Surgical Instrument Tray with Locking Bars for Missing Tool Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical instrument organization in operating rooms is inefficient, leading to delays and increased costs due to the time spent searching for misplaced instruments, which can result in extended surgeries, reduced hospital efficiency, and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A tray with indentations forming instrument wells of specific shapes and depths to accommodate various surgical instruments, along with locking bars or plates that indicate when instruments are missing, ensuring all items are accounted for and returned to their designated spaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If surgical instruments are placed on the operating table without organized storage, then instruments can be accessed during surgery, but time is lost searching for instruments hidden by others
Solution Approach 1:
The operating table is divided into multiple trays, each tray contains multiple instrument wells, and each well is designed to hold specific instruments. This segmentation creates an organized hierarchical structure that eliminates searching while maintaining quick access to needed instruments.
Solution Approach 2:
Each instrument well is designed with specific local qualities including customized shapes, sizes, and depths to accommodate particular surgical instruments. The locking bars and visual indicators provide localized quality cues that help quickly identify instrument status and location.
2Productivity
If more operating rooms are added to handle increased surgical volume, then surgical capacity increases, but hospital costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument organizer enables self-service instrument management where instruments automatically return to their designated wells after use. The visual indication system and locking bars provide self-checking capabilities that eliminate the need for additional staff time for instrument accounting and organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking bar mechanism provides immediate visual feedback about instrument presence and tray status. When instruments are missing or trays are not properly closed, the locking bars indicate this clearly, enabling quick identification and correction without manual checking.
3Reliability
If instruments are not systematically organized and returned, then surgery can proceed quickly, but instruments may be lost or left inside the patient
Solution Approach 1:
The instrument wells are pre-configured with specific shapes and locking mechanisms that guide instruments into their correct positions before surgery begins. The locking bars are pre-positioned to automatically engage with instruments, ensuring they are properly secured and accounted for without requiring manual verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking bars serve as intermediaries between the instruments and the tray system. They provide a mechanical interface that ensures instruments are properly placed and secured, while also serving as visual indicators of instrument presence and tray status.
4Strength
If instrument wells are designed with deep locking mechanisms to secure instruments, then instruments are firmly held, but adding and removing instruments becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The locking bars are designed to be dynamic rather than fixed. They can be easily moved between locked and unlocked positions, providing strong retention when locked but allowing quick instrument access when unlocked. This dynamic design balances security with operational ease.
Data Source
AI summary
An organizer for holding surgical instruments includes a tray that has instrument wells extending from the top surface of the tray. The shape of each instrument well corresponds to particular surgical instrument's shapes. Each well's depth corresponds to the height of a particular stack of surgical instruments. Pivoting locking bars extend over each instrument well to a locked position and prevent adding or removing any instruments. When the bar extends over the instrument well, it rests against the top-most instrument if the well is full. If any instruments are missing from their well, part of the locking bar projects above the tray's surface. Thus, one can notice quickly whether all instrument wells are full. The locking bar also may pivot over the instruments. The tray may have a plunger that projects about the tray's top surface if any surgical tools have not been returned to the tray.