Sterility Sensor for Medical Instrument Transport Case
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for processing and transporting medical instruments, such as flexible endoscopes, fail to ensure sterility during transport and storage, as they can be inadvertently exposed to non-sterile conditions, compromising the integrity of the instruments and potentially endangering patient health.
Innovation Solution
A device with a containing body and a closing body that can detect and signal whether it is in a hermetically closed or open condition, using sensors and an electronic state display to inform users of the instrument's sterility status, ensuring that the medical instrument remains sterile during transport and storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If manual transport of the case containing the medical instrument is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability of maintaining sterility during transport deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by implementing a sensor system that detects the opening/closing state of the transport case and provides real-time information through an electronic display. This feedback mechanism ensures that users are immediately informed when the case is opened, preventing unauthorized access and maintaining sterility reliability without requiring complex manual monitoring procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The transport case performs self-service by automatically detecting its own opening/closing state through integrated sensors and autonomously displaying this information to users. This eliminates the need for complex external monitoring systems while maintaining high reliability in sterility protection during transport.
2Reliability
If the case is made hermetically closed to maintain sterility, then the reliability of sterility is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The hermetic seal is complemented by a feedback system that automatically detects when the case is opened and displays this information. This allows the case to remain securely closed during transport (maintaining sterility reliability) while providing immediate visual feedback to users when opening occurs, eliminating the need for complex manual checking procedures and maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical checking of seal integrity with an electronic sensor-based detection system. This substitution maintains the simplicity of the hermetic seal mechanism while adding automatic detection capabilities that inform users of the case state without requiring complex operational procedures.
3Device complexity
If no indication system is provided, then the device complexity is reduced, but the loss of information about sterility status deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback system through electronic sensors that detect the case opening/closing state and provide real-time visual information display. This prevents information loss about sterility status by automatically informing users when the case is opened, while keeping the overall device complexity low by using simple sensor and display components rather than complex information management systems.
Data Source
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AI summary
A device to process and transport medical instruments in a protected manner comprises a containing body (14), in which to place a medical instrument (12), and a closing body (16), in which the containing body (14) and the closing body (16) are configured mobile with respect to each other, in order to define a hermetically closed condition and an open condition. The device comprises at least one sensor (30) configured to automatically detect a variation between the open condition and the hermetically closed condition and to transmit a corresponding signal, and an electronic state display (26) configured to receive the signal from the sensor (30) and to display toward the outside information regarding the current state associated specifically to the signal received.