Optical Instrument Identification on Autoclavable Carriers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for handling medical instruments face challenges such as the difficulty in identifying and tracking instruments, especially those that are too small for RFID tags, and the complexity of reading multiple RFID tags in a small space, exacerbated by the metallic structure of instrument carriers which act as Faraday cages.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a camera for optical image capture, an image evaluation device for identifying medical instruments based on recognizable features or codes, and a data transmission device connected to an autoclavable instrument carrier with a memory for storing identification data, allowing for automated optical identification and storage of data without the need for RFID tags on each instrument.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If RFID tags are used to identify medical instruments, then instrument identification capability is improved, but device complexity and reading difficulty increase due to metallic carriers acting as Faraday cages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the identification function from RFID tags and relocates it to optical codes on the instrument carrier. Instead of attaching RFID tags to each small instrument, the system uses a single optical code on the carrier that identifies all instruments collectively, eliminating the complexity of reading multiple RFID tags through metallic interference.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary approach by using optical codes as a mediator between the instrument carrier and the identification system. The optical code serves as an intermediate representation that avoids the direct RFID reading problem through metallic carriers, simplifying the identification process.
2Measurement precision
If multiple RFID tags are placed on small instruments, then identification coverage is improved, but reading difficulty and time increase due to spatial constraints and metallic interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple identification functions into a single optical code on the instrument carrier. Instead of reading multiple separate RFID tags on individual instruments, the system reads one optical code that represents the entire set of instruments on the carrier, significantly reducing reading time and eliminating metallic interference issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates an optical copy or representation of the instrument set identification on the carrier itself. The optical code serves as a copied representation of the instruments' identity, allowing rapid identification without physically accessing or reading each individual instrument.
3Loss of information
If RFID tags are attached to each instrument, then individual instrument tracking is improved, but ease of manufacture and sterilization process complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the identification function from individual instrument RFID tags and places it on the sterilizable instrument carrier. This allows the carrier with its optical code to be sterilized as a single unit without the complexity of sterilizing multiple RFID tags, while still maintaining tracking information capability.
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
This system simplifies the handling of medical instruments by generating and storing identification data directly on the instrument carrier, reducing the need for multiple RFID tags and overcoming the challenges posed by metallic carriers, thereby enhancing efficiency and accuracy in instrument tracking and management.
Implementation Method 1
a camera for optically capturing an image of one or more medical instruments and for providing an image signal representing the captured image
Data Source
AI summary
A system for assisting in the handling of medical instruments (10) comprises a camera (42, 52, 62) for optically capturing an image of one or more medical instruments (10) and for providing an image signal representing the captured image, an image evaluation device (70) for receiving the image signal, for identifying one or more medical instruments (10) depicted in the image represented by the image signal and for providing identification data identifying the depicted instruments (10), and a data transmission device (56, 66) for sending identification data to a data receiving device (88) of a data device (22) permanently connected to the autoclavable instrument carrier (20).