Hospital Surgical Instrument Management System and Method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a hospital surgical instrument management system and method. The hospital surgical instrument management system of the present invention can automatically manage the confirmation and quantity check of surgical instruments before they are stored in the hospital's storage and prepared for shipment according to the surgical instrument request information, the standby processing for shipment, and all the histories of the surgical instruments that have been shipped to hospital departments or operating rooms and used in surgeries.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a surgical instrument management system and operation method for a hospital. More specifically, it relates to a surgical instrument management system and method for a hospital that can automatically manage all the histories of surgical instruments used in the hospital, including their storage in and withdrawal from the storage location and use in surgeries.

Background Art

[0002] Surgery is an act of incising, cutting, and suturing human tissues using surgical instruments. In a normal medical system, a doctor prescribes the instruments to be used in surgery by handwritten notes, and the handwritten surgical instruments are prepared by nurses before surgery. However, in a medical system where surgical instruments are prescribed by handwritten notes, there are problems that mistakes and omissions are likely to occur in the process of medical staff preparing surgical instruments. If the surgical instrument set is prepared incorrectly, the surgery may be delayed or various problems may occur due to the omission of surgical instruments during the surgical process.

[0003] Therefore, currently, an EMR (Electronic Medical Record) system has been constructed mainly in general hospitals and university hospitals to store and manage the medical records previously recorded in existing paper documents on computer media in an integrated manner. After the surgery is completed, the instruments used in the surgery are recorded in the EMR system via computer input. In this regard, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0127534 discloses a surgical information management device based on an electronic medical record system and its management method.

[0004] In conventional EMR systems including Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0127534, a selection window or check box for selecting surgical instruments is formed in the window for recording medical records. After the operation, medical staff select the instruments used in the operation through the selection window or check box using a computer mouse or keyboard and save them in the EMR system. However, due to the wide variety of instruments used in operations depending on the type of surgery and procedure, a long time is required in the process of selecting the instruments used in the operation through the selection window or check box, and there are problems such as misrecording and omission

[0005] Especially in surgical operations, different sets of surgical instruments added according to the main set of surgical instruments and the location of the lesion must all be prepared. After a surgical operation, the surgical instruments actually used in the operation are first sorted and recorded by hand, and then secondarily saved in the EMR system. In surgical operations, the types of surgical instruments used are diverse, and problems such as misrecording and omission are more likely to occur. Currently, EMR systems built mainly in general hospitals and university hospitals have problems such as misrecording and omission of surgical instruments as described above. When problems such as misrecording and omission of surgical instruments occur, even if expensive surgical instruments are used, the reward reflection is not fully reflected, and general hospitals and university hospitals have no choice but to bear the losses caused by this

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] The present invention is proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a surgical instrument management system and method for a hospital that can automatically manage all the histories of surgical instruments used in the hospital, including their storage in and withdrawal from the storage, and their use in surgeries.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] A surgical instrument management system for a hospital according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a warehousing processing unit that generates surgical instrument warehousing information including the identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of the surgical instrument when the identification information, name, and quantity of the surgical instrument stored in the hospital warehouse are input, and stores this in a storage unit; a surgical instrument request processing unit that inputs and stores surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, and medical staff information of the surgical instrument transferred from the department terminal or operating room terminal of the hospital in the storage unit, and generates a message that enables the administrator to recognize the arrival of new surgical instrument request information and outputs it to a display unit; a surgical instrument recognition processing unit that extracts an image composed only of surgical instrument identification information from the entire area image of the tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by a first camera are placed, discriminates the identification information of each surgical instrument with the image composed only of the extracted surgical instrument identification information, detects the name of the surgical instrument corresponding to the identification information of each surgical instrument from the storage unit, calculates the quantity of the surgical instruments placed on the tray using the number of the discriminated surgical instrument identification information, determines whether it matches the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the surgical instrument request information, and outputs the result to an audio output unit or a display unit; a surgical instrument cleaning unit that ultrasonically performs primary cleaning on the surgical instruments immersed in a cleaning solution or distilled water, immerses the primarily cleaned surgical instruments in ultrapure water and then performs secondary cleaning using nitrogen, and dries, sterilizes, and disinfects the surgical instruments after the secondary cleaning is completed; a surgical instrument packaging unit that packages the surgical instruments cleaned, dried, sterilized, and disinfected by the surgical instrument cleaning unit into one package; a shipping note processing unit that generates shipping note information that enables people to identify the package and outputs it with a printer; After generating the package image with the shipping information captured by the second camera and the shipping waiting information including the shipping information generated by the shipping processing unit, save it in the storage unit, a shipping waiting processing unit; When the information scanned from the shipping information attached to the package waiting for shipping is input, after generating the surgical instrument shipping information including the shipping date and time, the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the package, save it in the storage unit, a shipping processing unit; It is configured to include an inventory information processing unit that calculates the types and quantities of the surgical instruments currently remaining using the surgical instrument inventory information and the surgical instrument shipping information stored in the storage unit, and then saves this in the storage unit.

[0009] In addition, the surgical instrument request information further includes additional information indicating whether it is an emergency application or a general application. The surgical instrument request processing unit confirms the additional information included in the surgical instrument request information, and when the corresponding surgical instrument request information is an emergency application, further outputs an emergency alarm message that enables the administrator to recognize that the emergency surgical instrument request information has arrived.

[0010] In addition, the shipping processing unit converts the surgical instrument shipping information including the hospital department information or operating room information that requested the surgical instrument, the name and quantity of the surgical instrument, and the shipping date and time into a label sticker output format and outputs it with a printer.

