AU2020102665A4

AU2020102665A4 - AMTH- Biomedical Waste Management: Automatic Method and Technologies for Biomedical Waste Management Including Ayurveda Hospitals Using IoT- Based System

Info

Publication number: AU2020102665A4
Application number: AU2020102665A
Authority: AU
Inventors: M. Rajani Devi; Nidhi Jain; G. A. E. Satish Kumar; D. Aruna Kumari; Jyoti Lamba; D. Nagajyothi; Manas Ranjan Sahoo; L. Smitha; R. Sumalatha; Seema Tiwari
Original assignee: Devi M Rajani Dr; Kumar G A E Satish Dr; Kumari D Aruna Dr; Nagajyothi D Dr; Sumalatha R Dr
Current assignee: Devi M Rajani Dr; Kumar G A E Satish Dr; Kumari D Aruna Dr; Nagajyothi D Dr; Sumalatha R Dr
Priority date: 2020-10-10
Filing date: 2020-10-10
Publication date: 2020-12-03
Anticipated expiration: 2028-10-10

Abstract

Our Invention "AMTH- Biomedical Waste Management "is an integrated (medical hospital, Ayurveda hospital) medical waste management, mapping, treatment auto system may include required WI-FI sensors, interlocks, communications links, location, system based local server, global server, IoT-Based control machine and other features. For Example: Such compliance apparatus may include an electronic scale for determining the weight of the waste loaded into the receiver compartment, a metal detector, any other material not related to medical or a sensor for determining if the decontaminating disinfectant is a recommended or authorized disinfectant. The Invention also provide the medical waste management and disposal and, in particular, to an integrated system with numerous improvements and interlocks to encourage safe, unmanned automatic and proper operation. A medical waste treatment system a receiver compartment for loading medical waste to be treated and the receiver compartment feeds a motor-driven shredder operative to shred the waste placed in the receiver compartment. A tank receives a decontaminating disinfectant which is mixed with the waste loaded into the receiver compartment. A pump recirculates the waste and disinfectant mixture through the shredder until the particle size of the decontaminated waste is reduced to a desired granular consistency, at which point the mixture is output through a discharge port. 20 112 114 114 112 12 112 114 li4 112 IRE NEGIMMUM CW SM W"WIM WAM wwwa-m"P, pb-ft P pwmft , 4*-wALAn 4 Faft OVUM FIG. 1A: DEPICTS AN EMBODIMENT OF A WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF THIS INVENTION.

Description

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AMTH- Biomedical Waste Management: Automatic Method and Technologies for Biomedical Waste Management Including Ayurveda Hospitals Using IoT- Based System

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Our invention "AMTH- Biomedical Waste Management" is related to an loT- Based System for Biomedical Waste Management Including Ayurveda Hospitals. A comprehensive medical waste management system for establishing and maintaining medical waste preparedness and cradle-to-grave medical waste asset management in non-emergency and emergency situations requiring medical waste assets and asset management, and methods for making and using same. A comprehensive medical waste management system for establishing and maintaining medical waste preparedness and cradle-to-grave medical waste asset management in non-emergency and emergency situations, where the system includes at least: a control subsystem, a are housing subsystem, a distribution subsystem, a tracking subsystem, a retrieval subsystem, and a disposal subsystem. The present invention also relates to methods for making aspects of the system, for implementing the system and for using the system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Medical waste, as generated in medical, veterinary, dental and laboratory facilities, includes a wide variety of materials and substances, including bandages, gloves, infusion bags, hypodermic needles, syringes, products of dialysis, testing vials, plastic bags, tubes, containers, blood, human and animal wastes. Medical waste must be disposed in a safe, expeditious and hazard-free manner. In large medical facilities, the medical waste is generally collected at a central location and treated by incineration or steam disinfection before disposal into a landfill. Such processes are not only costly, but may also be environment-unfriendly in pollution generated during treatment, their reliance upon transportation of the waste to an offsite treatment facility, and in the less- than-optimal use of environmental un-renewable resources.

Because of the different types of medical waste to be disposed, a number of devices have been developed which include shredders for shredding the medical waste in order to reduce the overall volume and to facilitate sterilization or disinfection. U.S. Patent Nos. ,620,654 and 6,494,391, the entire content of both being incorporated herein by reference, relate to equipment having a footprint with sufficiently small dimensions facilitating installation in hospital departments or wards, laboratories or clinics for on site treatment, disinfection, and localized disposal. Such systems relate particularly to a method and equipment for automatically grinding, sanitizing and neutralizing both acid and basic medical waste, and for disposing it after treatment.

