Stacked Catheter Tray Segmentation for Sterile Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional packaging for flexible medical devices like catheters is inefficient, as they often become bent or kinked during shipping and use, leading to damage and inconsistency in deployment during procedures, and existing trays are not designed to maintain a sterile field effectively.
Innovation Solution
A stacked tray system that can be unstacked into a side-by-side configuration, with trays configured to retain the catheter within a sterile field, include a well for the catheter, and arrange medical implements in a predetermined sequence for easy access, allowing for efficient deployment and maintaining sterility during procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If catheters are shipped in coiled configuration in cardboard packaging, then shipping and storage are simplified, but the catheter may become bent or kinked during shipping and use
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging system is divided into multiple stacked trays, each capable of independently holding a catheter in a straight, supported position. This segmentation allows each catheter to be individually protected while maintaining organizational efficiency, preventing the bending and kinking that occurs in traditional coiled packaging.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from horizontal coiled storage to vertical stacked tray configuration. By utilizing the vertical dimension with multiple stacked trays, the system maintains catheter straightness and integrity while achieving compact shipping and storage, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and reliability.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional packaging is used for catheters, then shipping is simplified, but deployment consistency during procedures deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The trays are pre-configured with catheter supports and positioning features that maintain the catheter in an optimal deployment configuration from shipping through use. This preliminary preparation ensures deployment consistency without requiring complex repackaging or repositioning procedures at the point of use.
3Area of stationary object
If stacked tray configuration is used, then storage efficiency is improved, but tray assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple trays are combined into a single stacked assembly that functions as one integrated storage unit. The trays share common structural elements and alignment features, reducing the overall footprint while maintaining simple individual tray designs that are easy to assemble and disassemble.
4Ease of operation
If trays are unstacked into side-by-side configuration, then access to implements is simplified, but storage density decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The tray system is designed to be dynamically reconfigurable between stacked storage mode and unstacked operational mode. This dynamic adaptability allows the system to optimize for storage density during shipping and for ease of access during procedures, resolving the contradiction between these two requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A tray stack (100) for accommodating a catheter assembly (1400) and medical devices (1401,1402,1403,1404,1409,1410, 1411,1412,1413) corresponding to catheter use includes a first tray (101) and second tray (102). Each tray (101,102) includes a tray opening, a base member (205,206), and sidewalls (203,204). When placed atop each other, they first tray (101) and second tray (102) form a tray stack (100). When unstacked and placed in a side-by-side, single layer catheter tray assembly (200), implements disposed therein can be arranged in a predetermined sequence corresponding to an order of use during a catheterization procedure. Mechanical couplings (300) can be included to permit the trays to translate with respect to each other. Retention mechanisms (710-713) can be included to hold the trays together.