[0011] On the other hand, the surgical instrument management method of a hospital according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: A stage of inputting and saving the surgical instrument inventory information including the identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of the surgical instruments stored in the hospital warehouse; A stage of inputting and saving in the storage unit the surgical instrument request information including the name and quantity of the surgical instruments and the medical staff information transferred from the hospital department terminal or the operating room terminal, and generating and outputting a message that enables the administrator to recognize that new surgical instrument request information has arrived; After extracting an image composed only of surgical instrument identification information from the overall area image of the tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by the first camera are placed, the identification information of each surgical instrument is discriminated in the image composed only of the extracted surgical instrument identification information, and after detecting the name of the surgical instrument corresponding to the identification information of each surgical instrument from the storage unit, calculating the quantity of the surgical instruments placed on the tray using the number of the discriminated surgical instrument identification information; Determining whether the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the surgical instrument request information match the detected name and quantity of the surgical instruments, and outputting the result as sound or on the screen; First cleaning the surgical instruments immersed in a cleaning solution or distilled water with ultrasonic waves, immersing the first-cleaned surgical instruments in ultrapure water, then performing secondary cleaning using nitrogen, and drying, sterilizing, and disinfecting the surgical instruments after the secondary cleaning is completed; Packaging the cleaned, dried, and sterilized and disinfected surgical instruments into one package; Generating shipping information that enables a person to identify the package and outputting this with a printer; After generating a package image with shipping information attached photographed by the second camera and shipping waiting information including the shipping information generated by the shipping processing unit, storing this in the storage unit; When information scanned from the shipping information attached to the package during shipping waiting is input, generating surgical instrument shipping information including the shipping date and time and the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the package, and storing this in the storage unit; Including the step of calculating the types and quantities of the remaining surgical instruments using the surgical instrument incoming information and surgical instrument shipping information stored in the storage unit to generate inventory information, and storing this in the storage unit.

[0012] Also, the step of inputting the surgical instrument request information including the name and quantity of the surgical instruments and the medical staff information transferred from the department terminal or the operating room terminal of the hospital, storing it in the storage unit, and generating and outputting a message that enables the administrator to recognize the arrival of new surgical instrument request information, further includes the step of checking the additional information included in the surgical instrument request information, and when the corresponding surgical instrument request information is an emergency application, outputting an emergency alarm message that enables the administrator to recognize the arrival of the emergency surgical instrument request information.

[0013] Also, the step of generating shipping information that enables a person to identify the packaging and outputting this with a printer is the step of converting the surgical instrument shipping information including the hospital department information or operating room information that requested the surgical instruments, the name and quantity of the surgical instruments, and the shipping date and time into a label sticker output format and outputting it with a printer.

[0014] On the other hand, the surgical instrument management system of a hospital according to another embodiment of the present invention an incoming processing unit that generates surgical instrument incoming information including the identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of the surgical instruments stored in the hospital and stores this in the storage unit; a surgical instrument request processing unit that inputs the surgical instrument request information including the name and quantity of the surgical instruments and the medical staff information transferred from the department terminal or the operating room terminal of the hospital, stores it in the storage unit, and generates and outputs a message to the display unit that enables the administrator to recognize the arrival of new surgical instrument request information; an image composed only of the surgical instrument identification information is extracted from the overall area image of the tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by the first camera are placed, the identification information of each surgical instrument is determined from the image composed only of the extracted surgical instrument identification information, after detecting the name of the surgical instrument corresponding to the identification information of each surgical instrument from the storage unit, the quantity of the surgical instruments placed on the tray is calculated using the number of the determined surgical instrument identification information, and it is determined whether it matches the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the surgical instrument request information, and the result is output to the audio output unit or the display unit; a surgical instrument recognition processing unit; a surgical instrument cleaning unit that stores the cleaning result of the surgical instrument; A surgical instrument packaging unit that stores the packaging result of the surgical instrument; A shipping note processing unit that generates shipping note information for enabling a person to identify the package and outputs this using a printer; An outbound waiting processing unit that generates outbound waiting information including a package image with the shipping note information attached photographed by a second camera and the shipping note information generated by the shipping note processing unit, and then stores this in a storage unit; When information scanned from the shipping note information attached to the package during outbound waiting is input, an outbound processing unit that generates surgical instrument outbound information including the outbound date and time, the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the package, and then stores this in the storage unit; Including an inventory information processing unit that calculates the types and quantities of the remaining surgical instruments using the surgical instrument inbound information and surgical instrument outbound information stored in the storage unit to generate inventory information, and then stores this in the storage unit.

[0015] Further, the surgical instrument request information further includes additional information indicating whether it is an emergency request or a general request, and the surgical instrument request processing unit confirms the additional information included in the surgical instrument request information, and when the corresponding surgical instrument request information is an emergency request, further outputs an emergency alarm message that enables the administrator to recognize that the emergency surgical instrument request information has arrived.

[0016] Further, the shipping note processing unit converts the surgical instrument outbound information including the hospital department information or operating room information that requested the surgical instrument, the name and quantity of the surgical instrument, and the outbound date and time into a label sticker output format and outputs this using a printer.

