of systems that allow swift and efficient placement of oral solid drug products within the package, but in the art, oral solid drug products are subject to patient prescription data. There is still a need to ensure accurate placement within a package with certainty and in a single system. Currently, there is no system available that automatically verifies that an oral solid pharmaceutical package has been filled into a blister card package in a single system, in accordance with the patient's prescription data.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,831,773 US Pat. No. 7,185,476

Therefore, there is still a need in the art for a system and method that can ensure that oral solid pharmaceuticals are placed in a blister card package in a single system, in accordance with prescription data for a given patient. It is said that.

A conventional approach to solving this problem is that a trained technician or pharmacist checks the packaged drug product to ensure that the oral solid drug product is properly placed within the packaging material. Need that. Traditional approaches are subject to errors and significant delays associated with the manual verification process. Applicant's invention described below overcomes these deficiencies of existing systems and obviates the need for post-packaging quality assessment. Applicants' unique use and placement of the various sensors ensures that the oral solid pharmaceutical product is properly packaged.

According to a first preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, automation of a robotic pick-and-place device allows oral solid pharmaceuticals to be delivered to a patient from a movable tray or canister that has been quality checked by a pharmacist. Transfer to package location according to prescription data. Advantageously, in accordance with the present invention, various sensors are used to confirm that the oral solid drug is properly placed at the desired oral solid drug package location in accordance with the patient's prescription data. According to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, a pharmacist is provided with an oral solid drug product in a dispensing tray or canister that is used to present for dispensing and placement by a robotic pick and place machine. Place solid pharmaceutical product. When the canister or tray is positioned adjacent to the pick-and-place device, an additional sensor or imaging unit associated with the pick-and-place device indicates that the oral solid pharmaceutical product presented by the tray or canister is associated with the system. Make sure it matches the expected size and shape and/or color of the oral solid pharmaceutical product to be placed in the packaging material according to the patient's prescription data stored by the computer.

If the expected data matches the actual oral solid drug product sensed by the imaging unit associated with the pick and place device, the robotic pick and place device will continue to work on one oral solid drug product. The product is transferred to the desired packaging location, and the solid pharmaceutical product has a dosing time that corresponds to the patient's prescription data for the currently filled package. Robotic Pick and Place Arm End Tooling Transfers Oral Solid Drug Product to Desired Package Position, Robotic Pick and Place Unit Confirms Oral Solid Drug Product Dropped to Desired Package Position Thus, an additional sensing unit verifies that the transfer to the desired package location is complete. The robotic pick-and-place device imaging sensor determines that the oral solid drug product presented in the tray or canister does not match the expected oral solid drug product according to the patient's prescription data at that time. , The system warns the operator of the system and does not remove the oral solid pharmaceutical product to prevent the false transfer of the oral solid pharmaceutical product into the packaging material.

According to a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a drug confirmation tray or transfer sensing unit corresponds to the arm end tooling of a robotic pick and place mechanism and the cavity of the solid pharmaceutical package to be filled by the system. Positioned between an oral solid pharmaceutical product package having a cavity location or a temporary reservoir. The drug verification tray or transfer sensing unit preferably operates to verify transfer from robotic pick and place arm end tooling and package cavity locations corresponding to prescription data currently filled by the system. Includes multiple sensors. It is desirable for the system to be able to ensure that a particular cavity location is filled by confirming the fall of the oral solid pharmaceutical product from the robotic pick and place arm end tooling.

According to the first preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the oral solid pharmaceutical product delivered by the robotic pick and place device actually falls into the particular package cavity location to be filled by the system. To ensure that one or more optical sensing units are used. In a first preferred exemplary embodiment, the optical sensor unit comprises an emitter which emits a broad beam which at least substantially covers the area above the cavity location to be filled. One or more receiving units are located on the opposite side of the light emitting unit and sense the beam generated and emitted by the emitter. An interrupt signal is generated when one or more receiving units sense that at least a portion of the beam has been interrupted. Since the emitter and receiver units are preferably individually associated with each package cavity location, a robotic pick-and-place unit provides a desired oral solid pharmaceutical package cavity location corresponding to patient prescription data from a dispensing tray or canister. Oral solid medicines specifically transferred to can be confirmed. This technique ensures strict compliance in packaging oral solid pharmaceutical products according to stored patient prescription data. To ensure that the oral solid drug product does not bounce from the desired oral solid drug package position when the oral solid drug product is dropped by a robotic pick-and-place device, a drug confirmation tray or transfer sensing It is also desirable that the sensor of the unit immediately sense any additional breaks in the beam after the fall of the oral solid pharmaceutical product.

