Hybrid Mounting Cards for Sterile Medical Device Packaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical device packaging solutions, such as medical pouches and custom thermoformed trays, face challenges in providing a cost-effective and logistically efficient sterile barrier for medical devices that require structural support, as pouches are limited by their inability to secure devices with sharp edges or higher profiles, while trays are expensive and complex to produce and maintain.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of hybrid mounting cards, which combine the structural support of thermoformed pieces with the cost-effectiveness of mounting cards, allowing for secure placement of medical devices within pouches and the use of universal trays, thereby extending the types of devices that can be packaged in pouches and providing a more efficient packaging solution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If medical pouches are used for packaging, then cost and operational effectiveness are improved, but structural support and protection for devices with sharp edges are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
A mounting card is introduced as an intermediary component between the medical device and the pouch. The mounting card provides the necessary structural support and protection for devices with sharp edges, while allowing the pouch to maintain its cost-effectiveness and ease of manufacture. The mounting card acts as a mediator that enables pouch packaging for devices that would otherwise require more robust packaging solutions.
2Strength
If custom thermoformed trays are used for packaging, then structural support and device security are improved, but production cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging system is segmented into separate functional components: a mounting card for structural support and device attachment, and a pouch for sterile barrier and packaging. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently using simpler, more cost-effective processes, avoiding the need for expensive custom thermoformed trays while maintaining the necessary structural support and device security.
3Ease of manufacture
If mounting cards with tabs and folds are used, then cost-effectiveness is improved, but device mounting versatility and security are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting card combines multiple functional features in a single composite structure: rigid support elements, flexible tabs, foldable sections, and attachment mechanisms all integrated into one component. This composite design maintains the cost-effectiveness of simple mounting cards while significantly enhancing device mounting versatility and security through the combination of different structural elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A hybrid mounting card is disclosed that includes one or more receptacles form fit for respective portions of a medical device in order to receive and secure the respective portions of the medical device therein and a mounting card adapted to receive and secure the one or more receptacles. The one or more receptacles are configured on the mounting card to secure the medical device to the mounting card in a defined configuration. The use of the receptacles increases the types of medical devices that can be secured to mounting cards. The use of mounting cards enables medical devices to be stored in sterile barrier packaging systems that do not require custom thermoforming of an entire medical tray, such as medical pouches and standard blank medical trays.