[0017] On the other hand, a method for managing surgical instruments in a hospital according to another embodiment of the present invention is as follows: A stage of inputting and storing surgical instrument inbound information including the identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of the surgical instruments to be stored in the hospital; A stage of inputting and storing in a storage unit surgical instrument request information including the name and quantity of the surgical instruments and medical staff information transferred from a hospital department terminal or operating room terminal, and generating and outputting a message that enables the administrator to recognize that new surgical instrument request information has arrived; After extracting an image composed only of surgical instrument identification information from the overall area image of the tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by the first camera are placed, determining the identification information of each surgical instrument in the image composed only of the extracted surgical instrument identification information, detecting the name of the surgical instrument corresponding to the identification information of each surgical instrument from the storage unit, and calculating the quantity of the surgical instruments placed on the tray using the number of the determined surgical instrument identification information; Determining whether the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the surgical instrument request information match the detected name and quantity of the surgical instruments, and outputting the result as sound or on the screen; Storing the cleaning result of the surgical instruments; Storing the packaging result of the surgical instruments; Generating shipping note information for enabling a person to identify the packaging, and outputting this with a printer; After generating warehousing standby information including the packaging image with the shipping note information attached photographed by the second camera and the shipping note information generated by the shipping note processing unit, storing this in the storage unit; When information scanned from the shipping note information attached to the packaging during warehousing standby is input, generating surgical instrument warehousing information including the warehousing date and time, the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the packaging, and storing this in the storage unit; Including the step of calculating the types and quantities of the currently remaining surgical instruments using the surgical instrument warehousing information and surgical instrument warehousing information stored in the storage unit to generate inventory information, and storing this in the storage unit.

[0018] In addition, the step of generating and outputting a message for enabling the administrator to recognize that new surgical instrument request information has arrived when surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, and medical staff information of the surgical instruments transferred from the department terminal or operating room terminal of the hospital is input and stored in the storage unit further includes the step of outputting an emergency alarm message for enabling the administrator to recognize that emergency surgical instrument request information has arrived when confirming the additional information included in the surgical instrument request information and the corresponding surgical instrument request information is an emergency application.

[0019] In addition, the step of generating shipping information that enables people to identify the packaging and outputting this with a printer is a step of converting surgical instrument shipping information including hospital department information or operating room information that requested the surgical instruments, the name, quantity, shipping date, and time of the surgical instruments into a label sticker output format and outputting this with a printer.

[0020] On the other hand, a hospital surgical instrument management system according to another embodiment of the present invention an incoming processing unit that generates surgical instrument incoming information including identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of surgical instruments stocked in the hospital and stores this in a storage unit; a surgical instrument request processing unit that inputs surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, and medical staff information of surgical instruments transferred from a hospital department terminal or operating room terminal, stores this in the storage unit, and generates and outputs to a display unit a message that enables an administrator to recognize the arrival of new surgical instrument request information; a surgical instrument recognition processing unit that extracts an image composed only of surgical instrument identification information from an overall area image of a tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by a first camera are placed, discriminates each surgical instrument, and outputs the result to an audio output unit or a display unit; a surgical instrument packaging unit that stores the packaging result of the surgical instrument; a shipping document processing unit that generates shipping information for enabling people to identify the packaging and outputs this with a printer; an outgoing standby processing unit that generates outgoing standby information including a packaging image photographed by a second camera and the shipping information generated by the shipping document processing unit and stores this in the storage unit after generating this; an outgoing processing unit that, when information scanned from the shipping information attached to the packaging during outgoing standby is input, generates surgical instrument outgoing information including the shipping date and time, the name, and the quantity of the surgical instruments included in the packaging and stores this in the storage unit; and includes an inventory information processing unit that calculates the types and quantities of the surgical instruments currently remaining using the surgical instrument incoming information and surgical instrument outgoing information stored in the storage unit, generates inventory information, and stores this in the storage unit.

[0021] In addition, a hospital surgical instrument management method according to another embodiment of the present invention A stage of inputting and storing surgical instrument inventory information including identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of surgical instruments stocked in the hospital; A stage of inputting and storing surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, and medical staff information of surgical instruments transferred from a hospital department terminal or an operating room terminal in a storage unit, and generating and outputting a message so that an administrator can recognize the arrival of new surgical instrument request information; A stage of extracting an image composed only of surgical instrument identification information from an overall area image of a tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by a first camera are placed, discriminating each surgical instrument, and outputting the result to an audio output unit or a display unit; A stage of storing the cleaning result of the surgical instrument; A stage of storing the packaging result of the surgical instrument; A stage of generating shipping note information for enabling a person to identify a package and outputting this with a printer; A stage of generating and storing in a storage unit the shipping note information including a package image photographed by a second camera and the shipping note information generated by the shipping note processing unit after generating the information; When information scanned from the shipping note information attached to the package during the waiting for shipping is input, a stage of generating surgical instrument shipping information including the shipping date and time, the name, and the quantity of the surgical instruments included in the package, and storing this in a storage unit; A stage of calculating the types and quantities of the currently remaining surgical instruments using the surgical instrument inventory information and the surgical instrument shipping information stored in the storage unit to generate inventory information, and storing this in the storage unit is included.

Advantages of the Invention

[0022] According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically manage all histories of surgical instruments used in a hospital from when they are stocked in a hospital storage to when they are prepared for shipping according to surgical instrument request information, the confirmation and quantity check of the surgical instruments before shipping, the waiting for shipping process, and when they are shipped to a hospital department or an operating room and used in surgery.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0024] The advantages, features of the present invention, and the methods for achieving them will become clear by referring to the embodiments described in detail below together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and can be embodied in various different forms. Merely, these embodiments are provided to make the disclosure of the present invention complete and to fully inform those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains of the scope of the invention. The present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. The same reference numerals throughout the specification refer to the same components.