Further confirmation by imaging the packaged drug and matching the oral solid drug product located within each package cavity with the corresponding patient prescription data for the particular dosing time corresponding to the package cavity position You can also do it. By checking as above, it is possible to ensure that the individual oral solid pharmaceutical package cavities have been reliably filled with the proper dose corresponding to the prescription data for a given patient. It has not been possible to provide conventional systems with this high level of confidence of existing automated oral solid pharmaceutical packaging systems. The present invention overcomes these shortcomings and deficiencies of existing systems, thereby providing an even more economical and efficient packaging solution.

FIG. 1 illustrates a first exemplary embodiment of an overall robotic pick and place oral solid pharmaceutical packaging system of the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates a first exemplary embodiment of a drug confirmation tray or transfer sensing unit of the present invention. FIG. 6 illustrates a second exemplary embodiment of the drug confirmation tray or transfer sensing unit of the present invention. It is a flowchart of a confirmation process. It is a figure which shows the arm end tooling of a robot type pick-and-place apparatus. FIG. 9 shows the dispensing canister with the lid in the open position. 7 is a cutaway view of the distribution canister shown in FIG. 6. FIG. FIG. 7 shows a robotic transfer of a distribution canister. FIG. 8 shows a robotic pick and place arm end tooling with a removable suction tip fixed for tablet transfer.

FIG. 1 illustrates a first preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. A robotic pick-and-place unit 12 transfers oral solid drug products from transfer trays or cassettes 14, 15, 16 to individual oral solid drug package locations according to patient prescription data. The individual transfer trays or cassettes 14, 15, 16 are preferably each shown in the figure from a staging position where the pharmacist or technician fills the individual trays or cassettes from the bulk storage by another transfer robot, respectively. Be transferred to the position. Initial confirmation may be performed by a pharmacist or technician to ensure that the medications placed in the transfer trays or cassettes 14, 15, 16 match the medications specified for a particular transfer tray or cassette. Be seen. Barcode verification to ensure that the individual trays or cassettes staged adjacent to the robotic pick-and-place unit 12 for filling match those specified by the pharmacist or technician at the time of filling. Or other automatically verified visual coding is preferably used by the automated system.

Additional confirmation of the oral solid medication is provided by an imaging unit (not shown), which is preferably associated with the arm end tooling portion 18 of the robotic pick and place unit 12. The imaging unit provides image data for comparison with the library of image data, and the library of image data is used to fill the oral solid pharmaceutical product that is actually retrieved by the robotic pick and place unit 12. Consistent with expected oral solid pharmaceuticals specified by the prescription to be based on multiple visual characteristics including one or more of the shape, size and/or color of the solid oral pharmaceutical Check. The imaging unit preferably ensures that the arm end tooling is properly placed over a particular oral solid drug product so that the suction tip can grasp and move the individual solid drug product. Also used for. The automated processing unit compares the actual image data with the expected image data to determine if there is a match and, if not, alerts the system operator.

According to a preferred exemplary embodiment, the arm end tooling first engages a suction tip secured to a transfer tray or cassette from which a solid oral pharmaceutical product is transferred for packaging. .. The suction tip is a soft rubber end that engages and disengages the arm end tooling of each cassette so that each cassette or transfer tray has its own dedicated suction tip. As a result, the possibility of cross-contamination from different pharmaceuticals filled by the system is avoided. When all the drug has been transferred from a particular transfer tray or cassette for a particular package being filled by the system, the suction tip of the arm end tooling will be re-fixed to its corresponding transfer tray or cassette, thus reducing the solids. Of the oral pharmaceutical products are available for the next use that will be transferred from the transfer tray or cassette. The circular suction tip is preferably temporarily fixed in the transfer tray or cassette by a plastic semi-circular structure so that the arm end tooling easily engages and is engaged with the suction tip of each cassette or transfer tray. You can leave.

FIG. 1 also shows the location of the drug transfer verification unit 20 located on the package or package template filled by the system. The drug transfer confirmation unit 20 incorporates a plurality of sensors that confirm the transfer to a particular package or package template cavity corresponding to the patient's prescription to be filled by the system.

