U.S. patent application number 11/499196 was filed with the patent office on 2008-02-07 for surgical sponge counting device and method.
Invention is credited to Denise Paxton.
Application Number | 20080029416 11/499196 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39028096 |
Filed Date | 2008-02-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080029416 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Paxton; Denise |
February 7, 2008 |
Surgical sponge counting device and method
Abstract
The present invention is a device for displaying and assisting a
user in counting used surgical sponges and the like. The device
includes integral sets of holders arranged around an exterior edge
of the device. Each set of holders is arranged away from the other
sets of holders such that a user can practice a method of easily
and accurately accounting for used surgical sponges.
Inventors: |
Paxton; Denise; (Virginia
Beach, VA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BRADLEY D. GOLDIZEN
505 SOUTH INDEPENDENCE BOULEVARD, SUITE 102
VIRGINIA BEACH
VA
23452
US
|
Family ID: |
39028096 |
Appl. No.: |
11/499196 |
Filed: |
August 4, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/370 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B 2050/375 20160201;
A61B 50/20 20160201; A61B 50/24 20160201; A61B 50/13 20160201; A61B
50/37 20160201; A61B 2090/0804 20160201 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/370 |
International
Class: |
B65D 83/10 20060101
B65D083/10 |
Claims
1. A counting device for keeping track of used surgical sponges
during operations, said counting device having an interior edge and
an exterior edge and comprising: a plurality of projections
extending from the exterior edge of the counting device, said
plurality of projections arranged in sets of five projections and
having a first distance being defined between each projection
within a set of projections and a second distance between each set
of projections and adjoining sets of projections, wherein said
second distance is greater than said first distance; and, a support
structure for bearing a weight of used sponges, said support
structure comprising at least a first reinforcing rod extending
within the interior edge of the counting device and at least a
second reinforcing rod extending within the interior edge of the
counting device, said second reinforcing rod perpendicularly
intersecting said first reinforcing rod.
2. The counting device of claim 1 wherein said exterior edge is
circularly shaped.
3. The counting device of claim 1 wherein said exterior edge is
formed in the shape of a parallelogram.
4. The counting device of claim 1 further comprising: first and
second sides that are arrange on opposite sides of the exterior
edge of the device, said first and second sides being parallel to
one another; third and fourth sides that are arranged on opposite
sides of the exterior edge of the device, said third and fourth
sides being parallel to one another and perpendicular to the first
and second sides; a first plurality of five rods that extends from
the first side to the second side, each of said five rods being
arranged a uniform distance from one another and being parallel to
one another; a second plurality of five rods that extends from the
first side to the second side, each of said five rods being
arranged a uniform distance from one another and being parallel to
one another, said second plurality of five rods being parallel to
the first plurality of five rods; a third plurality of five rods
that extends from the third side to the fourth side, each of said
five rods being arranged a uniform distance from one another and
being parallel to one another; a fourth plurality of five rods that
extends from the third side to the fourth side, each of said five
rods being arranged a uniform distance from one another and being
parallel to one another, said fourth plurality of five rods being
parallel to the third plurality of five rods; and, wherein the
third and fourth plurality of five rods are perpendicular to the
first and second plurality of five rods.
5. The counting device of claim 4 wherein adjoining rods in a
plurality of five rods are separated by a one-inch gap.
6. The counting device of claim 4 wherein the first, second, third
and fourth plurality of five rods are arranged to form a square
opening in a center of the counting device that is two inches by
two inches.
7. The counting device of claim 4 wherein the first plurality of
five rods are separated from the second plurality of five rods by
two inches.
8. The counting device of claim 1 further comprising four
reinforcing bars arranged on the exterior edge of the counting
device.
9. The counting device of claim 8 further comprising four
connecting bars, each connecting bar having a first end and a
second end, said first end connecting to a first reinforcing bar
and said second end connecting to a second reinforcing bar, such
that the connecting bars are arranged between the reinforcing
bars.
10. A counting device for keeping track of used surgical sponges
during operations, said counting device having an interior edge and
an exterior edge and four sides, said counting device comprising: a
first plurality of five rods that extends from a first side to a
second side of the device, each of said five rods being arranged a
uniform distance from one another and being parallel to one
another; a second plurality of five rods that extends from the
first side to the second side of the device, each of said five rods
being arranged a uniform distance from one another and being
parallel to one another, said second plurality of five rods being
parallel to the first plurality of five rods; a third plurality of
five rods that extends from a third side to a fourth side of the
device, each of said five rods being arranged a uniform distance
from one another and being parallel to one another; a fourth
plurality of five rods that extends from the third side to the
fourth side, each of said five rods being arranged a uniform
distance from one another and being parallel to one another, said
fourth plurality of five rods being parallel to the third plurality
of five rods; a plurality of projections extending from the
exterior edge of the counting device, said plurality of projections
arranged in sets of five projections and having a first distance
being defined between each projection within a set of projections
and a second distance between each set of projections and adjoining
sets of projections, wherein said second distance is greater than
said first distance; and, wherein the third and fourth plurality of
five rods are perpendicular to the first and second plurality of
five rods.
