Smart Surgical Packaging With Feedback for Instrument Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical instruments face issues due to manufacturing defects, mishandling during transit, and incompatibility with other equipment, leading to performance problems and safety concerns in surgical procedures.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of smart surgical packaging systems that include a graphical display, data processors, and memory to store and adjust parameters associated with surgical instruments, providing real-time information on manufacturing, environmental, and operational data, ensuring compatibility and optimal performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If surgical instruments are shipped globally and handled by multiple persons through the supply chain, then the instruments can reach various hospitals and surgical centers, but the risk of mishandling, manufacturing defects, and environmental damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where sensors continuously monitor the surgical instrument's condition (temperature, humidity, shock, sterilization status) and transmit this data through the supply chain. This allows real-time tracking and verification of instrument integrity, enabling stakeholders to identify and address potential issues before they compromise safety, thus resolving the contradiction between wide distribution and maintained reliability.
2Loss of information
If smart packaging systems include graphical displays, data processors, and memory to store and adjust parameters, then real-time information on manufacturing, environmental, and operational data can be provided, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functions (sensing, data processing, storage, display, and communication) into an integrated smart packaging system. The packaging itself becomes the platform that houses sensors, a processor, memory, and a graphical display, eliminating the need for separate monitoring devices. This consolidation reduces overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive information availability about the surgical instrument's condition throughout the supply chain.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided. The systems include a manufacturer-sealed sterile surgical packaging containing a surgical instrument configured to be used in a surgical procedure, a graphical display, at least one data processor in operable communication with the graphical display, and memory in operable communication with the at least one data processor, and storing instructions configured to cause the at least one data processor to perform operations. The operations can include storing parameters corresponding to the surgical instrument, receiving a data set characterizing parameters associated with the surgical instrument, adjusting based on the received data, the catalogued parameters, determining a graphical depiction characterizing the adjusted parameters, and providing the graphical depiction of the adjusted parameters on the graphical display.