2022 AUG 02 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Bigfoot Biomedical Inc. (Milpitas, California, United States) has been issued patent number 11386482, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventors are Estes, Mark C. (Malibu, CA, US).

This patent was filed on March 18, 2020 and was published online on July 12, 2022.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “Pump devices are commonly used to deliver one or more fluids to a targeted individual. For example, a medical infusion pump device may be used to deliver a medicine to a patient as part of a medical treatment. The medicine that is delivered by the infusion pump device can depend on the condition of the patient and the desired treatment plan. For example, infusion pump devices have been used to deliver insulin to the vasculature of diabetes patients so as to regulate blood-glucose levels.

“Some infusion pumps are provided to users as “durable medical equipment” that is intended to be used for many consecutive years. As such, the upfront costs of obtaining such an infusion pump are high. In some circumstances, a user’s health insurance provider will pay a substantial portion of these upfront costs. However, the process for preauthorizing insurance coverage for an infusion pump (under the “durable medical equipment” procedure) may require a substantial burden of paperwork and communications among the pump supplier, the physician who prescribes the infusion pump for the user, and the user’s health insurance provider.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “Some embodiments described herein provide for a number of portable infusion pumps to be distributed to a pump user via a pharmacy system or a like process that may impose a lower burden on the pump user when obtaining the infusion pump. In such circumstances, a pump user may simply pay a co-pay at the pharmacy window, and then take home a new supply of infusion pumps for use in dispensing a medicine (e.g., insulin or another infused medication) over a period of time. Accordingly, the paperwork burdens imposed upon the pump supplier and the physician treating the user may be reduced, and the delays associated with obtaining preauthorization for insurance coverage can also be reduced or eliminated. Furthermore, this distribution system may provide relief to health insurance providers by spreading the costs for the infusion pump usage over a longer period of time (rather than paying a large upfront cost for an infusion pump distributed as durable medical equipment).

“In particular, embodiments, a method of receiving an insulin infusion pump device can include obtaining a prescription for a supply of infusion pump devices to deliver insulin. The method may also include submitting the prescription to a pharmacy for repeated deliveries of the infusion pump devices over a predetermined period of time. The method may further include receiving a plurality of infusion pump devices from the pharmacy contemporaneously with the receipt of insulin from pharmacy.

“Some embodiments of a method of providing an insulin infusion pump device may include storing multiple infusion pump devices in a pharmacy inventory. The method may also include, in response to an individual user request to a pharmacy for repeated deliveries of infusion pump devices, distributing a plurality of infusion pump devices from the pharmacy inventory to the individual user while contemporaneously distributing insulin from the pharmacy inventory.

“In certain embodiments, a method of providing an insulin infusion pump system can include selecting a predetermined ratio of disposable and non-reusable infusion pump devices to insulin cartridges that are operable to be received in the infusion pump devices. The predetermined ratio may one infusion pump device to one insulin cartridge. The method may also include arranging disposable pump devices and insulin cartridges into a package according to the predetermined ratio. The method may further include providing the package to a requestor in response to a request.

“In some embodiments, a method providing an insulin infusion pump system may include obtaining a disposable and non-reusable infusion pump device, an insulin cartridge containing insulin, and at least one infusion set device operable to penetrate into skin. The method may also include arranging the disposable pump device, the insulin cartridge, and the at least one infusion set device into a single package. The method may further include providing the single package to a requestor in response to a request for at least the pump device.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. An insulin infusion kit, the kit comprising: a container; a plurality of infusion pump devices disposed within the container; a plurality of insulin retention containers disposed within the container, wherein each of the insulin containers is configured to be irreversibly positioned within one of the infusion pump devices; and a plurality of infusion sets disposed within the container.

“2. The kit of claim 1, wherein the insulin retention containers are external to the infusion pump devices within the container.

“3. The kit of claim 1, wherein the insulin retention containers are physically separated from the infusion pump devices within the container.

“4. The kit of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of infusion pump devices comprises a disposable and non-reusable infusion pump device.