[0025] The terms used in this specification are merely used to explain specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as "including" or "having" are intended to specify the presence of the features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in this specification, and should not be understood as precluding the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0026] FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram for explaining the overall system according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram for explaining the configuration of the surgical instrument management system in a hospital according to the present invention.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 1, the overall system according to the present invention can be embodied to include a department terminal 110, an operating room terminal 120, an administrator terminal 130 connected via a network, and a database 140.

[0028] The department terminal 110 is a terminal used by the medical staff in the hospital and is used to store medical records in departments within the hospital, such as internal medicine, surgery, otolaryngology, orthopedics, etc. The department terminal 110 can be embodied as a tablet PC, a notebook computer, or a desktop PC. The department terminal 110 can be equipped with an EMR system, that is, an electronic medical record system.

[0029] The department terminal 110 can generate surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, using department, and medical staff information of surgical instruments, and transfer this information to the administrator terminal 130. As an example, the surgical instrument request information can further include additional information indicating whether it is an emergency application or a general application.

[0030] The operating room terminal 120 is a terminal used by the medical staff in the operating room of the hospital and can be embodied as, for example, a tablet PC, a notebook computer, or a desktop PC. The operating room terminal 120 can be equipped with an EMR system, that is, an electronic medical record system. The operating room terminal 120 can generate surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, medical staff information, and operating room information of surgical instruments, and transfer this information to the administrator terminal 130. The surgical instrument request information transferred from the operating room terminal 120 includes additional information automatically checked for emergency applications.

[0031] The administrator terminal 130 is a terminal used in the department that manages medical supplies (such as hospital gowns, surgical instruments, etc.) including surgical instruments that are stocked and issued in the hospital, and can be embodied as, for example, a tablet PC, a notebook computer, or a desktop PC, and can be equipped with an EMR system. The administrator terminal 130 particularly manages the warehousing, issuing, inventory, and usage history of surgical instruments in the operating room.

[0032] Database 140 can be implemented on a network server or a server within a data center. Database 140 stores information used in an EMR system that includes the receipt information, issue information, and inventory information of medical supplies (such as hospital gowns, surgical instruments, etc.). In this specification, only the receipt information, issue information, and inventory information regarding surgical instruments will be described.

[0033] Surgical instrument receipt information includes the identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of the surgical instrument. As an example, the surgical instrument receipt information can further include information about the store that sells the surgical instrument. Also, the surgical instrument receipt information can further include an image of the surgical instrument and a user manual.

[0034] Surgical instrument issue information can include the name, quantity of the surgical instrument, hospital department information or operating room information that requested the surgical instrument, issue date, and time. Surgical instrument usage history information can include an image of the surgical instrument used in the surgery, identification information, and information about the medical staff who performed the surgery. Surgical instrument inventory information includes the inventory quantity of each remaining surgical instrument.

[0035] Hereinafter, the hospital surgical instrument management system 270 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The hospital surgical instrument management system 270 according to the present invention can be implemented including a communication unit 210, a user operation unit 220, a camera 230, a display unit 240, a printer 250, and a scanner 260 as peripheral devices. The hospital surgical instrument management system 270 can be configured separately from the EMR system or can be configured to be integrated into the EMR system. The hospital surgical instrument management system 270 can be configured to be controlled by the administrator terminal in FIG. 1.

[0036] The communication unit 210 is a terminal or server that can transmit or receive data packets via a circuit-switched network (CSN) and a packet-switched network (PSN), and can be implemented by a communication module in a form capable of wired Internet with short-range wireless communications such as communication modems such as CDMA, TDMA, WCDMA (registered trademark), GSM, LTE, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0037] The user operation unit 220 generates input data according to the user's operation commands. The user operation unit 220 can be a peripheral device such as voice recognition, touch, mouse, keyboard, etc. The camera 230 can be implemented including a lens module and an image sensor that processes image signals. The camera 230 uses a wide-angle lens that can photograph the entire area of the tray on which the surgical instruments are placed for storage or shipment.

[0038] The display unit 240 is implemented by a display such as an LCD or an LED. The display unit 240 can be implemented not only by a normal computer monitor but also by a display device such as a TV monitor or a smart board. The printer 250 uses a label sticker as paper and prints the output information generated by the control unit 270, for example, the surgical instrument shipment information including the name, shipment date, quantity, and delivery address of the surgical instrument, on the label sticker. The scanner 260 reads the shipping information written on the label sticker.

[0039] The hospital's surgical instrument management system 270 can be embodied as a combination of physical hardware, for example, including a ROM where an execution program is stored, a RAM where data is stored, an interface module that processes serial communication, parallel communication, and I2C signals, and a processor integrated together. As shown in FIG. 2, the hospital's surgical instrument management system 270 can be embodied to mainly include an incoming processing unit 271, a surgical instrument request processing unit 272, a surgical instrument recognition processing unit 273, a surgical instrument cleaning unit 274, a surgical instrument packaging unit 275, an invoice processing unit 276, an outgoing standby processing unit 277, an outgoing processing unit 278, an inventory information processing unit 279, and a storage unit 280.

[0040] When the identification information, name, and quantity of the surgical instruments to be stored in the hospital's warehouse are input through the operation and input of the administrator, the incoming processing unit 271 generates surgical instrument incoming information including the identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of the surgical instruments, and stores this in the storage unit 280. Surgical instruments include various instruments such as forceps, scissors, pliers, scalpel handles, handled needles, medical knives, tongue depressors, etc. The identification information of the surgical instrument is embodied in characters or a series of numbers, and is the unique identification information engraved by the laser marking method at a specific position of the surgical instrument for discriminating the surgical instrument. The identification information of the surgical instrument can be embodied not only at a specific position but also in a specific shape, such as a unique form like a semi-circular shape, an elliptical shape, etc.

