Disinfecting wipe
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current disinfecting wipes used in healthcare settings are cumbersome, time-consuming, and inconvenient, leading to low compliance rates due to the need for protective gloves and high costs associated with glove usage, which hampers effective disinfection of medical devices like stethoscopes, contributing to hospital-associated infections.
Innovation Solution
A disinfecting wipe design featuring an inner permeable layer with a protective outer impermeable layer that prevents skin contact with disinfectants, eliminating the need for gloves and incorporating additional features like adhesive properties, reusability, and a selectively interconnectable border for easy use and sterility maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If protective gloves are used when handling disinfecting wipes, then skin protection from harmful disinfectants is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to the cumbersome process of donning and removing gloves multiple times per day
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the protective glove function and the disinfecting wipe function into a single integrated product. The outer impermeable layer serves as both the protective barrier and the handle, eliminating the need for separate gloves and simplifying the disinfection process while maintaining skin protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer impermeable layer performs multiple functions simultaneously: it protects the user's skin from harmful disinfectants, provides a handle for gripping the wipe, and prevents contamination during use. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by eliminating the need for separate protective equipment.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If protective gloves are used with each wipe, then skin protection is improved, but cost increases due to the requirement of two boxes of gloves for one box of wipes
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the protective glove function into the wipe structure itself through the outer impermeable layer, the patent eliminates the need for separate gloves. This integration resolves the cost contradiction by removing the duplicate expense of purchasing both gloves and wipes separately.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the protective function from the separate glove product and integrates it into the wipe product. This extraction and integration resolves the cost issue by eliminating the need to purchase and use separate protective gloves with each wipe.
3Productivity
If disinfecting wipes are made available in patient rooms, then compliance with disinfection protocols is improved, but device complexity and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The outer impermeable layer acts as a flexible protective barrier that maintains sterility while allowing the wipe to be compactly stored in small containers suitable for patient room placement. This resolves the contradiction by enabling widespread distribution without requiring complex storage infrastructure.
4Reliability
If standard disinfecting wipes are used, then disinfection effectiveness is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to the need for protective gloves
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the protective glove function and disinfecting wipe function into a single product. The outer impermeable layer provides both protection and handling capability, maintaining disinfection effectiveness while dramatically improving ease of operation by eliminating the cumbersome glove donning and removal process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances compliance with disinfection protocols by providing a convenient, cost-effective, and safe method for healthcare professionals to disinfect surfaces, reducing hospital-acquired infections and operational costs while maintaining the effectiveness of the disinfecting solution.
Implementation Method 1
an inner permeable layer containing the disinfecting agent(s)
Implementation Method 2
an outer impermeable layer that protects the user's hands from the harmful disinfecting agent(s)
Implementation Method 3
This layer(s) may possess as adhesive properties
Data Source
AI summary
A wipe system is provided that is comprised of an inner portion sealed within an outer portion before use. The inner portion, which is used for cleaning, for example, may be wetted or saturated with a disinfecting fluid. Removal of an edge associated with the outer portion allows it to be opened to expose the inner portion. The wipe remains interconnected to the outer portion during use so that an opposite side of the outer portion is the only surface in contact with the user's hand.