The '654 Patent discloses equipment mounted in a tightly closable housing provided with charge and discharge openings. The housing contains a shredder for comminuting the inserted raw waste and for conveying the shredded material to a mixing vessel where it is diluted with water and thoroughly mixed. A container storing tubes filled with several kinds of sanitizing materials is configured to dispense the required number and kinds of tubes into the shredder in accordance with the pH value of the mixture. The pH level is communicated to a selective valve mechanism by a sensor attached to the vessel. The equipment further includes a pump for recirculating liquid from the vessel to the shredder, and a pump for draining fluid from the mixing vessel. A conveyor (25) conveys the sanitized waste out of the vessel and out of the housing. Electronic and control equipment is provided for operating the various components.

While the invention described in the '654 Patent has been incorporated in commercial settings, such apparatus is relatively large and costly, and therefore has been found to be more suitable for relatively large medical facilities, such as large-size and medium-size hospitals. The '391 Patent improves upon the teachings of the '654 Patent by providing medical waste treatment equipment suitable to relatively small facilities, such as medical, dental, dialysis and veterinary clinics. To achieve this goal, such equipment includes a treatment vessel having an open top, pivotal within a housing, between a waste-loading position, a waste-treating position and a waste- removing position. In the waste-loading position, the open top of the treatment vessel is aligned with the housing inlet for receiving the waste. In the waste-treating position, the waste is shredded by a shredder unit disposed within the treatment vessel, and in the waste-removing position, the open top of the vessel is aligned with the housing outlet for removing the shredded waste. The apparatus further may additionally include a compactor head for compacting the waste within the treatment vessel, a water feed line, and a disinfectant feed line, for feeding water and a disinfectant into the treatment vessel, and a mixer for mixing with the waste while it is being compacted and shredded.

Within the medical field, and especially in hospital environments, controlling the spread of potentially pathogenic organisms is an important concern. A number of studies have shown that the risk of infection due to the spread of disease organisms is a serious human health problem. Infections can be transferred by contact with surfaces upon which organisms can be deposited by handling by patients or hospital staff, or by airborne dispersion after a cough or sneeze. The risk of infection is further exacerbated by the confined space of typical hospitals, and by the fact that people in hospitals may have an impaired ability to resist infection due to their own health problems. In some cases as well, the infectious organisms are sometime resistant to commonly used antibiotics, so called super-bugs, and so remediation of the infection through medical intervention may be difficult, if not impossible. As a result, it is common practice in modern day medical setting to take appropriate measures to reduce the risk of infection. Such measures include "hand washing after contact with patients, frequent cleaning of floors, walls and furniture with disinfecting solutions, and the use of disposable products. The use of disposable plastic syringes, cutlery and beverage containers are but a few examples of products designed for single use in order to reduce the risk of spreading pathogens, and which through use become biomedical waste.

Biomedical waste also comprises such things as blood and blood products, tissues resected during surgery, as well as single use items used and discarded in the normal course of surgical procedures. It is well-recognized that contact with, human fluids such as blood is a significant risk factor in the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes the disease acquired immune deficiency syndrome (-AIDS). It is well recognized that health hazards are posed by the handling and disposal of biomedical wastes, and that care must be exercised in handling such waste and in the disposal thereof. It is desirable and mandated in many jurisdictions that biomedical waste be processed, typically by incineration, to destroy pathogens. Incineration requires significant amounts of energy, and also releases potentially harmful combustion products into the atmosphere. Alternatively, chemical sterilizing solutions can also be used to destroy pathogens in biomedical waste. These chemicals, being themselves toxic, pose added risks to those whose responsibility it is to handle biomedical wastes, as well as a risk to the environment upon their disposal.

Ozone is also well known as having disinfecting properties, and is well "known as a sterilizing agent in certain applications. Ozone is considered very safe as evidenced by the approval of the U.S. Food & Drag Administration for use in treating food products. Ozone is a chemically active radical species of oxygen, commonly produced by ionization of either air or pure oxygen. Unlike conventional disinfecting chemicals, ozone does not form hazardous disinfectant by-products that are harmaful to the environment or are toxic to animals and humans. Once ozone has fully reacted with substances in water or air, excess gas decomposes quickly to normal oxygen and is reabsorbed into the atmosphere. Commercial ozone generators are available which economically produce significant amounts of ozone.

The use of ozone in the disposal of biomedical waste is disclosed in a number of prior art patents. United States Patent Numbers 5,078,965 and 5,116,574 to Pearson disclose grinding the waste and adding water to create a slurry over a fluidized bed, and then bubbling ozone up through the slurry. The systems disclosed in United States Patent Numbers 6,494,391 to Mosenson and 5,820,541 to Berlanga Barrera similarly add water to the ground waste, and add a disinfectant such as ozone, to the mixture. United States Patent Number 5,520,888 to Berndt uses a slush or slurry of waste and ice-containing ozone to sterilize medical waste. Largely for reasons of economy, present waste practices in hospitals and the like include segregation of waste into general waste and biomedical waste with the biomedical waste being processed as such, and the general waste being processed as ordinary garbage and taken to landfills and disposal sites with no treatment. Typically, biomedical waste must be packaged and transported according to strict regulations in order to move same from the source, such as a hospital or the like, to off site processing.