[0041] When the surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, and medical staff information of the surgical instruments transferred from the hospital's department terminal 110 or the operating room terminal 120 is input and stored in the storage unit, the surgical instrument request processing unit 272 generates a message that enables the administrator to recognize that new surgical instrument request information has arrived, and outputs this to the display unit 240.

[0042] As an example, the surgical instrument request information can further include additional information indicating whether it is an emergency request or a general request. According to such an embodiment, the surgical instrument request processing unit 272 can check the additional information included in the surgical instrument request information, and when the corresponding surgical instrument request information is an emergency request, further output an emergency alarm message so that the administrator can recognize that the emergency surgical instrument request information has arrived.

[0043] The administrator classifies a plurality of surgical instrument request information into emergency requests and general requests, checks the names and quantities of the surgical instruments included in the emergency request surgical instrument request information, searches for the corresponding surgical instruments in the hospital warehouse, and places them on a tray. Although a person can directly check the surgical instruments and verify the quantities, in order to prevent errors and perform the operation quickly, the hospital surgical instrument management system 270 according to the present invention is implemented to check the surgical instruments and verify the quantities using an image processing method.

[0044] The surgical instrument recognition processing unit 273 extracts an image composed only of surgical instrument identification information from the overall area image of the tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by a camera are placed, discriminates the identification information of each surgical instrument from the image composed only of the extracted surgical instrument identification information, and detects the name of the surgical instrument corresponding to the identification information of each surgical instrument from the storage unit 280 (note: it can be integrated into the database 140 in FIG. 1). The surgical instrument recognition processing unit 273 calculates the quantity of the surgical instruments placed on the tray using the number of the discriminated surgical instrument identification information. The surgical instrument recognition processing unit 273 determines whether it matches the names and quantities of the surgical instruments included in the surgical instrument request information, and outputs the result to the audio output unit or the display unit 240.

[0045] The surgical instrument cleaning unit 274 stores the cleaning result information of the surgical instruments in the storage unit 280. The cleaning of the surgical instruments is performed manually or using a predetermined cleaning device. The surgical instruments immersed in a cleaning solution or distilled water are ultrasonically cleaned for the first time, and after the surgica l instruments that have been cleaned for the first time are immersed in ultrapure water, they are secondarily cleaned using nitrogen. The process consists of drying and sterilizing the surgical instruments after the secondary cleaning is completed. The surgical instrument cleaning unit 274 is configured to include the cleaning device and can directly perform the cleaning, drying, or sterilization process.

[0046] The surgical instrument packaging unit 275 stores the packaging result information of the surgical instruments in the storage unit 280. The packaging of the surgical instruments is to manually or use a predetermined packaging device to package the surgica l instruments that have been cleaned, dried, and sterilized into one package, and it can be implemented by a packaging machine that packages boxes or plastic bags. The surgical instrument packaging unit 275 can directly perform the packaging process including the packaging device.

[0047] The shipping document processing unit 276 generates shipping document information that enables people to identify the package through the operation and input of the administrator, and outputs this through the printer 250. The shipping document information can include the name and quantity of the surgical instruments and the hospital department or operating room information that requested the surgical instruments. As an example, the shipping document processing unit can convert the surgical instrument shipping information including the hospital department information or operating room information that requested the surgical instruments, the name and quantity of the surgical instruments, the shipping date and time into a label sticker output format and output it through the printer 250.

[0048] The shipping standby processing unit 277 generates shipping standby information including the package image with the shipping document information photographed by the camera and the shipping document information generated by the shipping document processing unit 276, and then stores this in the storage unit 280.

[0049] When the information scanned by the scanner of the shipping document attached to the package during shipping standby is input, the shipping processing unit 278 generates surgical instrument shipping information including the shipping date and time, the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the package, and the hospital department or operating room information that requested the surgical instruments, and then stores this in the storage unit 280.

[0050] The inventory information processing unit 279 calculates the types and quantities of the surgical instruments that are currently remaining by using the surgical instrument incoming information and the surgical instrument outgoing information stored in the storage unit 280, generates inventory information, and then stores this in the storage unit 280.

[0051] The surgical instrument management system 270 of the hospital can automatically manage all the histories of the surgical instruments used in the hospital, including the confirmation and quantity check of the surgical instruments before they are stored in the hospital's storage, prepared for outgoing according to the surgical instrument request information, the outgoing standby process, and the surgical instruments that are sent out to hospital departments or operating rooms and used in surgeries.

[0052] Figure 3 is a flowchart of the surgical instrument management method for a hospital according to the present invention.

[0053] In step S311, for the surgical instrument management method for a hospital according to the present invention, surgical instrument incoming information including the identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of the surgical instruments that are stored in the hospital's warehouse by the operation and input of the administrator is input and stored in the storage unit. As an example, the surgical instrument incoming information can further include the information of the sales store that sells the surgical instruments. Also, the surgical instrument incoming information can further include the image and usage manual of the surgical instruments.

[0054] After this, in step S312, for the surgical instrument management method for a hospital according to the present invention, surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, and medical staff information of the surgical instruments transferred from the hospital department terminal or the operating room terminal is input and stored in the storage unit, and a message is generated and output to enable the administrator to recognize that new surgical instrument request information has arrived.

[0055] In step S312, as an example, the surgical instrument request information can further include additional information indicating whether it is an emergency application or a general application. According to such an embodiment, for the surgical instrument management method for a hospital according to the present invention, by checking the additional information included in the surgical instrument request information, when the corresponding surgical instrument request information is an emergency application, an emergency alarm message can be further output to enable the administrator to recognize that the emergency surgical instrument request information has arrived.

