Hermetic Air Sampling Ports for Cushioning Device Contamination Checks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current waterproof covers on hospital cushioning devices, such as mattresses, are prone to failure, allowing pathogens to penetrate and contaminate the interior, posing a bio-hazard risk during inspection and posing challenges in maintaining asepsis, as existing zipping mechanisms are not hermetically sealed and expose staff to contamination.
Innovation Solution
A system with a hermetically sealed port on the cushioning device allows for air sampling without opening the cover, using a sampling device with a nozzle and blower to extract and analyze air for contaminants, ensuring containment and reducing exposure to pathogens.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a zip is provided on the mattress cover to allow inspection, then ease of operation is improved, but hermetic sealing is compromised and pathogen ingress/egress occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the inspection function from the mechanical zip opening mechanism. Instead of opening the cover to inspect, a sampling port is provided that allows air sampling equipment to be connected. This extracts only the necessary air sample for inspection while maintaining the hermetic seal of the main cover, thus resolving the contradiction between inspection accessibility and hermetic sealing.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the cover is unzipped for inspection, then contamination detection is enabled, but staff exposure to high levels of contamination occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces an intermediary sampling port that acts as a barrier between the inspection equipment and the mattress interior. Air sampling equipment connects to this port to obtain air samples for contamination analysis, eliminating the need for staff to directly expose themselves to contaminated air by unzipping the cover. The port serves as a safe intermediary interface that enables contamination detection while protecting staff from harmful exposure.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the cover is opened for inspection, then interior contamination can be observed, but contamination is distributed to the surrounding air
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the air sample needed for contamination detection through the sealed sampling port, rather than opening the cover which would release contaminated air. The air sampling equipment draws air through the port for analysis without disrupting the hermetic seal, thus enabling interior contamination observation while preventing the release of aerosolised pathogens into the surrounding environment.
4Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If regular visual inspection is conducted by un-zipping the cover, then contamination can be detected, but inspection frequency is limited due to time and safety concerns
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the mechanical process of unzipping and visual inspection with an air sampling and analysis system. Air sampling equipment connected to the sealed port can rapidly collect and analyze air samples for contamination markers, providing objective contamination detection data much faster than manual visual inspection. This substitution enables more frequent inspections without the time-consuming and safety-risky process of repeatedly opening and closing the cover.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for checking interior air contamination, the system including a sealed device including twin ports, a sampling device including a pump to extract at least some of the air from the interior of the sealed device, and a microbial detect to determine if the air contains contaminants. The twin ports are removably engageable with the sampling device to allow a circuit of air between the pump unit and the sealed device, such that air extracted from one of the twin ports by the pump is returned to the other of the twin ports, allowing no escape of the air to the environment. The sealed device is sealed to prevent, except through the twin ports, exterior air to flow into the sealed device and the air from the interior to flow out.