11. The counting device of claim 10 wherein adjoining rods in a
plurality of five rods are separated by a one-inch space.
12. The counting device of claim 10 wherein the first, second,
third and fourth plurality of five rods are arranged to form a
square opening in a center of the counting device that is two
inches by two inches in size.
13. The counting device of claim 10 wherein the first plurality of
five rods are separated from the second plurality of five rods by
two inches.
14. The counting device of claim 10 further comprising four
reinforcing bars arranged on the exterior edge of the counting
device.
15. The counting device of claim 14 further comprising four
connecting bars, each connecting bar having a first end and a
second end, said first end connecting to a first reinforcing bar
and said second end connecting to a second reinforcing bar, such
that the connecting bars are arranged between the reinforcing
bars.
16. A counting device for keeping track of used surgical sponges
during operations, said counting device having an interior edge and
an exterior edge, said counting device comprising: a circular base
member that encloses a circular opening; a plurality of sets of
projections extending outwardly from the circular opening, said
projections being substantially one-inch in length and provided in
sets of five; a first reinforcing rod that intersects the circular
opening and divides it into two regions; and, a second reinforcing
rod that is perpendicular to the first reinforcing rod.
17. The counting device of claim 16 wherein a diameter of the
circular opening is substantially fifteen inches.
18. The counting device of claim 16 wherein the second reinforcing
rod divides the circular opening into four equal quadrants.
19. A system for counting and keeping track of used surgical
sponges during operations, said system comprising: a counting
device having an interior edge and an exterior edge, said counting
device comprising a plurality of projections extending from the
exterior edge of the counting device, said plurality of projections
arranged in sets of five projections and having a first distance
being defined between each projection within a set of projections
and a second distance between each set of projections and adjoining
sets of projections, wherein said second distance is greater than
said first distance and a support structure for bearing weight of
used sponges, said support structure comprising at least a first
reinforcing rod extending within the interior edge of the counting
device and at least a second reinforcing rod extending within the
interior edge of the counting device, said second reinforcing rod
perpendicularly intersecting said first reinforcing rod; a ring
stand; and, an impervious covering draped across the ring stand for
preventing body fluids from dripping onto the ring stand and a
floor upon which the ring stand rests.
20. The system of claim 19 wherein the impervious covering further
comprises a raised edge arranged along the bottom of the ring
stand.
Description
[0001] There are no related patent applications.
[0002] This patent application did not receive federal research and
development funding.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The invention is generally directed to a method and device
for displaying and counting used surgical sponges. More
specifically the present invention relates to a device which easily
allows for visual recognition of a sum of sponges used during a
medical procedure. The device helps keep track of the used sponges
to prevent medical accidents caused by unaccounted sponges.
[0004] Medical accidents may occur during surgery when surgical
sponges are inadvertently left in a patient. The patient may
develop a life-threatening injury or infection when this type of
accident occurs. It is therefore important to carefully count used
surgical sponges.
[0005] Previously, others have counted used surgical sponges in a
manner whereby used surgical sponges are passed from a surgeon to a
scrub nurse who drops the used sponges in a kick bucket. A
circulating nurse retrieves the used sponges from the kick bucket
and either arranges them for final count or places them in a bag in
sets of five sponges.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,899 to Schleicher discloses an apparatus
for facilitating the counting and disposal of surgical sponges. In
Schleicher, a plurality of disposable sponge-supporting trays
includes a plurality of slits which facilitate the locating and
holding of used sponges.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,332 to Wiestmiller discloses a sponge
arraying and disposal receptacle that includes a transparent bag
and a pair of slightly inclined chutes from which a plurality of
prongs extend. Projections extend downwardly from the chutes and
are rigidly attached to inside portions of the bag so that it may
be suspended between the chutes for visual observation of its
contents.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,595 to Meringola teaches a surgical
sponge assembly comprising a plurality of multi-layer sponges. Each
sponge includes a twill strip. A holder or rack includes a
plurality of slots into which a respective twill strip is
insertable.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,615 to Fischer discloses a surgical
sponge monitor system including a monitor board with a tally board
that includes a plurality of sites. Each side includes slits and is
adapted to deform in response to application of a modest force such
that a deposited sponge partially protrudes from the slits.