[0056] The administrator classifies a plurality of surgical instrument request information into emergency applications and general applications, checks the names and quantities of the surgical instruments included in the emergency application's surgical instrument request information, searches for the corresponding surgical instruments in the hospital warehouse and places them on a tray. Although people can directly check the surgical instruments and verify the quantities, in order to prevent mistakes and errors and enable quick processing, it is implemented to use an image processor to check the surgical instruments and verify the quantities.

[0057] In step S313, the hospital's surgical instrument management method according to the present invention extracts an image composed only of surgical instrument identification information from the entire area image of the tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by the first camera are placed. After that, it discriminates the identification information of each surgical instrument from the image composed only of the extracted surgical instrument identification information, detects the name of the surgical instrument corresponding to the identification information of each surgical instrument from the storage unit, and then calculates the quantity of the surgical instruments placed on the tray using the number of the discriminated surgical instrument identification information.

[0058] After that, the hospital's surgical instrument management method according to the present invention determines whether the names and quantities of the surgical instruments included in the surgical instrument request information match the names and quantities of the detected surgical instruments, saves the result, and outputs it as sound or on the screen.

[0059] In step S314, the hospital's surgical instrument management method according to the present invention ultrasonically performs primary cleaning on the surgical instruments immersed in a cleaning solution or distilled water by hand or with a predetermined cleaning device, immerses the surgically instrument after primary cleaning in ultrapure water, and then performs secondary cleaning using nitrogen, and dries and sterilizes the surgically instrument after the secondary cleaning is completed, and saves the result information.

[0060] In step S315, the hospital's surgical instrument management method according to the present invention performs a process of packaging the surgically instrument that has been cleaned, dried, and sterilized by hand or with a predetermined packaging device into one package, and saves the result information.

[0061] In step S316, the hospital surgical instrument management method according to the present invention generates shipping information that enables a person to identify the package through the operation and input of the administrator, and outputs this using a printer. As an example, the surgical instrument shipping information including the hospital department information or operating room information that requested the surgical instrument, the name and quantity of the surgical instrument, and the shipping date and time can be converted into a label sticker output format and output using a printer.

[0062] In step S317, after generating a package image with the shipping information photographed by the second camera and the shipping standby information including the shipping information, the hospital surgical instrument management method according to the present invention stores this in the storage unit. In step S318, when information scanned from the shipping information attached to the package during shipping standby is input, the hospital surgical instrument management method according to the present invention generates surgical instrument shipping information including the shipping date and time, the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the package, and then stores this in the storage unit. In step S319, using the surgical instrument inventory information and surgical instrument shipping information stored in the storage unit, the hospital surgical instrument management method according to the present invention calculates the types and quantities of the currently remaining surgical instruments to generate inventory information, and then stores this in the storage unit. As described above, the present invention has been described based on many embodiments, but this is for illustrating the present invention. An ordinary technician can modify or correct the above embodiments into another form while maintaining the technical idea. However, since the scope of rights of this application is defined by the following claims, such modifications and corrections can be interpreted as being included in the scope of rights of the following claims.

Claims

1. When the identification information, name, and quantity of surgical instruments to be stored in the hospital warehouse are input, an inventory processing unit that generates surgical instrument inventory information including the identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of the surgical instruments, and stores this in a storage unit; A surgical instrument request processing unit that inputs surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, and medical staff information of surgical instruments transferred from a hospital department terminal or an operating room terminal, stores this in a storage unit, and generates a message so that the administrator can recognize that new surgical instrument request information has arrived, and outputs this to a display unit; An image composed only of surgical instrument identification information is extracted from an overall area image of a tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by a first camera are placed, the identification information of each surgical instrument is discriminated using the image composed only of the extracted surgical instrument identification information, after detecting the name of the surgical instrument corresponding to the identification information of each surgical instrument from the storage unit, the quantity of surgical instruments placed on the tray is calculated using the number of discriminated surgical instrument identification information, determines whether it matches the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the surgical instrument request information, and outputs the result to an audio output unit or a display unit; a surgical instrument recognition processing unit; A surgical instrument cleaning unit that ultrasonically performs primary cleaning on surgical instruments immersed in a cleaning solution or distilled water, immerses the surgically instrument after primary cleaning in ultrapure water, and then performs secondary cleaning using nitrogen, and dries, sterilizes, and disinfects the surgically instrument after secondary cleaning is completed; A surgical instrument packaging unit that packages the surgical instruments cleaned, dried, and sterilized and disinfected by the surgical instrument cleaning unit into one package; A packing slip processing unit that generates packing slip information that enables a person to identify the package, and outputs this with a printer; An outbound waiting processing unit that generates outbound waiting information including a package image with packing slip information attached photographed by a second camera and the packing slip information generated by the packing slip processing unit, and then stores this in a storage unit; An outbound processing unit that, when information scanned from the packing slip information attached to the package during outbound waiting is input, generates surgical instrument outbound information including the outbound date and time, and the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the package, and then stores this in a storage unit; An inventory information processing unit that calculates the types and quantities of the currently remaining surgical instruments using the surgical instrument inventory information and surgical instrument outbound information stored in the storage unit, generates inventory information, and then stores this in the storage unit; A hospital surgical instrument management system including the above.

2. The surgical instrument request information further includes additional information indicating whether it is an emergency request or a general request. The surgical instrument request processing unit further outputs an emergency alarm message that enables the administrator to recognize the arrival of emergency surgical instrument request information when the additional information included in the surgical instrument request information is confirmed and the corresponding surgical instrument request information is an emergency application. The hospital's surgical instrument management system according to claim 1.

