AU2012101891A4

AU2012101891A4 - A Disposable Case

Info

Publication number: AU2012101891A4
Application number: AU2012101891A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Ben Chen
Original assignee: Multigate Medical Products Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Multigate Medical Products Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2012-11-12
Filing date: 2012-11-13
Publication date: 2013-06-20
Anticipated expiration: 2020-11-13

Abstract

Abstract The present invention relates to a disposable case for carrying surgical instruments each having a sharp portion. The case includes one or more retention members engageable by the sharp portion of each surgical instrument. The or each retention member is made of a a pervious material having a density substantially between 0.0863g/cm 3 and 0.1296g/cm 3. The case also includes a pair of half shells being movably hinged to each other. Each of the half shells has a pair of opposing edges. At least one of the pair of opposing edges is curved. 13. Nov, 2 012 16:3 4 C hr ysHI o u I P No. 1448 P. 15 oC C-1. RECEIVED TIME 13. NOY. 17:34

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name of Applicant: MULTIGATE MEDICAL PRODUCTS PTY LIMITED Actual Inventor: BEN CHEN Address for Service: Chrysiliou IP Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys 114-115 Biztek, 20 Dale Street Brookvale Sydney NSW 2100 Invention Title: A Disposable Case The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us o;\patents\applications\22976.dockr 22976 A Disposable Case Technical Field This invention relates to a disposable case for carrying used sharp surgical instruments for disposal. More particularly, the present invention relates to a disposable case adapted to 5 retain and facilitate counting of used sharp surgical instruments which are to be disposed. Background of the Invention There is a desire in the medical equipment industry to provide a container capable of facilitating swift and effective counting of used sharp surgical instruments following a surgical procedure or operation and allowing safe disposal of the sharp instruments thereafter. io The interior of existing cases includes foams for engagement with for example a sharp portion of a suture needle. However, these cases have a shortcoming in that sterilisation thereof, which is essential before any surgical procedure or operation, leads to distortion of the foams. It is therefore an objection of the present invention to provide a disposable case which may overcome or ameliorate the above shortcoming or which will at least provide a useful 15 alternative. Summary of the invention According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a disposable case for carrying surgical instruments each having a sharp portion, the case including: one or more retention members engageable by the sharp portion of each surgical instrument 20 wherein the or each retention member is made of a pervious material having a density substantially between 0.0863g/cm 3 and 0.1296g/cm 3 . In a preferred embodiment, the or each retention member is a plastic foam having a density of 0.1 08g/cm3. Preferably, the case includes upper and lower half shells being movably hinged to each other. 25 The or each retention member is preferred to be attached to an interior of one of the pair of half shells. The retention member may be in the form of a continuous sheet. Alternatively, each retention member is in the form of a discrete band or strip. It is preferred that the upper half shell is transparent. As such, the interior of the case becomes visible to the user. 2 22976 Optionally, an additional retention member which is made of a magnetic material is attached to an interior of the other half shell. Preferably, markings and/or labels are provided at predetermined intervals on or near the or each retention member. The markings are preferred to form a grid defining areas within which 5 each sharp instrument is to be retained. The labels are preferred to be numerals provided on or near the corresponding areas. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a disposable case for carrying one or more sharp surgical instruments, the case including a pair of half shells being movably hinged to each other, each of the half shells having a pair of opposing edges; io wherein at least one of the pair of opposing edges is curved. Preferably, both of the pair of opposing edges are curved. Brief Description of the Drawings The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of. preferred embodiments, in which: 15 Figure 1 is a perspective view of the interior of a disposable case in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the case being in an open state; Figure 2 is a plan view of the interior of the case of Figure 1 illustrating needles being hooked onto retention members made of foam; Figure 3 is a plan view of the interior of a disposable case having retention members 20 made of magnets in accordance with another preferred embodiment; and Figure 4 is a plan view of the disposable case of Figure 3 illustrating surgical blades being retained by the magnets. Detailed Description of the Drawings Referring to Figure 1, a disposable case 10 for carrying surgical instruments such as suture 25 needles and scalpels are shown. Each of these instruments has a sharp portion which is used to engage a retention member provided in the disposable case 10. As shown in figure 1, the case 10 has a pair of half shells 12 & 14 which are movably hinged to each other. A locking tab 16 is provided to engage a corresponding element 18 to secure 3 22976 the shells 12 & 14 together once they are closed such that the case 10 is locked in a closed state so as to prevent the surgical instruments from falling out of the case 10. The half shell 12 has three retention members which are made of a pervious material. In this embodiment the retention members are in the form of foam strips 20, 22 & 24. The form strips 20, 22 & 24 5 are attached to the floor 26 of half shell 12 by way of fastening means such as cement. Although not shown in the attached drawings, it should be appreciated that the retention member may also be in the form of a continuous sheet adapted to perform the same function of facilitating engagement with the sharp portion of surgical instruments. Referring to Figure 2, the sharp end of a couple of suture needles 28 & 30 are hooked onto io the foam strip 20. Each of the foam strip 20, 22, 24 has a density of 0.1 08g/cm . It will however be appreciated that plastic foams having a density of substantially between 0.0863g/cm 3 and 0.1296g/cm 3 would be able to deliver satisfactory performance. The plastic form strip 20 is pierced by the suture needles 28 & 30 such that a portion of the suture needle is embedded within the foam strip 20 thereby enabling the suture needles 28 & 30 to be 15 retained by the foam strip 20. As shown in Figure 2, markings 34 and labels 32 are provided at predetermined intervals adjacent each foam strip 20, 22, 24. The markings 34 form a grid defining areas, for example 36 & 38, within which each suture needle 28, 30 is to be retained. The labels 32 are in the form of numerals provided next to the corresponding areas 36 & 38. In use, after a surgical 20 procedure or operation, used suture needles are brought into engagement with the foam strips 20, 22 & 24 in numeral order. As such, the user can easily keep a tally of the total number of used suture needles just by looking at the numerals 32 thereby being able to swiftly ensuring that no items have been left behind. Turning to Figure 3, another embodiment of a disposable case 10A of the present invention is 25 shown. There are more markings 34A and labels 32A in this embodiment for accommodating more suture needles. Referring to Figure 4, a further embodiment of a disposable case 10B of the present invention is shown. The retention members in this embodiment are magnetic plates, for example 40 & 42, which are affixed to the floor 26B of the half shell 12B. As the scalpel blades 44 are made 3o of metallic material, the magnetic plates 40 & 42 are able to retain the blades 44. Again, labels in the form of numerals 32B are provided next to the corresponding magnetic plates 40 & 42 thereby allowing the user to swiftly count the number of used scalpel blades 44. Although not shown in the attached drawings, it should be noted that one or more additional 4 22976 retention members, either in the form of foam strips or magnetic plates, may be provided and attached to an interior of the other half shells 14, 14A and 14B. In other words, the disposable case 10, 10A and 10B may have a combination of retention members being made of foam and magnet respectively. 5 As best shown in Figure 1, each of the upper and lower half shells 12 & 14 has a pair of opposing edges 50 & 52 and 54 & 56. Each of the edges 50, 52, 54, 56 is curved. This design offers the advantage of rendering the case 10 aesthetically pleasing. More importantly, as the case 10 is for carrying used sharp surgical instruments which, if not handled with care, may cause injuries and infections, it is subconsciously unpleasant to handle. The curved or io rounded edges 50, 52, 54 & 56 is designed for added comfort and ease of use and has the magical effect of mentally mitigating the unpleasantness which would normally be felt by a user when holding a case with square edges. It is also anticipated that as an option, only one end of the case of the present invention is curved. A similar effect as described above would still be generated. 15 Now that preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in some detail, it will be apparent to a skilled person in the art that the disposable case of the present invention may offer at least the following advantages: 1. it enables quick, effective and accurate counting of used sharp surgical instruments; and 20 2. it is not susceptible to distortion following sterilisation. Those skilled. in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. For instance, the retention members may be in the form of a continuous sheet or in discrete strips, bands or plates. Also, the upper half shells 12, 12A and 12B may be transparent so as to allow the 25 user to see the interior of the case. All such variations and modifications are to be considered within the scope and spirit of the present invention the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description. 5