FIG. 2 shows a first exemplary embodiment of the drug transfer confirmation unit 20. The drug delivery verification unit 20 preferably includes an array of cavities 22 that individually provide a delivery path for solid oral pharmaceutical products packaged by the system of the present invention. The array of cavities 22 of the drug transfer verification unit 20 preferably corresponds to individual cavities of the oral solid pharmaceutical product package located below the drug transfer verification unit 20. Each cavity in the package or package template corresponds to a particular patient's dosing time and the system uses a robotic pick-and-place unit to accurately follow each prescribed patient's prescription data for each required oral dose. Automatically transfer the solid drug to its designated location.

FIG. 2 also shows a plurality of electromagnetic wave emitter units 26 used to verify that the drug transferred by the robotic pick and place unit actually falls to the desired package cavity or template location. According to this first embodiment, an electromagnetic wave energy receiving unit (not shown) is arranged on each side of the electromagnetic wave emitter unit and the oral solid pharmaceutical is deposited in the desired cavity according to the prescribed patient's prescription data. To confirm this, a route is formed in the drug transfer confirmation unit 20 in a given row or column of the drug transfer confirmation unit 20 through the oral solid drug delivery route of each cavity. According to this first embodiment of the drug transfer confirmation unit 20, it is possible to confirm that oral solid pharmaceuticals have been deposited by arm end tooling, the confirmation being a row or column of the drug transfer confirmation unit 20. Is possible only for. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that additional emitters and receivers can be used to provide higher resolution, such as confirming tablet drop into individual cavities. The drug transfer confirmation unit 20 also functions as a barrier between the cavities, and prevents inadvertent transfer of the drug between the cavities.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the drug transfer confirmation unit 20 in which each cavity 22 of the drug transfer confirmation unit 20 indicates that a solid oral drug has fallen into a particular cavity of the package according to the patient's prescription data. Includes its own pair of electromagnetic wave emitter and receiver units. The electromagnetic wave emitter unit is not shown in the diagram of FIG. FIG. 3 shows the drug transfer confirmation unit 20 and an individual electromagnetic wave reception unit 30 individually associated with each cavity of the drug transfer confirmation unit 20. When individual solid oral medications are dropped by a robotic pick-and-place unit through a particular cavity of the drug transfer verification unit 20, the drug transfer verification unit 20 interrupts the beam received by each of the electromagnetic wave receiving units 30. Based on, it is possible to detect and confirm the fall of solid oral medication. This sensing of drops in individual cavities confirms that the oral solid drug has fallen into the package by a robotic pick-and-place unit, exactly according to the prescribed patient's prescription data. The use of individual electromagnetic wave emitters and receivers can also ensure that only one interruption of the beam is associated with each tablet drop, ensuring that the tablets did not bounce from the cavity.

By using additional image data from an optical sensing unit positioned above and/or below the package cavity, the individual cavities are properly filled with oral solid drug according to the prescribed patient prescription data exactly. You can further confirm what was done.

FIG. 4 automatically confirms the placement of the oral solid pharmaceutical product in a particular cavity of the package that exactly follows the patient's prescription data stored in the electronic memory of the computer controller used to control the packaging machine. It is a flowchart which shows the whole process which does. At step 42, the pharmacist or technician confirms the transfer of the drug from the bulk reservoir to the appropriate canister or dispenser for the specified drug. The drug canisters are returned to the carousel where they are automatically retrieved by the robot for transfer to the robotic pick and place device of the present invention. A bar code, QR code or RFID reader associated with the system reads the code on the canister before the canister is positioned at a particular location in the staging area, thereby providing a robotic retriever. Preferably, the desired canister can be automatically transferred to a robotic pick and place unit.

At step 44, a bar code or other automated reader is used to ensure that the system transfers the desired drug as the canister is transferred to the staging area of a robotic pick and place packaging system. Read code or data from. At step 46, the image data from the pick and place unit is verified to have physical properties that match the physical properties of the individual tablet being transferred and are expected. In step 48, the system confirms that the tablets have fallen into the particular package cavity corresponding to the patient's prescription data. Finally, in step 50, the resulting package is patient specific data after all required doses of all doses specified by the patient's prescription data have been filled by the system into the product package cavity. Labeled and sealed.

