Patent Application
20140299739
Not applicable.
The present disclosure relates generally to accessing certain medical instruments during the course of surgery and more particularly to a unique personal magnetic surgical instrument system therefor.
During standard surgical procedures, access to surgical instrumentation is vitally important. Accessibility to these instruments however, is dependent on multiple factors that are often out of the control of the individual in need of them (referred to here as the “operator”—which may be the surgeon, resident, physician assistant, or any other person participating in the procedure). The experience of the instrument assistant (e.g., scrub technician), the level of case complexity, clutter on the surgical field, the number of people asking for items simultaneously, and distractions within the operating theater (e.g., conversation, music, monitors, phone calls) are only a few such examples. As such, the operator often will maintain increased control over his/her instrument(s), especially if frequent or immediate access is necessary. Many times, the operator simply has a “favorite” instrument that he/she relies on and he/she wants to know exactly where it is at all times. To do this, the operator may simply hold it in his/her hand while simultaneous using another instrument or tuck it in the fold of a surgical drape.
Various devices and methods have been designed to facilitate instrument handling and accessibility. For example, various pouches and straps have been designed, which may be attached to any available sterile surface such as, for example, the drapes or the operators own gown. Instrument receptacles (e.g., magnetic drape) have also been used in an attempt to keep instruments more readily available. Unfortunately, all of these are suboptimal solutions to the operator's needs. The magnetic drape for instance (DEVON™ hands free transfer magnetic drape, Covidien AG) is a stationary item that attempts to prevent lateral movement of instruments that are kept available on the sterile field. However, the instruments are frequently out of the immediate reach of the operator and still are typically passed from the instrument assistant to the operator when they are needed. Such drape also is intended for general use or a shared space, not individualized. The limitations of the surgical instrument storage pack in U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,875, which seeks to make instruments available in a pouch adhered to the operators gown, include that removal of an instrument from the depth of a pouch cannot always be done blindly or safely. The position of an instrument within the pouch also is not fixed, especially when more than one instrument is inside.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,658 discloses a receiver for surgical implements which includes a backing sheet of porous foamed elastomeric material on which is placed a plurality of magnetic bars covered by a vacuum formed cover sheet conforming closely to the magnets and adhering to the backing sheet there between. The magnet bars providing raised upper surfaces to provide improved access to surgical implements for removal if desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,546,643 discloses a magnetized pad for supporting surgical instruments during an operation comprising a plastic mat in which a number of magnets are embedded, and a sheath of plastic material extending about the surface of the mat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,059 discloses a magnetic tool holder comprising: a generally rectangular main body of flexible material, an apron portion disposed beneath said two upper areas, and at least two sets of a like plurality of magnetic bars.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,508 discloses a utility wristband comprising: an elongated flexible band sized in length to wrap around the wrist of a carpenter or like tradesperson, and a plurality of elongated magnetic bars held in spaced substantially parallel transverse relation one to another for holding nails, nuts, bolts, screws, and the like. Such a device clearly would not translate into the surgical setting due to the inherent multiple risks associated with arm mobility (e.g., poor visibility of objects at all times, easily dislodged items, injury to oneself or others, adherence of unwanted objects or instruments, risk of misplacing small items within the patient, etc.
U.S. Published Application No. 2013/0199544 discloses a magnetic drape comprising: a drape body made of a flexible material with magnet units comprising a shielding material in the shape of a cup oriented to have a bottom wall facing toward the undersurface of the drape body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,311 discloses an apparatus for retaining surgical instruments adjacent a surgical field, comprising: a drape having a top surface on which surgical instruments are rested and a bottom surface which lays on a patient and a plurality of instrument retaining magnets secured to said drape.
Despite these proposals, a clear need remains in the art for a surgical instrument storage device that will facilitate instrument control and retrieval by the surgeon or operator, free the surgical assistant from excessive instrument handling tasks, and reduce clutter and confusion in the surgical theater.
It is to solving such drawbacks that the present disclosure is addressed.
Disclosed is a device to which medical instruments may be removably attached in an operating setting. Such device includes a landing pad attachable to a surgical gown about the region of the mid-chest of a person wearing the surgical gown and a magnet attached to the landing pad. Medical instruments are removably attached to the magnet for use by an operator in a surgical setting.
The corresponding use of the disclosed device is to provide the device and affix one or more medical instruments to the magnet whereby the operator can access the one or more medical instruments in the operating setting.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the present method and process, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The drawings will be described in greater detail below.
The disclosed personal magnetic surgical instrument system is a novel surgical instrument device designed to increase the autonomy of the operator by allowing for safe, immediate, and repetitive access to surgical instrumentation. It is comprised of an optional tactile landing zone material, ideally situated somewhere between the abdomen and the chest of the user or operator with a centrally located magnet(s) upon which a surgical instrument can be temporarily placed.
