Patent Application
20120234781
The invention relates generally to instrument tray systems for holding surgical instruments during collection, transportation, washing, sterilization, and counting procedures. Specifically, the invention relates to devices for spreading and holding the handles of ringed instruments apart in such instrument tray systems.
Hospitals and other surgical units use a wide variety of surgical instruments. Properly managing these instruments is an important responsibility of any surgical staff. The instruments require collection, effective washing and sterilization, storage, transportation to and from points of use, and organized presentation for ready use during surgical procedures. Any one of these tasks can be cumbersome or time consuming. Hence, surgical staffs are often looking for ways to improve their efficiency and effectiveness when attending to these tasks.
In one aspect, the invention features a tray system comprising a tray having a top surface and a plurality of wells arranged side-by-side. Each well is adapted to receive an end portion of a ringed instrument and to hold the ringed instrument in an on-edge fashion on the top surface of the tray. The tray system further comprises a removable instrument roll supported by the tray and fully detachable and removable from the tray. The removable instrument roll is disposed above the plurality of wells when supported by the tray. The removable instrument roll has opposing spatially separated endplates and one or more cross members, each cross member connected to both endplates. At least one cross member is adapted to engage a handle of each ringed instrument disposed in one of the wells and to spread that ringed instrument into an open position when the tray supports the instrument roll.
In one aspect, the invention features a fully detachable instrument roll comprising a pair of opposing spatially separated endplates adapted to detachably and removably couple to a ringed-instrument carrying tray. The instrument roll further comprises means, connected to both endplates, for engaging a handle of a two-handled ringed instrument and spreading that ringed instrument into an open position when the endplates are connected to the tray.
The above and further advantages of this invention may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals indicate like structural elements and features in various figures. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.
Devices described herein facilitate the sterilization and use of surgical instruments, the kinds used by surgeons and dentists in hospitals, surgical units, and dental facilities. In particular, the devices cooperate with a multipurpose surgical instrument tray to hold one or more ringed instruments in an open position for the sterilization process. Examples of ringed instruments include, but are not limited to, clamps, forceps, scissors, shears, and tongs. Each ringed instrument is generally a hand-operated tool with a pair of blades and ringed handles attached at a pivot. For some ringed instruments, the ringed handles may not be full rings, but arcuate shapes that accommodate a person's finger. Such instruments are intended to be encompassed by the general term ringed instrument. When in an open position, the blades (i.e., functional end) of the ringed instrument are apart, exposing more surface area of each blade than would be if otherwise closed, and thereby advancing sterilization.
In brief overview, the devices have opposing, spatially separated endplates adapted for connecting the device to the instrument tray. Such a connection is detachable, and the device can be fully separated from the instrument tray. This detachability facilitates the washing and sterilizing of the device separately from the instrument tray and instruments, should the need arise. The devices are made of an endurable material capable of withstanding sterilization environments (e.g., autoclaves). Examples of such materials include, but are not limited to, metals (e.g., aluminum), metal alloys (e.g., stainless steel), and various plastics.
In one embodiment, the devices have multiple rigid rods or bars, each rod connected at both of its ends to these endplates. Advantageously, a rod can provide a “lip” over which a ring of an instrument handle can hang, which helps hold the ringed instrument in place. In addition, the rods can be equidistant from each other, for example, each rod connecting corresponding corners of the two endplates, such that the device is symmetric, having an appearance of open-sided box, each rod defining an edge of the box. These equidistant rods make use of the device intuitive, allowing the user to place the device on the tray in any of the four possible positions, because any two rods can face the ringed instruments when the device slid between the handles of the ringed instruments and connected to the tray. In addition, rods, in contrast to solid or perforated sidewalls, are more favorable to the sterilization process, posing less obstruction to the passage of steam used to sterilize the ringed instruments.
Other embodiments of the instrument roll can be fashioned. For example, instead of rods 16, a rectangular box with four solid or perforated sides can be used to separate the handles of ringed instruments. As other examples, an instrument roll with only one or two horizontal rods, such as 16-1 and/or 16-2, can be sufficient to spread the handles. As still another example, a one-sided box (i.e., one solid perforated side separating the two end plates 12) can operate as the means for keeping the ringed instruments open. Further, the principles described herein can extend to instrument rolls of other shapes, for example, cylindrical and triangular.
At opposite ends of the set of wells 28 are two slots 32-1, 32-2 (generally, 32). The distance separating the slots 32 is equal to the distance separating the endplates 12-1, 12-2 of the instrument roll 10. Each slot 32 receives an edge of one of the two endplates 12 of the instrument roll; the instrument roll “plugs into” the slots on the tray. The instrument roll sits within these slots, with gravity assisting to keep the instrument roll connected in place to the tray. In one embodiment, the lower rods (in
During use of the tray 20, each ringed instrument is placed on end or perpendicularly onto the top surface 36 of the major portion 24A of the tray 20, with its ringed end entering a well 28. With the tray populated with ringed instruments, the instrument roll 10 is placed behind the row of handles and slid forward of the tabs 34 far enough to spread the handles of the ringed instruments and for its plates 12 to be inserted into the slots 32.
The bundle box 50 has perforated sides 52 and cover 54 to allow steam to penetrate and to facilitate drying.
Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular, feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the teaching. References to a particular embodiment within the specification do not all necessarily refer to the same embodiment.
While the invention has been shown and described with reference to specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 61/453,310, filed on Mar. 16, 2011, titled “Bundle Box and Instrument Roll,” the entirety of which application is incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61453310 | Mar 2011 | US |