In an alternative, more manual version of the system, the drug transfer confirmation tray includes one or more lights that illuminate in the area of the tray corresponding to the particular cavity of the package filled with the oral solid pharmaceutical product. This aids in the manual transfer of the oral solid pharmaceutical product to a particular package cavity according to the patient's prescription data. The remaining operations associated with tablet transfer can then be performed according to manual transfer to the package cavity. The system illuminates one or more lights in a particular area to guide the user to place the solid medication in the desired packaging location corresponding to the patient's prescription data.

FIG. 5 shows details of the arm end tooling of a robotic pick and place device, generally designated by the reference numeral 60. The high pressure line 62 and the low pressure line 64 operate to create a vacuum in the suction tube 65. A pressure sensor 66, positioned proximate to the suction tube 65, operates to ensure that a tablet has been removed by the system based on a predetermined pressure change at the pressure sensor 66. The valve 67 is a pneumatic solenoid switch that selectively applies a vacuum in the suction pipe 65. The switch is preferably a 2 ms switch that produces a pressure change at the end of the suction tube within 10 ms within 10 ms. Solenoid switch or valve 67 consists of four standard ports, Port A and Port B being the sources of negative and positive pressure. Port A is directly connected to the vacuum ejector which supplies negative pressure, and port B is directly connected to the positive pressure regulator which supplies low positive pressure. As a result, the P port is the port that supplies vacuum and positive pressure to the suction tube. Ports A and B always have active vacuum and positive pressure during pick and place operations. This configuration ensures a rapid pressure change at the end of the suction tube 65. Positive pressure is necessary to simply and effectively remove the vacuum pressure at the end of suction tube 65.

To confirm the tablet drop, an emitter such as model LV S 62 manufactured by Keyence is preferably used as a light emitter with an optical sensor. Alternatively, an infrared light emitting diode from Fairchild Semiconductor can be used as a light source in conjunction with an optical sensor. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that virtually any emitter and sensor can be used to sense the interruption of the sensed emission beam associated with the passage of an oral solid pharmaceutical product into the product package cavity. Let's do it. In an alternative configuration, one or more imaging units can be used to sense the passage of an oral solid pharmaceutical into the package cavity, but this configuration confirms transfer to a particular package cavity. It is recognized that additional image data processing is required to do so.

FIG. 6 illustrates generally at 70 the placement of a dispensing canister or cassette in the staging area of a robotic pick and place system. The cassette 72 includes a rotating lid portion 74 and a removable rubber tip 75 at the end of the suction tube of a robotic pick and place device. Detachable rubber or neoprene tip 75 is elastic and preferably semi-cylindrical in shape of the locking member to conform to the contour of the removable rubber or neoprene tip 75. Is fixed to the plastic lock member. After the dispensing canister or cassette 72 is secured in the staging area of the robotic pick and place system, the robotic pick and place system suction tube is inserted into the removable rubber or neoprene tip 75. Each dispensing canister or cassette preferably includes its own removable rubber or neoprene tip to ensure that there is no cross-contamination of drug through the system. Each drug therefore has its own removable rubber or neoprene tip, eliminating cross-contamination.

The dispensing canister or cassette 72 includes a visual area 76 where the drug is picked up by a robotic pick and place unit. The rotating lid portion 74 includes a barrier portion 77 that separates the drug from the storage area during passage of the dispensing canister or cassette 72. A lock base portion 78 mechanically secures the dispensing canister or cassette 72 based on its interaction with the protruding portion of the dispensing canister or cassette 72. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a variety of known mechanical and electromechanical locking mechanisms can be used to secure the dispensing canister or cassette 72 to the staging area.

Each position in the staging area includes a linear motor 79 that adjusts the placement angle of the distribution canister or cassette 72 when secured to the staging area. In addition to adjusting the placement angle of the dispensing canister or cassette 72, the linear motor 79 rocks the solid oral drug product from the storage area of the dispensing canister or cassette 72 to the visual area 76, thereby providing a robotic pick and place unit. , The dispensing canister or cassette 72 is selectively vibrated so that the solid oral drug product can be conveniently grasped from the visual area for placement in the package as described above. A digital imaging unit, preferably secured to the arm end tooling of a robotic pick-and-place unit, includes a suction tube to properly secure the solid oral medication positioned in the visual area 76 for transfer to the package. And a removable rubber or neoprene tip 75.