[0010] The aforementioned U.S. patents are illustrative of prior
art devices. However, none of these patents disclose a device and
counting method for use with a ring stand whereby a set of five
surgically used sponges are grouped together in a set that is
readily displayed on an exterior edge of a sponge counting
apparatus that comprises a plurality of sets projections. Moreover,
none of the prior art provides a sponge displaying device where
used sponges are arranged in a vertical position and can be viewed
in their entirety such that the sponge body and the x-ray loop are
displayed. In this manner, used sponges may be easily viewed and
counted from across an operating room.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] If several hours of surgery have occurred, surgical stresses
sometime lead to miscounting of the sponges using prior art
counting techniques. The present invention aims to overcome this
problem by visually grouping and prominently displaying a group of
sets of used sponges in their entirety. The sets of sponges are
staged and hung around a centralized area. The centralized area can
be easily viewed and counted from across the room. In this manner,
the sets of five used surgical sponges are grouped together such
that large numbers of used surgical sponges may be easily counted.
The user easily views the state of each projection or finger and
determines whether a used surgical sponge is associated with that
particular projection or finger. A total count of used surgical
sponges may be easily determined by viewing and counting the number
used sponges. Since the sponges are typically provided in sterile
packaging in sets of five, the device allows for ease in counting
used sponges. A user may view the full sets of projections multiply
them by five, and then add the remaining number of projections of
any partially full set of projections to easily arrive an at an
accurate accounting.
[0012] In a first embodiment, the present invention includes a
square center with four sides and is provided with two sets of five
fingers or holders extending from each side. In this embodiment,
the invention may be practiced by overlaying or intertwining two
sets of five rods with another two sets of five rods at right
angles. Thus, medical personnel can visually count the number of
used sponges at a glance by viewing the sets of holders that have a
sponge associated therewith.
[0013] In a second embodiment, the invention may be provided in a
circular embodiment having an inner ring onto which a plurality of
sets of five holders are fastened for securing used surgical
sponges thereon.
[0014] In a further embodiment, ends of the overlapping rods of the
first embodiment include upturned ends for accepting a used
surgical sponge.
[0015] It is an object of the present invention to provide a method
and device for easily accounting for all surgical sponges during a
surgical operation. The device groups a plurality of used surgical
sponges together in sets of five. A user can thereby easily look at
the number of sets of sponges and quickly ascertain a number of
used surgical sponges. This counting method may be facilitated by
placing the device against a backdrop having a different color,
such as a colored trash bag. The different colored backdrop aids in
making the used sponges easier to view.
[0016] It is an object of the invention to provide a counting
device for securing a plurality of used surgical sponges where the
counting device includes sets of holders integrally formed apart
from one another and extending from an exterior edge of the
device.
[0017] It is a further object of the invention to provide a
surgical sponge displaying and counting device that provides high
visibility of used surgical sponges such that a total number of
used surgical sponges may be easily viewed and counted from across
a room against a colored backdrop.
[0018] It is further an object of the invention to provide a
surgical sponge displaying and counting device that may is
cost-effective and easy to produce. The device provides
accessibility and viewing capability from all angles. Moreover, the
device may be used with existing surgical assisting devices such as
ring stands.
[0019] The above and further objects, details and advantages of the
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of the
invention.
[0021] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the
invention formed in a circular shape.
[0022] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the invention showing the
first embodiment with upturned edges.
[0023] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the invention showing the
embodiment of FIG. 3 arranged atop a disposable sheet.
[0024] FIG. 5 is an elevation view of a clamp for securing the
present invention to a ring stand.
[0025] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a prior art ring stand.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0026] FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a first embodiment of the
invention shown in a square shape. In this embodiment, the sponge
monitoring device 1 comprises twenty rods 5 arranged to provide a
plurality of projections 3. The twenty rods 5 comprise a support
structure for bearing the weight of used sponges. The rods 5 are
arranged in sets 10 and comprise a rigid material. Preferably, the
rods 5 are seventeen inches long to facilitate use of the device
with a ring stand that is currently used in surgical procedures.
Each set 10 includes five rods 5 that are arranged parallel to one
another, as shown. Adjoining rods 5 of a set 10 are preferably
separated by a one-inch gap, represented as 20 in the Figures. In
the preferably embodiment, each set of five rods 5 are separated by
two inches from the other set of parallel rods, represented by 15
in FIG. 1. As shown, the device of the first embodiment comprises
forty projections 3 arranged about exterior edges of the device 1.
