Backup Surgical Instrument Kit Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
During surgical procedures, replacing contaminated or mismatched instruments requires surgeons to wait for sterilization or open new kits, disrupting the workflow and increasing the risk of contamination.
Innovation Solution
A method for preparing a surgeon instrument kit with a set of sterilized instruments and backup kits containing single replacement instruments, allowing for selective replacement during surgery, with backup kits stocked in a mobile storage cart for quick access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a contaminated instrument is cleaned and re-sterilized, then the instrument can be reused, but the surgeon must wait and workflow is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent prepares backup sterilized instruments in advance before the surgical procedure. When an instrument becomes contaminated during surgery, the surgeon can immediately replace it with a pre-prepared backup instrument that is already sterilized, eliminating the waiting time that would otherwise be required for cleaning and re-sterilization.
2Reliability
If a new kit containing entire set of sterilized instruments is opened, then replacement is possible, but workflow is disrupted and time is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the traditional complete instrument kit into a main kit containing essential instruments and separate backup kits containing individual replacement instruments. This segmentation allows the surgical team to maintain a complete functional set in the main kit while having accessible replacement options in backup kits, enabling faster replacement without opening an entire new kit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts individual replacement instruments from the complete kit and places them in separate backup kits. This extraction allows the surgical team to quickly replace a contaminated instrument by taking only the necessary replacement instrument from the backup kit rather than opening an entire new kit, thereby maintaining workflow efficiency.
3Loss of time
If backup kits contain single replacement instruments, then replacement speed increases, but device complexity increases due to multiple kits
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the instrument replacement system into a main surgical kit and multiple backup kits, each containing specific replacement instruments. This segmentation enables rapid replacement by isolating the backup instruments in separate containers that can be quickly accessed and exchanged, managing the complexity through modular organization rather than a single complex system.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for preparing surgical kits for use during a surgery includes preparing a pre-operative surgical plan for a patient and selecting a set of surgical instruments based on the pre-operative surgical plan. The set of surgical instruments includes at least a general instrument, a first size-specific instrument, a patient-specific instrument, and a surgeon-specific instrument. The general instrument is selected from a predetermined group of off-the-shelf instruments. The first size-specific instrument has a first size selected from predetermined sizes. The patient-specific instrument includes a three-dimensional contoured engagement surface configured to nest into a portion of a native anatomy in a single location. The surgeon-specific instrument is selected based on a surgeon preference and is a different instrument than the selected general instrument, first size-specific instrument, and patient-specific instrument. The method further includes preparing a surgeon instrument kit containing the set of surgical instruments in sterilized form.