An additional benefit of the disclosed system is the reduction of misplaced or lost instruments. Also, the need for immediate access to instruments in emergencies or when time is critical to the health of the patient. The landing pad may be omitted in some versions of the disclosed personal magnetic surgical instrument system, as well as the use of multiple landing pads.
A variety of (preferably, non-sharp) common instruments for use with the disclosed personal magnetic surgical instrument system typically will weigh between about 0.7 ounce (19 g) and about 2.7 ounces (76 g). The weights of the instruments that the disclosed personal magnetic surgical instrument system will reliably hold depend upon the strength and number (perhaps, placement) of magnets carried by the personal magnetic surgical instrument system. Typical of those instruments for use with the disclosed personal magnetic surgical instrument system include, for example, Adson forceps, Debakey forceps, Brown forceps, Gerald forceps, Russian forceps, hemostat clamp, mosquito clamp, Kelly clamp, right angle clamp, Freer elevator, Army Navy retractor, metal suction tool, and manual clip applier.
The landing pad may be constructed of a flexible, durable, sterilizable textile material that may be an organic or synthetic fabric, or any other material compatible with the construction and use of the personal magnetic surgical instrument system disclosed herein. Exemplary materials include, for example, woven and non-woven fabrics that optionally may be treated for water resistance or waterproofing. Synthetic textile materials that are heat resistant and otherwise suited for sterilizing and use in the surgical theater include, for example, thermoplastic polymeric yarns, for example nylons, polyesters, PEEK (polyether ether ketone), EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate), silicones, PTFE, FEP, PET/PBT, acetals, PA, PC, and others. Some fabrics include “plastic memory”, which is used to describe textile materials that can be stretched and heated repeatedly and which retain their original shape thereafter (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,899, issued to Brenner et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,782, issued to Ueno; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,121, issued to Kramer et al., each incorporated herein by reference.
Suitable materials may need to be suitable for gas sterilization using, for example, ethylene oxide (EO) gas, radiation, or steam. Such materials are well known in this art field and can be found, for example in “Zeus Technical Whitepaper Sterilization of Plastics, Zeus Industrial Products, Inc., 2005, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
While the magnets may be made of ferrous materials, the weight of such magnets may make them impractical. Lightweight magnets may be useful for use in making the disclosed personal magnetic surgical instrument system. Rare earth metal and ceramic magnets are relatively lightweight. For example, Neodymium magnets are relatively light in weight and are suitable use in present contexts. The diameter of such Neodymium magnets may range from about 1″ to about 2″. Thicknesses of about 1/16″ to about ⅛″ may be suitable for such magnets. It should be recognized, however, that small and larger diameters, as well as thinner and thicker magnets, might find use in present contexts, so long as they suitably retain the surgical instruments of interest and are not too heavy for the user. The shape of the magnets also is not a limitation. Moreover, two or more magnets may be place in a suitable pattern to retain a single instrument.
The disclosed personal magnetic surgical instrument system suitably may be disposable, which is a factor in deciding the materials of construction. The disclosed personal magnetic surgical instrument system also may be reusable, which once again may be a factor in deciding materials of construction.
While non-sharp instruments are preferred, the landing pad may be made from a protective barrier material, such as, for example, Kevlar (an aramide of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, DE), and be sufficiently puncture resistant to protect the operator. Of course, the operator needs to be quite careful in accessing such sharp medical instruments so that a hand or body injury does not occur.
It may be advantageous to coat the magnet with a polymeric material making it somewhat cushioned without sacrificing much, if any, of the strength of the magnetic material. Such coating will prevent the magnet from becoming damaged and may provide better adherence of the instrument(s) to the magnet(s), i.e., non-slip. Suitable sterilizable materials may be used, as described herein.
Referring initially to the prior art green hands free transfer magnetic drape of FIG. 1, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,484,494, 3,546,643, 3,654,047, 3,727,658, and 4,944,311; and U.S. Publications Nos. 2000/0485262004/0118410, and 2013/0199544, each depict a variation of such magnetic drapes for surgical instruments, which the disclosed personal magnetic surgical instrument system improves upon. In particular, a planar substrate, 10, retains a plurality of magnets, such as typified by a magnet, 12, and a tray, 14. Magnet 12 and other similar magnets retain a surgical clamp, 16, while tray 14, retains pickups, 18. Planar substrate 10 is placed on the patient in the operating room (“OR”) with a variety of surgical instruments placed thereon for use by the operator during surgery. The limitations on such a system have been noted above.
In
Referring now to
Two different size rectangular magnet assemblies, 42 and 44, are shown in
Referring now to
While the device and method have been described with reference to various embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope and essence of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. In this application all units are in the metric system and all amounts and percentages are by weight, unless otherwise expressly indicated. Also, all citations referred herein are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
This application claims benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 61/809,459 filed Apr. 8, 2013.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61809459 | Apr 2013 | US |