The preferred tilt angle provided by the linear motor 79 with respect to the dispensing canister or cassette 72 for the easy transfer of the solid oral drug product from the storage portion to the visual portion of the dispensing canister or cassette 72 depends on multiple factors. To do. Factors to consider in selecting an appropriate tilt angle include the relative fill level of the dispensing portion of the dispensing canister or cassette 72. More fill indicates less tilt and greater tilt must be provided when the dispensing canister or cassette 72 is nearly empty. Additional factors that must be considered in making this determination are the slope of the internal slope connecting the storage area of the dispensing canister or cassette 72 and the visual area 76, and the drug stored by the dispensing canister or cassette 72. Including size and shape. Generally, a tilt of approximately 10 to 20 degrees is preferred for the oral delivery of solid pharmaceutical products to the visual area by vibration.

The system allows the solid oral dose in the dispensing canister or cassette 72 to allow the angle of tilt to be dynamically changed to provide the most desirable delivery of the solid pharmaceutical product to the viewing area 76 of the dispensing canister or cassette 72. It is preferable to monitor the number of medicines. This is because the technician or pharmacist fills the dispensing canister or cassette 72 and the tablet count is then decremented based on the number of oral solid medications packaged from a particular canister by a robotic pick and place unit. ) When it is done, it is achieved.

The amount of vibration provided by the linear motor 79 also depends on several factors, including tablet size, shape and weight. A database is maintained by the system so that the electronic controller can access the electronic memory with this stored information to conveniently transfer the drug from the storage area to the visual area of the dispensing canister or cassette 72. In addition, it is preferable that the controller can selectively operate the linear motor 79 with a desired tilt angle and a desired vibration. The amplitude is typically a few tenths of a millimeter, and the duration is typically only a few seconds to a few seconds at frequencies of a few kilohertz. A database should be maintained that stores the most desirable transfer characteristics of the linear motor 79, including tilt and vibration parameters.

A mechanical cam 82 preferably engages a static arm in the staging area of the robotic pick and place unit to position the dispensing canister or cassette 72 in the staging area of the robotic pick and place unit. And such placement of the distribution canister or cassette 72 opens the rotating lid portion 74 and barrier portion 77. This configuration is very efficient and eliminates the need to open the lid portion 74 with a separate movement of the robot.

FIG. 7 is a cutaway view of an exemplary distribution canister or cassette 72. A gripping structure 81 is used by the transfer robot to transfer the dispensing canister or cassette 72 to the staging area of the robotic pick and place unit. This view clearly shows the visual area 77 and the storage area 86 with a beveled bottom between the visual area and the storage area 86. The sloping configuration of the bottom of the storage area 86 allows for convenient transfer of oral solid pharmaceuticals from the storage area 86 to the viewing area 77 based on the tilt and vibration of the dispensing canister or cassette 72, as described above. ..

FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative construction of the dispensing canister or cassette, indicated generally by the reference numeral 90. FIG. 8 also shows arm end tooling 91 of the robotic unit that transfers the dispensing canister or cassette from the storage location to the staging area of the robotic pick and place unit. According to this alternative configuration, the distribution canister or cassette includes a sliding lid 92, which when the canister is positioned in the staging area to slide the sliding lid 92 open. Arm end tooling, which positions the distribution canister or cassette, engages via arm 93. A barrier attached to the lid engages the edge of the visual area shown at 94 to ensure that the medication does not accidentally fall into the visual area during transit. This ensures that the visual area maintains a single layer of solid oral medication that can be easily grasped by the arm end tooling of a robotic pick and place unit.

FIG. 9 shows robotic pick-and-place arm end tooling and a removable rubber or neoprene tip 75 that is secured to the suction tip to grip the drug. A pressure sensor located on the arm end tooling adjacent to the suction tip is preferred during tablet transit to ensure that the tablet does not accidentally fall during transit before it is placed in the container. Is monitored.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various substitutions and modifications can be made to the systems and methods described in this application within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (15)