3. The shipping document processing unit converts the surgical instrument shipping information including the hospital department information or operating room information that requested the surgical instrument, the name, quantity, shipping date, and time of the surgical instrument into the label sticker output format and outputs it with a printer. The hospital's surgical instrument management system according to claim 1.

4. The stage of inputting and storing the surgical instrument warehousing information including the identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of the surgical instrument warehoused in the hospital warehouse; The stage of inputting and storing in the storage unit the surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, and medical staff information of the surgical instrument transferred from the hospital department terminal or operating room terminal, and generating and outputting a message that enables the administrator to recognize the arrival of new surgical instrument request information; After extracting an image composed only of the surgical instrument identification information from the entire area image of the tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by the first camera are placed, discriminating the identification information of each surgical instrument with the image composed only of the extracted surgical instrument identification information, detecting the name of the surgical instrument corresponding to the identification information of each surgical instrument from the storage unit, and calculating the quantity of the surgical instruments placed on the tray using the number of the discriminated surgical instrument identification information; The stage of determining whether the name and quantity of the surgical instrument included in the surgical instrument request information match the detected name and quantity of the surgical instrument, and outputting the result by sound or on the screen; The stage of performing primary cleaning of the surgical instrument immersed in the cleaning solution or distilled water with ultrasonic waves, immersing the surgically instrument after primary cleaning in ultrapure water, then performing secondary cleaning using nitrogen, and drying and sterilizing the surgically instrument after the secondary cleaning is completed; The stage of packaging the cleaned, dried, and sterilized surgical instruments into one package; The stage of generating shipping document information that enables the package to be identified by a person and outputting this with a printer; The stage of generating a package image with the shipping document information attached photographed by the second camera and the shipping standby information including the shipping document information generated by the shipping document processing unit, and then storing this in the storage unit; When information scanned from the shipping document information attached to the packaging waiting for shipment is input, after generating surgical instrument shipment information including the shipment date and time, the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the packaging, this is saved in the storage unit; After calculating the types and quantities of the remaining surgical instruments using the surgical instrument inventory information and surgical instrument shipment information stored in the storage unit to generate inventory information, this is saved in the storage unit; A method for managing surgical instruments in a hospital, including these steps.

5. When surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, and medical staff information of surgical instruments transferred from the department terminal or operating room terminal of the hospital is input and saved in the storage unit, generating and outputting a message so that the administrator can recognize the arrival of new surgical instrument request information; When confirming the additional information included in the surgical instrument request information and the corresponding surgical instrument request information is an emergency application, outputting an emergency alarm message so that the administrator can recognize the arrival of the emergency surgical instrument request information; The method for managing surgical instruments in a hospital according to claim 4, further including this step.

6. Generating shipping document information that enables a person to identify the packaging and outputting this with a printer; Converting surgical instrument shipment information including the hospital department information or operating room information that requested the surgical instruments, the name and quantity of the surgical instruments, and the shipment date and time into a label sticker output format and outputting this with a printer; The method for managing surgical instruments in a hospital according to claim 4, characterized by this.

7. An inventory processing unit that generates surgical instrument inventory information including the identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of surgical instruments entering the hospital and saves this in the storage unit; A surgical instrument request processing unit that inputs surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, and medical staff information of surgical instruments transferred from the department terminal or operating room terminal of the hospital, saves this in the storage unit, and generates and outputs a message to the display unit so that the administrator can recognize the arrival of new surgical instrument request information; An image composed only of surgical instrument identification information is extracted from the overall area image of the tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by the first camera are placed, the identification information of each surgical instrument is discriminated from the image composed only of the extracted surgical instrument identification information, after detecting the name of the surgical instrument corresponding to the identification information of each surgical instrument from the storage unit, the quantity of the surgical instruments placed on the tray is calculated using the number of the discriminated surgical instrument identification information, and it is determined whether it matches the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the surgical instrument request information, and the result is output to the audio output unit or the display unit, a surgical instrument recognition processing unit; A surgical instrument cleaning unit that stores the cleaning result of the surgical instrument; A surgical instrument packaging unit that stores the packaging result of the surgical instrument; A shipping label processing unit that generates shipping label information for enabling a person to identify the package and outputs this with a printer; An outgoing shipment standby processing unit that generates outgoing shipment standby information including the package image with the shipping label information attached photographed by the second camera and the shipping label information generated by the shipping label processing unit, and then stores this in the storage unit; An outgoing shipment processing unit that, when information obtained by scanning the shipping label information attached to the package during outgoing shipment standby is input, generates surgical instrument outgoing shipment information including the outgoing shipment date and time and the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the package, and then stores this in the storage unit; An inventory information processing unit that calculates the types and quantities of the remaining surgical instruments using the surgical instrument incoming shipment information and the surgical instrument outgoing shipment information stored in the storage unit to generate inventory information, and then stores this in the storage unit; A hospital surgical instrument management system including the above.

8. The surgical instrument request information further includes additional information indicating whether it is an emergency request or a general request; The surgical instrument request processing unit further outputs an emergency alarm message for enabling the administrator to recognize that an emergency surgical instrument request information has arrived when the additional information included in the surgical instrument request information is confirmed and the corresponding surgical instrument request information is an emergency request. The hospital surgical instrument management system according to Claim 7.

