Patent Application
20190209110
The present disclosure is directed to a protective barrier or cover for x-ray cassettes.
X-ray cassettes are rigid holders for holding x-ray film systems and intensifying screens and for protecting them prior to and during use. Most x-ray cassettes are rectangular in shape, although they might be, in some forms, curved depending on the particular use case. Still further, many newer x-ray cassettes may be designed to incorporate digital imaging elements rather than traditional film elements, may incorporate wireless functionality, and may be portable for easy handling.
In many use cases, the x-ray cassettes are used for bedside x-rays when the patient may lack mobility. Bedside x-rays can require that the x-ray cassette be placed underneath the patient prior to imaging. With this placement, the x-ray cassette could potentially be exposed to contamination and/or bodily fluids which could damage and/or contaminate the x-ray cassettes. Still further, if the x-ray cassette becomes contaminated, then it could potentially serve to expose a subsequent patient using that x-ray cartridge to contamination from an earlier patient.
To avoid contamination concerns, protective covers have been designed to go over x-ray cassettes. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,961,502 and 3,829,699 describe such protective devices. However, such protective devices are rigid, costly, and non-disposable, so they have to be properly cleaned between uses. U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,535 describes a plastic, flexible enclosure for x-ray cassette holders. However, the cassette covers disclosed in that patent are sterile, and therefore expensive, and further still utilize an adhesive closure making them difficult to manage by a gloved technician. Highly sterile covers are not necessary for bedside patient x-rays because the environment around the patient typically does not require that level of cleanliness and it is only cross-contamination that may sought to be avoided.
Disclosed herein is a flexible, radiolucent protective barrier for mobile x-ray cassettes which is efficient to use due to the incorporation of a zip-lock closure mechanism that allows easy opening and closure of the opening of the cover. Moreover, the material of the cover can be a material which can be relatively flexible and slippery (which makes loading and unloading the cassette into the cover easy to perform), which can aid in limiting cross-contamination, and which does not meaningfully interfere with the production of a radiograph image when the x-ray cassette is in use.
According to one aspect, a method of covering an x-ray cassette is disclosed. An x-ray cassette is placed into an interior volume of a cover in which the cover includes a bag made of radiolucent material defining an interior volume sized and shaped to receive the x-ray cassette and a selectively sealable opening. A zip-lock is present at the selectively sealable opening with an interlocking groove and ridge that form a tight seal when pressed together. The cover with the x-ray cassette received therein is then sealed by pressing the interlocking groove and ridge of the zip-lock together.
In some forms, the method may further include the steps of placing the cover and x-ray cassette underneath a patient after the x-ray cassette is sealed in the cover and removing the cover and x-ray cassette from underneath the patient after imaging. After the cover and x-ray cassette are removed from underneath the patient, the x-ray cassette may be removed from the cover and the cover may be disposed of.
According to another aspect, a sanitation system for an x-ray cassette is provided. The sanitation system includes an x-ray cassette and a cover. The cover is a bag made of radiolucent material defining an interior volume sized and shaped to receive the x-ray cassette and includes a selectively sealable opening. A zip-lock is present at the selectively sealable opening with an interlocking groove and ridge that form a tight seal when pressed together.
According to still another aspect, the x-ray cassette cover described above is provided apart from the x-ray cassette.
In some forms of the method, system, or cover, the cover may be disposable after a single use (i.e., not reused in subsequent imaging operations, especially across multiple patients).
In some forms of the method, system, or cover, the radiolucent material may be high-density polyethylene and/or the radiolucent material may be formed to a thickness that is an effective viral barrier.
In some forms of the method, system, or cover, the bag may be quadrilateral in shape with one edge of the quadrilateral being the selectively sealable opening with the zip-lock. Still further, such quadrilateral may be rectangular in shape. For example, the bag may be sized and shaped to receive an x-ray cassette having length and width dimensions selected from the group consisting of 14 inches by 17 inches, 14 inches by 14 inches, 6 inches by 12 inches, 14 inches by 33 inches, and 14 inches by 49 inches.
These and still other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings. What follows is merely a description of some preferred embodiments of the present invention. To assess the full scope of the invention, the claims should be looked to as these preferred embodiments are not intended to be the only embodiments within the scope of the claims.
An x-ray cassette is a light-tight container in which x-ray films are placed for exposure to ionizing radiation and can be backed by lead to eliminate the effects of back scatter radiation. In medicine, “radiolucent” characterizes something that allows passage of x-rays or other radiation.
The bag 14 shown in
With respect to the bag 14 having a quadrilateral shape as shown in
Referring further to
Starting from an uncovered x-ray cassette 12, a method of covering an x-ray cassette 12 using a cover 10 is now described as well as the subsequent use of the covered cassette.
To place the x-ray cassette 12 in the cover 10, the opening 18 of the cover 10 is first opened, if necessary. As noted above, the zip-lock 20 serves to open or seal the opening 18 and so this zip-lock 20 must be opened (if not already opened) by separating the interlocking groove and ridges from one another. With the interior volume 16 of the bag 14 being now accessible via the opening 18, the x-ray cassette 12 is placed into the corresponding interior volume 16 of the bag 14 of the x-ray cassette cover 10. Once the x-ray cassette 12 is fully received within the cover 10, the cover 10 is then sealed by closing the zip-lock 20 by pressing the interlocking groove and ridge together.
With the x-ray cassette 12 received in a cover 10 beneath the patient, an x-ray technician or other healthcare provider operates an x-ray machine so that the x-ray image is captured on or using the x-ray cassette 12. The x-ray cassette 12 can then be removed from underneath the patient and the x-ray cassette 12 removed from the cover 10, resulting in the x-ray cassette 12 remaining free from patient contaminants during use, including contaminates such as fluids or other particulates that might otherwise come into contact with the x-ray cassette 12 without the use of the x-ray cassette cover 10. The cover 10 can be disposed (most likely after a single use), depending on the required conditions dictated by the healthcare provider, the type of media in the x-ray cassette, and whether subsequent images are taken of the same or a different patient.
The preceding disclosure is not meant to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the invention to the form factors or use cases disclosed, but rather serve to illustrate and describe preferred embodiments. Other embodiments within the principles and practices of the preceding disclosure may be apparent to those skilled in the art. All suitable modifications and equivalents falling within the scope of the invention may be implemented.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/614,556 entitled “Zip Top Cassette Cover” filed on Jan. 8, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62614556 | Jan 2018 | US |