The projections are arranged in eight sets such that ten
projections are provided on each of the four sides of the device as
shown. A central area 25 includes an opening that is preferably two
inches by two inches squared. Each side of the device includes a
reinforcing bar 18 that attaches to each rod 5 for providing
stability to the device 1. Each end of the reinforcing bar 18
attaches to a connecting bar 17 that attaches to another
reinforcing bar 18 as shown. The connecting bar 17 also provides
stability and adds to the rigidity of the device 1.
[0027] The device may be provided in a re-usable manner. In this
manner, the rods comprise stainless steel, metal or other material
that may be placed in an autoclave for disinfecting. Otherwise, the
device may be provided in a disposable form that is discarded after
use. In the disposable form, the rods may comprise plastic or other
rigid material.
[0028] FIG. 2 is a second embodiment of the invention 1. In this
embodiment, the device 1 includes a circular base member 4 that
encloses a circular opening 30. Preferably, the diameter of
circular opening 30 is substantially fifteen inches. A plurality of
sets of projections 7 extend outwardly from the circular opening 30
and are substantially one inch in length. A first reinforcing rod
21 intersects circular opening and divides it into two regions. A
second reinforcing rod 22 is perpendicular to reinforcing rod 21
and connected at a center thereto. Preferably, the second
reinforcing rod 22 further divides the circular opening 30 into
four equal quadrants. The reinforcing rods 21, 22 attach at
opposite ends to circular base member 4 and comprise a support
structure for bearing the weight of the used sponges. As mentioned
previously, the device of the second embodiment may be provided in
a variety of rigid materials, both reusable and disposable. The
projections 7 are provided in sets of five and extend from the ends
of the device and are represented by 6. The projections are
connected together to provide the circular base member 4, as
shown.
[0029] FIG. 3 is a further embodiment of the invention where the
first embodiment is modified to include projections that comprise
an up-turned end 16. This embodiment aids the user in attaching an
end of a used sponge to the device via a projection. FIG. 4 shows
the device of FIG. 3 in use. The device 1 is arranged atop an
impervious covering 105 which sits over a ring stand 50, shown in
FIG. 6. The impervious covering 105 may comprise a plastic garbage
bag. The impervious covering 105 is draped across the ring stand 50
and arranged such that a raised edge or dam 55 is created along the
bottom of the ring stand 50. The dam 55 serves to prevent blood,
water and other body fluids that have been absorbed by the used
sponges 100 from flowing onto the floor of the operating room. In
this manner, the dam 55 may be pulled upward and the body fluids
may be trapped inside the impervious covering 105. A plurality of
used surgical sponges 100 are displayed from projections 16. In
this manner, a user easily recognizes the number of used surgical
sponges in separated sets of five. A clamp 120 may be provided on
each of the four sides of the device 1 for securing both the
impervious covering 110 and the device 1 to the ring stand 120. The
clamp 120 fits across an edge of the device and the top of the ring
stand 50. In this manner, the impervious covering 105 is sandwiched
between the device 1 and the ring stand 50. As shown in FIG. 5, the
clamp 120 includes an arcuate region arranged between two extended
regions that form opposite ends of the clamp. The clamp 120 may
comprise plastic, metal or other such material.
[0030] In use, a user first realizes the size of the sponge holder
and the number of sets of 5 projections on each side of the device.
During an operation, an end of a surgical sponge is attached to or
associated with a particular projection. A counting process is
undertaken whereby the user views each projection within a set of
projections to determine whether the entire set of projections have
a sponge associated therewith. In this manner, the user can easily
calculate the total number of used surgical sponges. If all the
projections are associated with a surgical sponge then the tally of
all used sponges is increased by the total number of projections.
In a device of FIG. 1, the total number of used sponges would be
increased by 40.
[0031] In use, a looped end of a sponge is opened to receive an end
of one of the projections. A first set of projections are each
associated with a used sponge. The user then continues filling the
sets of holders in a systematic manner until all projections are
filled or the surgery is complete. Then a count is taken of the
number of filled sets of projections is undertaken by viewing the
entire amount of used sponges. Bagging sponges are responsible for
most of the incorrect counts because once the bag is closed, the
mistake is carried on the entire case. Hanging sponges by fives
avoid most counting mistakes that occur by constantly viewing and
continuously counting of the sponges in their entirety to lessen
the possibility of a sponge being left in a patient.
[0032] While the invention has been described with respect to
preferred embodiments, it is intended that all matter contained in
the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall
be interpreted as illustrative and not in limiting sense. From the
above disclosure of the general principles of the present invention
and the preceding detailed description, those skilled in the art
will readily comprehend the various modifications to which the
present invention is susceptible. Therefore, the scope of the
invention should be limited only by the following claims and
equivalents thereof.
* * * * *