9. The shipping label processing unit converts the surgical instrument outgoing shipment information including the hospital department information or operating room information that requested the surgical instrument, the name and quantity of the surgical instruments, and the outgoing shipment date and time into a label sticker output format and outputs this with a printer; The hospital surgical instrument management system according to Claim 7, characterized by the above.

10. The stage of inputting and storing surgical instrument inventory information including the identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of surgical instruments stored in the hospital. The stage of inputting and storing in the storage unit the surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, and medical staff information of surgical instruments transferred from the department terminal or operating room terminal of the hospital, and generating and outputting a message so that the administrator can recognize the arrival of new surgical instrument request information. After extracting an image composed only of surgical instrument identification information from the overall area image of the tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by the first camera are placed, discriminating the identification information of each surgical instrument with the image composed only of the extracted surgical instrument identification information, detecting the name of the surgical instrument corresponding to the identification information of each surgical instrument from the storage unit, and then calculating the quantity of surgical instruments placed on the tray using the number of discriminated surgical instrument identification information. The stage of determining whether the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the surgical instrument request information match the detected name and quantity of the surgical instruments, and outputting the result to sound or the screen. The stage of storing the cleaning result of the surgical instruments. The stage of storing the packaging result of the surgical instruments. The stage of generating shipping note information for enabling a person to identify the package and outputting this with a printer. The stage of generating inventory waiting information including the package image with the shipping note information attached photographed by the second camera and the shipping note information generated by the shipping note processing unit, and then storing this in the storage unit. When the information scanned from the shipping note information attached to the package during inventory waiting is input, generating surgical instrument shipping information including the shipping date and time, the name, and the quantity of the surgical instruments included in the package, and then storing this in the storage unit. The stage of calculating the types and quantities of the currently remaining surgical instruments using the surgical instrument inventory information and surgical instrument shipping information stored in the storage unit to generate inventory information, and then storing this in the storage unit. A method for managing surgical instruments in a hospital including the above.

11. The stage of inputting and storing in the storage unit the surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, and medical staff information of surgical instruments transferred from the department terminal or operating room terminal of the hospital, and generating and outputting a message so that the administrator can recognize the arrival of new surgical instrument request information is: The stage of checking the additional information included in the surgical instrument request information and, if the corresponding surgical instrument request information is an emergency application, outputting an emergency alarm message so that the administrator can recognize the arrival of emergency surgical instrument request information. The method for managing surgical instruments in a hospital according to claim 10, further comprising

12. The step of generating shipping information that enables a person to identify the packaging and outputting this using a printer is The step of converting surgical instrument shipping information including the hospital department information or operating room information that requested the surgical instrument, the name and quantity of the surgical instrument, and the shipping date and time into a label sticker output format and outputting this using a printer, The method for managing surgical instruments in a hospital according to claim 10, characterized in that

13. An inventory processing unit that generates surgical instrument inventory information including the identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of surgical instruments stored in the hospital and stores this in a storage unit, A surgical instrument request processing unit that inputs surgical instrument request information including the name, quantity, and medical staff information of the surgical instrument transferred from a hospital department terminal or operating room terminal, stores this in the storage unit, and generates and outputs to a display unit a message that enables an administrator to recognize that new surgical instrument request information has arrived, A surgical instrument recognition processing unit that extracts an image composed only of surgical instrument identification information from an overall area image of a tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by a first camera are placed, discriminates each surgical instrument, and outputs the result to an audio output unit or a display unit, A surgical instrument cleaning unit that stores the cleaning result of the surgical instrument, A surgical instrument packaging unit that stores the packaging result of the surgical instrument, A shipping document processing unit that generates shipping information for enabling a person to identify the packaging and outputs this using a printer, An outbound waiting processing unit that generates outbound waiting information including the packaging image photographed by a second camera and the shipping information generated by the shipping document processing unit, and then stores this in the storage unit, An outbound processing unit that, when information scanned from the shipping information attached to the packaging during outbound waiting is input, generates surgical instrument outbound information including the outbound date and time, the name, and the quantity of the surgical instruments included in the packaging, and then stores this in the storage unit, An inventory information processing unit that calculates the types and quantities of the surgical instruments currently remaining using the surgical instrument inventory information and surgical instrument outbound information stored in the storage unit, generates inventory information, and then stores this in the storage unit, A hospital surgical instrument management system including

14. The step of inputting and storing surgical instrument inventory information including the identification information, name, quantity, input date, and time of surgical instruments stored in the hospital, A step of inputting surgical instrument request information including the name and quantity of surgical instruments and medical staff information transferred from a hospital department terminal or an operating room terminal, storing it in a storage unit, and generating and outputting a message that enables an administrator to recognize the arrival of new surgical instrument request information; A step of extracting an image composed only of surgical instrument identification information from an overall area image of a tray on which a plurality of surgical instruments photographed by a first camera are placed, discriminating each surgical instrument, and outputting the result to an audio output unit or a display unit; A step of storing the cleaning result of the surgical instrument; A step of storing the packaging result of the surgical instrument; A step of generating shipping note information for enabling a person to identify a package and outputting this with a printer; A step of generating warehousing standby information including a package image photographed by a second camera and the shipping note information generated by the shipping note processing unit, and then storing this in a storage unit; A step of, when information scanned from the shipping note information attached to the package during warehousing standby is input, generating surgical instrument warehousing information including the warehousing date and time and the name and quantity of the surgical instruments included in the package, and then storing this in a storage unit; A step of calculating the types and quantities of the surgical instruments currently remaining using the surgical instrument warehousing information and surgical instrument warehousing information stored in a storage unit, generating inventory information, and then storing this in a storage unit; A method for managing surgical instruments in a hospital including the above.

Images