Claims

1. A disposable case for carrying surgical instruments each having a sharp portion, the case including: one or more retention members engageable by the sharp portion of each surgical 6 instrument; wherein the or each retention member is made of a pervious material having a density substantially between 0.0863g/cm 3 and 0.1296g/cm 3 .

2. The disposable case of claim 1, wherein the or each retention member is a plastic foam having a density of 0.1 08g/cm3. 10

3. The disposable case of either claim I or 2, wherein the case includes upper and lower half shells being movably hinged to each other.

4. The disposable case of claim 3, wherein the or each retention member is attached to an interior of one of the pair of half shells,

5. The disposable case of claim 1, wherein the retention member is in the form of a 15 continuous sheet.

6. The disposable case of claim 1, wherein each retention member is in the form of a discrete band or strip.

7. The disposable case of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the upper half shell is transparent. 20

8. The disposable case of any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein an additional retention member made of a magnetic material is attached to an interior of the other half shell.

9. The disposable case of any one of the preceding claims, wherein markings and/or labels are provided at predetermined intervals on or near the or each retention member. 25

10. The disposable case of claim 9, wherein the markings form a grid defining areas within which each sharp instrument is to be retained.

11. The disposable case of either claim 10 or 11, wherein the labels include numerals provided on or near the respective corresponding areas. 6 22976

12. A disposable case for carrying one or more sharp surgical instruments, the case including a pair of half shells being movably hinged to each other, each of the half shells having a pair of opposing edges; wherein at least one of the pair of opposing edges is curved.

13. The disposable case of claim 12, wherein both of the pair of opposing edges are curved.

14. A disposable case substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings.