Patent Application
20230095562
The present invention relates to urine collection specimen cups, and more particularly to a specimen collection receptacle including an absorbent material for solidifying a fluid specimen remaining in the collection cup in anticipation of disposal as standard waste, and not Regulated Medical Waste which is more expensive.
Urine collection specimen cups and other like devices designed as closed systems benefit healthcare workers by reducing exposure to potentially hazardous specimens. These closed system products allow healthcare workers and lab technicians to collect and transfer urine specimens in a safe and efficient manner. The natural tendency of the end-user, after extracting a specimen from the cup, is to discard the cup and remaining contents into a trash receptacle for final disposal. This disposal method, however, is not proper. Because of the potential for exposure to exposed needles and free flowing liquids these specimen cups must be disposed of as Regulated Medical Waste in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Medical Waste Management Act. To properly dispose of a specimen cup, consideration must be given to three categories of concern: safety, regulatory and sanitation.
Closed system specimen collection cup assemblies may include an exposed needle (“sharp”) arranged in the lid and configured for drawing fluid out of the cup. The exposed sharp presents a hazard to technicians and anyone else handling the cup during transport and disposal as waste. The sharp could puncture the handler's skin causing injury and/or exposure to a potentially harmful pathogen. To this end, many states require removal and placement of the lid into a sharps container for disposal. Where not required by law, manufacturers often recommend the practice.
After removing the lid, any fluid remaining in the cup is discarded, preferably into a sink or toilet. Splash effects from dumping cup contents defeats the purpose of a closed system and exposes technicians to the potentially hazardous specimens. After the fluid is discarded, the cup, with any remaining residue, is placed into the trash, exposing trash handlers to the same hazards.
An alternative disposal method involves placing the entire specimen cup, including any remaining fluids, directly into a sharps container. Placement of the entire specimen cup and any quantity of free-flowing liquids into a sharps container, however, violates the U.S. Department of Transportation's prohibition against the disposal of free-flowing liquids into containers of regulated medical waste. The regulations do, however, permit specimen cup disposal in sharps containers if liquids are solidified or if enough absorbent is placed into the sharps container to solidify any and all liquids contained therein. To solidify the liquid in a specimen cup, the lid is removed and absorbent material is added. This action defeats the intended purpose of the closed system design by exposing technicians to potentially hazardous specimens. In another drawback, technicians must determine not only the volume of liquid in the sharps container, but also the quantity of absorbent necessary to solidify any and all liquids. Furthermore, if a spill does occur, there is no guarantee that the absorbent and liquid will come into contact. Hazards associated with spill clean-up are therefore increased.
Urine collection specimen cups and other closed systems were designed to assist healthcare facilities and laboratories with maintaining sanitary conditions, including control of infection rates and contamination. When dealing with specimen liquids, the best practice is to eliminate the risk of contamination or spill as soon as possible by dumping or solidifying the remaining liquid specimen soon after obtaining a specimen sample. Either of these functions requires removal of the lid, increasing the risk of exposure to technicians and facility environments. Such practices defeat the closed system approach. When dumping liquid specimens, there is a risk that technicians and surrounding areas will be splashed. To reduce contamination, any splash should be cleaned up immediately. If liquids are solidified, technicians can underestimate the quantity of absorbent material necessary to solidify waste specimens. Adding more absorbent material than necessary can create an overflow situation requiring immediate clean up. Odor is also an issue. If the cups are not properly rinsed prior to disposal, residue within in the cups will permeate the environment with strong odors.
The present disclosure was developed to overcome these and other drawbacks of prior specimen cup assemblies by providing a closed system specimen collection receptacle designed to address all safety, regulatory and sanitary concerns associated with disposal following sample extraction. The specimen collection receptacle includes a cup containing a chamber and an open end and a lid for connection with the cup open end to close the cup chamber. A specimen collection needle is connected with the lid and configured for extracting, a sample from the cup chamber. The needle extends into the cup chamber when the lid is connected with the cup. A closure is retained on an upper surface of the lid and is configured for rotational movement relative to the lid between open and closed positions. The closure affords access to the needle when the closure is in the open position and prevents access to the needle when the closure is in the closed position.
A reservoir is connected with the closure and arranged below a lower surface of the lid. The reservoir contains a chamber configured for storing a quantity of an absorbent material separate from the cup chamber until ready for use. More particularly, when the closure is in the open position, the reservoir chamber is closed by a projection extending from a bottom surface of the lid. When the closure is rotated to the closed position, the reservoir is rotated away the lid projection to open the reservoir for communication with the cup chamber to release the absorbent material from the reservoir chamber into the cup chamber to solidify any liquid within the cup chamber. The specimen collection receptacle with the solidified liquid material may then be disposed of as standard waste as opposed to regulated medical waste.
The act of “closing” the invention therefor satisfies both environmental (US Environmental Protection Agency) and safety (US department of Transportation) regulations thereby rendering the entire device safe to discard as standard waste.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a study of the following disclosure when viewed in the light of the accompanying drawing, in which:
The specimen collection receptacle 2 illustrated in
As shown in
The lid 12 contains a through opening 22 configured for receiving an exposed specimen collection needle 24. The needle 24 extends into the cup chamber 6 when the lid is connected with the cup. The opening in the lid allows a technician to connect a syringe (now shown) with the needle.
An upper surface 25 of the lid 12 includes a recess 26 configured for receiving a closure 28. More particularly, an annular channel 32 is provided around the recess with the closure being arranged in the channel on an upper surface of the lid in a snap fit configuration for rotation relative to the lid between open and closed positions. More particularly, the closure includes a cut-out or recess 34 in an outer edge configured to correspond with the opening 22 in the lid above the needle 24. The open position of the closure is shown in
The lid 12 further includes a central through opening 36. The through opening 36 communicates with a cylindrical keyway 38 defined by a wall 40 extending downwardly from a lower surface 42 of the lid 12 as shown in
The reservoir 46: includes a bottom wall 60 and a plurality of side walls 62, 64, 66 to define a chamber 68 having an opening 70 as shown in
A lower surface 42 of the lid 12 includes a plurality of walls extending downwardly therefrom. One downwardly extending wall 82 cooperates with reservoir 46 to close the reservoir chamber opening 70 as shown in
Another wall 84 extending downwardly from the lid acts as a stop to restrict the range of rotational movement of the closure 28 (
While the preferred forms and embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without deviating from the inventive concepts set forth above.
