Surgical Cushion Attachment Device for Contamination Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical cushions face challenges with liquid contamination due to impermeable materials and conventional blind attachment mechanisms like hook-and-loop, which are difficult to clean and sanitize, and vents on cushions can lead to contamination when positioned on surgical tables.
Innovation Solution
A fastening device with a female component and male attachment member that can rotate relative to each other, featuring a female opening with varying shapes and sizes, and materials with antimicrobial properties, allowing for blind attachment and repositioning of vents to reduce contamination risk, while enabling air flow through fluid passageways.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If impermeable materials are used to prevent liquid contamination, then liquid contamination is prevented, but cushion compressibility and flexibility are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a liquid barrier film that is flexible and thin, allowing it to conform to the cushion structure while maintaining impermeability to liquids. This film enables the cushion to remain compressible and flexible despite the barrier function, resolving the contradiction between contamination prevention and mechanical flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite construction combining liquid-barrier materials with compressible cushioning materials. This composite approach allows the cushion to simultaneously achieve liquid impermeability and mechanical compressibility, as the different material layers perform their respective functions without compromising each other.
2Strength
If vents are incorporated to allow air flow, then cushion flexibility is improved, but liquid contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid barrier film acts as a flexible shell that can accommodate vent openings while maintaining its liquid-blocking function. The film allows air to pass through vent areas while preventing liquid penetration, thus preserving cushion flexibility without increasing contamination risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid barrier film serves as an intermediary between the vent openings and the cushion interior. It mediates the air flow needed for flexibility while blocking liquid contamination, allowing vents to function without compromising the liquid barrier.
3Ease of operation
If hook-and-loop attachment mechanism is used for blind attachment, then ease of alignment is improved, but ease of cleaning is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the attachment function from the cushion surface by using separate male and female attachment members. The female member with opening is integrated into the cushion, while the male member attaches to it, allowing the cushion surface itself to remain smooth and easily cleanable without embedded hook-and-loop materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment system is segmented into separate components: the female attachment member with opening integrated into the cushion, and the male attachment member separate for attachment. This segmentation allows the cushion surface to be smooth and easily cleanable while still providing effective blind attachment capability.
4Use of energy by moving object
If vents are positioned on cushion sides for air flow, then air flow is enabled, but contamination susceptibility increases
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid barrier film covers vent openings on the cushion sides, allowing air flow while preventing liquid contamination. The flexible film conforms to the vent geometry and maintains the liquid barrier function even at curved or angled surfaces where vents are typically located.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid barrier film acts as an intermediary at the vent openings, mediating between the need for air flow and the need to prevent contamination. It allows respiratory or convective air flow while blocking liquid particles and contaminants from entering the cushion interior.
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
The solution facilitates easier cleaning and sanitization of surgical cushions, reduces liquid contamination by relocating vents to less susceptible areas, and maintains cushion compressibility by allowing air flow, enhancing patient safety and operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the female opening has a semipermeable membrane
Implementation Method 2
after the male attachment member is joined to the female opening, they can rotate relative to each other
Data Source
Figure 1~1A
Figure 1B~1C
Figure 2~5
AI summary
A fastening device has a female component having a female opening featuring a broader female width at a first depth and a narrower female width at a second depth. The female component also has a female attachment surface with an interior slope rising away from the female opening. The fastening device also has a male component with a male attachment member that at least partially conforms to the interior slope of the female attachment surface. The male attachment member also has a broader male width larger than the narrower female width. The male attachment member also features a narrower male width that is not larger than the narrower female width.