Dispensing canister for robotic pick-and-place packaging of solid oral medications,
A solid drug storage area having a volume sufficient to hold a plurality of solid drug products;
Adjacent to the storage area, a visual area to provide a flat surface for receiving a solid pharmaceutical agent to be transferred from said storage area, robotic to transfer the package cavity filling position solid shaped pharmaceutical from the visual region A visual area that provides access to pick and place equipment ,
A lid including a rotatable lid portion for covering the visual area when in a closed position, wherein the rotatable lid portion prevents transfer of a solid pharmaceutical product from the storage area to the visual area when in the closed position. with a barrier to separate the storage area from the visual area, provided with a lid,
Solid medicament, by tilting the distributable canister can be conveyed to the visual area from the storage area, the distribution canister for pick and place packaging robotic oral pharmaceutical solid. When transferring the solid pharmaceuticals distributable canister end of the suction pipe of the robotic pick-and-place device is covered by a rubber or neoprene tip attached to distributable canister, whereby a single to prevent cross-contamination between different drugs through the use of rubber or neoprene tip, temporarily fixing the rubber or neoprene tip to the end of the suction pipe of robotic pick and place device further comprising Tei Ru structure semicircular, dispensing canister for pick and place packaging robotic oral pharmaceutical solid according to claim 1. The robotic pick-and-place packaging of a solid oral drug product according to claim 1, wherein the solid oral drug product is configured to be vibrated by a linear motor to transfer the solid drug product from the storage area to the visual area . Distribution canister . 4. A dispensing canister for robotic pick-and-place packaging of solid oral pharmaceuticals according to claim 3, wherein the linear motor is configured to tilt the dispensing canister. The dispensing canister for robotic pick-and-place packaging of solid oral medications according to claim 3, wherein the amount of vibration provided by the linear motor is based on the size, shape and weight of each solid medication. .. The dispensing canister for robotic pick-and-place packaging of solid oral pharmaceuticals according to claim 1, wherein the tilt angle of the dispensing canister is dynamically changed based on the number of solid pharmaceuticals in the dispensing canister. The rotating lid portion includes a mechanical cam configured to engage a static arm in a staging area with respect to a robotic pick and place device, the mechanical cam and the static arm comprising: A dispensing canister for robotic pick-and-place packaging of solid oral pharmaceuticals according to claim 1, wherein said rotatable lid portion is opened by the engagement of. The dispensing canister for robotic pick-and-place packaging of solid oral pharmaceuticals according to claim 1, wherein a bottom surface of the dispensing canister is sloped between the visual area and the storage area. The solid oral pharmaceutical robotic of claim 1, wherein the barrier is configured to allow access between the storage region and the visual region when the rotatable lid portion is in the open position. Dispensing canister for pick and place packaging. Dispensing canister for robotic pick-and-place packaging of solid oral medications,
A solid drug storage area having a volume sufficient to hold a plurality of solid drug products;
Adjacent to the storage area, a visual area that provides a flat surface for receiving solid pharmaceuticals transferred from the storage area, wherein individual solid pharmaceuticals of the solid pharmaceuticals are transferred from the visual area to a package cavity filling position. A visual area configured to accept arm end tooling of a robotic pick and place device to
A lid including a rotatable lid portion covering the visual area when in a closed position, the rotatable lid portion preventing transfer of a solid pharmaceutical product from the storage area to the visual area when in the closed position. A dispensing canister for robotic pick-and-place packaging of solid oral pharmaceuticals, the lid having a barrier separating the storage area from the visual area. 11. A dispensing canister for robotic pick-and-place packaging of solid oral pharmaceuticals according to claim 10, wherein the solid pharmaceutical is transferable from the storage area to the visual area by tilting the dispensing canister. 11. The solid oral pharmaceutical robot of claim 10, wherein the dispensing canister is configured to be tilted, or tilted and vibrated by a linear motor in the staging area of the robotic pick and place device. Dispensing canister for formula pick-and-place packaging. The rotary lid portion comprises a mechanical cam configured to engage a static arm in a staging area of a robotic pick and place device, wherein the mechanical cam is associated with the static arm. The dispensing canister for robotic pick-and-place packaging of solid oral pharmaceuticals according to claim 10, wherein said rotating lid portion is opened in combination. 11. The dispensing canister for robotic pick-and-place packaging of solid oral pharmaceuticals according to claim 10, wherein the dispensing canister has a bottom surface that is angled between the visual area and the storage area. 11. The solid oral pharmaceutical robotic of claim 10, wherein the barrier is configured to allow access between the storage area and the visual area when the rotatable lid portion is in the open position. Dispensing canister for pick and place packaging.