Ventilated dissection table

Abstract

Applicant's invention defines a ventilated dissection table having an air chamber atop a pedestal. Said air chamber comprises a support structure for a removable stainless steel work surface positioned at an optimal distance below an air inlet, said air inlet having a negative pressure created by a blower attached to an exhaust duct which draws undesirable noxious fumes from said air inlet through said chamber past a screen into a plenum and out the exhaust. The positioning of said work surface to air inlet provides improved capture performance. Primary and secondary drains are provided for the removal of fluids generated by the dissection process, as well as the facilitation of basic cleaning. The table is made of stainless steel to aid cleaning and is sized for ease of transfer and mobility via size and weight.

Description

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENTAL ASSISTANCE [0001] Applicant hereby represents that no part of the subject invention or application has come about with the assistance of government funds or by virtue of a government program.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to the field of dissection tables. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] In the fields of education, particularly education of medical students of human anatomy, there is a need to use an apparatus which allows the convenient dissection of a human body or cadaver. The need for safety is not so much with respect to the use of surgical instruments, but instead refers to the need to evacuate noxious fumes from the work area which abound due to the use of formaldehyde and other preservative agents in the embalming of cadavers. [0004] Previous to applicant's invention, dissection tables known to be in service require a significant amount of air movement in order to evacuate the aforementioned fumes. In some cases these...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] It is an object of applicant's ventilated dissection table to evacuate an optimum amount of air to remove noxious fumes thereby reducing several cost components: the size of ducting required; the rating of the blower or fan; and the resulting amount of conditioned make-up air and the associated energy cost to produce it. Applicant has found that by lowering the dissection table work surface to a position lower than the air chamber intake, that an improved “capture rate” of the table can be achieved. Instead of requiring between 2000 cfm to 2500 cfm of conditioned exhaust air, adequate capture performance can be achieved at around half, or 1200 cfm. The resulting reduction in exhaust air and conditioned air make-up constitutes a direct energy savings for the user.

[0010] Further, by reducing the amount of air movement, the associated ducting for make-up air and exhaust can be sized smaller, having a further cost benefit associated therewith.

[0011] Applicant has provided a removable stainless steel work surface fashioned from 304 stainless steel. Stainless steel has desirable strength to weight and thickness ratios allowing it to be fabricated at reasonable cost, and affording the user a surgical grade surface which can be readily removed for cleaning with little effort.

[0013] The pedestal serves to provide basic support for the air chamber which sits atop a “close-off” plate, houses the exhaust access and plenum, and a frame which can be fitted with casters for easy movement of the table. In the preferred embodiment, the air chamber, the pedestal and the work surface are all of the same material, 304 stainless steel. In the preferred embodiment, the air chamber and pedestal are typically fashioned from 16 gage stainless steel. Other equivalent materials may be used, such as galvanized, corrosion resistant carbon steel, or aluminum having had a suitable coating applied. In the preferred embodiment, the use of 304 stainless allows for the easy bending, cutting and welding of the material to fashion the various structural components.

[0014] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a relatively portable, or mobile dissection table. By making the overall size of the table 33 inches wide, and 84 inches long, the unit is long enough to accommodate a male cadaver, yet is narrow enough to allow the table to be moved through a standard 36″ doorway. By further employing optional industrial grade casters with non-marring wheels, a user may re-configure his classroom or transport the dissection table to where it is needed with relatively little effort. Applicant has further provided that the air chamber may be disassembled from the pedestal for ease of shipping or storage.

Problems solved by technology

Consequently, the amount of air moved in order to evacuate unwanted fumes has a cost component associated with it in terms of energy consumption, as conditioned air is typically chilled, and a fixed cost component as the make-up air must be routed to the location of the table via sufficient ducting, and a final associated cost component in terms of a blower or fan rated sufficient to move the air.

Naturally, as a medical class progresses in its utilization of a human cadaver, there is an increasing risk to students of exposure to elevated levels of noxious fumes given off by the cadaver.

Images