“5. The kit of claim 4, wherein each of the insulin retention containers comprises a prefilled insulin cartridge sealed by a pierceable septum.

“6. The kit of claim 5, wherein each of the infusion pump devices includes a cap device configured to seal an external opening of a respective infusion pump device and configured to pierce the septum of a respective prefilled insulin cartridge after the respective prefilled insulin cartridge is slidably inserted through an external opening of the respective infusion pump device.

“7. The kit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of infusion sets are disposed within a first compartment within the container and the infusion pump devices are disposed within a second compartment within the container, the first compartment being distinct from the second compartment.

“8. The kit of claim 1, wherein each of the infusion pump devices in the plurality of infusion pump devices is configured to removably attach to a reusable controller device such that a first electrical connector exposed along an exterior of a selected infusion pump device engages a second electrical connector exposed along an exterior of the reusable controller device.

“9. The kit of claim 1, wherein the container contains the infusion pump devices, the insulin retention containers, and the infusion sets in a predetermined ratio of 1:1:2 respectively.

“10. The kit of claim 1, wherein each of the infusion pump devices in said plurality of infusion pump devices includes a drive system comprising a rotational motor coupled to a gear system.

“11. The kit of claim 10, wherein the drive system is configured to dispense medicine from a corresponding one of said insulin retention containers.

“12. The kit of claim 1, further comprising: a sealed pouch disposed within the container, wherein the plurality of infusion sets are arranged within the sealed pouch.

“13. A kit for administering medicine, the kit comprising: a plurality of infusion pump devices; a plurality of insulin retention containers, wherein each of the insulin containers is configured to be irreversibly positioned within one of the infusion pump devices; and a plurality of infusion sets disposed within a container.

“14. The kit of claim 13, wherein each of the insulin retention containers is sealed by a pierceable septum and wherein the insulin retention containers are external to the infusion pump devices; and wherein each of the infusion pump devices includes a cap device configured to seal an external opening of a respective infusion pump device and configured to pierce the septum of a respective insulin retention container after the respective insulin retention container is slidably inserted through an external opening of the respective infusion pump device.

“15. The kit of claim 13, wherein the container contains the infusion pump devices, the insulin retention containers, and the infusion sets in a predetermined ratio of 1:1:2 respectively.

“16. A method of providing an insulin infusion pump system, comprising: arranging a plurality of disposable and non-reusable infusion pump devices, a plurality of insulin retention containers, and a plurality of infusion sets into a package according to a predetermined ratio of one infusion pump device to one insulin retention container to two infusion sets, each of the insulin retention containers configured to retain fluid insulin that may be dispensed through a respective infusion pump device of the plurality of infusion pump devices in response to activation of a drive system of the respective infusion pump device, wherein each of the disposable and non-reusable infusion pump devices is configured to irreversibly receive one of the insulin retention containers; and providing the package containing the predetermined ratio of the disposable and non-reusable infusion pump devices, the insulin retention containers, and the infusion sets to a requester in response to a request.

“17. The method of claim 16, wherein each of the infusion pump devices is configured to removably attach to a reusable controller device.

“18. The method of claim 16, wherein each of the insulin retention containers is sealed by a pierceable septum and wherein the insulin retention containers are external to the infusion pump devices when the infusion pump devices are arranged into the package; and wherein each of the infusion pump devices includes a cap device configured to seal an external opening of a respective infusion pump device and configured to pierce the septum of a respective insulin retention container when the respective insulin retention container is retained by the respective infusion pump device.

“19. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of infusion sets are arranged within a sealed pouch within the package when the package is presented to the requester.

“20. The method of claim 16, wherein the insulin retention containers are external to the infusion pump devices within the package when the package is presented to the requester.”

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Estes, Mark C. Distribution of infusion pumps. U.S. Patent Number 11386482, filed March 18, 2020, and published online on July 12, 2022. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=11386482.PN.&OS=PN/11386482RS=PN/11386482

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