Such segregation is subject to human error, and as well general waste is often in contact with biomedical waste prior to segregation. Further such segregation lengthens the time between creation of the biomedical waste and treatment thereof. Pathogens therefore have an extended time in which to multiply prior to treatment, thereby increasing the number of pathogens that the treatment process must inactivate. As well, waste management personnel are exposed to these pathogens during the common manual separation of biomedical waste from general waste. The invention provides a waste management system including at least: a control subsystem, a distribution subsystem, a tracking subsystem, a retrieval subsystem, and a disposal subsystem. The control subsystem includes at least a plurality of local control units, each unit including command and control hardware, software, routines, and protocols and communication hardware, software, routines, and protocols. The control subsystem may also include a command and control center for centralized management and control. The distribution subsystem includes at least: (1) a plurality of warehouse facilities having inventory control and management equipment, routines and protocols, and (2) asset distribution equipment, routines and protocols. Each warehousing facility including at least: (a) a local command and control unit, (b) deployable medical waste management system kits or units, and (c) sufficient inventory to prepare a desired number of deployable kits and to update deployable kits. Each warehousing facility can also include: (d) a kit preparation area, (e) an inventor storage area, (f) a kit storage area, and (g) a kit deployment or distribution area. The tracking subsystem includes hardware and software for tracking kits in the warehouse facilities and/or kits distributed to emergency or non-emergency sites.

The tracking subsystem may also include active and/or passive tag technology to track kits and/or items in each of the kits. The retrieval subsystem includes retrieval equipment, routines and protocols. The retrieval equipment, routines and protocols may be designed and authorized to handle various classifications of medical waste. The disposal subsystem includes disposal equipment, routines and protocols for disposing of any type of medical wastes. The disposal subsystem may also be designed and authorized to handle various classifications of medical waste.

The invention provides a waste management system including at least: a control subsystem, a distribution subsystem, a tracking subsystem, a retrieval subsystem and a disposal subsystem. The control subsystem includes a central control unit and a plurality of local control units. Each control unit includes command and control hardware, software, routines, and protocols and communication hardware, software, routines, and protocols. The distribution subsystem includes at least: (1) a plurality of warehouse facilities having inventory control and management equipment, routines and protocols, and (2) asset distribution equipment, routines and protocols. Each warehousing facility including at least: (a) a local command and control unit, (b) deployable waste management kits, and (c) sufficient inventory to prepare a desired number of deployable kits and to update deployable kits or units. Each warehousing facility can also include: (d) a kit preparation area, (e) an inventor storage area, (f) a kit storage area, and (g) a kit deployment or distribution area. The tracking subsystem includes hardware and software for tracking kits in the warehouse facilities and/or kits distributed to emergency or non emergency sites. The tracking subsystem may also include active and/or passive tag technology to track kits and/or items in each of the kits. The retrieval subsystem includes retrieval equipment, routines and protocols. The retrieval equipment, routines and protocols may be designed and authorized to handle various classifications of medical waste. The disposal subsystem includes disposal equipment, routines and protocols for disposing of any type of medical wastes. The disposal subsystem may also be designed and authorized to handle various classifications of medical waste.

The invention provides a method for implementing and using medical waste management system comprising the step of providing a control subsystem adapted to manage assets, warehouse assets, distribute asset, and collect and dispose of used assets, locally or collectively. The method also includes the step of warehousing medical waste management assets in one warehouse facility or a plurality of warehouse facilities. The warehousing step includes the steps of preparing deployable medical waste kits, storing deployable medical waste kits, and maintaining deployable medical waste kits.

In the event of a non-emergency or emergency situation or a plurality of non-emergency or emergency situations, the method also includes the step of distributing deployable medical waste kits via deployment transportation assets to one or more sites associated with the non-emergency or emergency local or non-emergency or emergency locals based on a deployment order or request, which specifies the number of kits needed, the location for delivery, and the type of kits needed. The distributing step is adapted to distribute an effective number of warehoused deployable medical waste kits from one or more of the warehouse facilities to one site or a plurality of sites at each emergency or non emergency local, where the number of deployable medical waste kits is sufficient to collect and temporarily store an amount of generated medical waste based the order or requestand anysubsequentorders.

The methods also include the step of retrieving the on-site medical waste via retrieval transportation assets and transporting the on-site medical waste to one or a plurality of disposal facilities. In certain embodiment, the retrieval transportation assets include the United States Postal Service or other non-governmental courier services such as FedEx, DHL, UPS, Lone Star, etc. In other embodiments, the retrieval transportation assets can include appropriate hazardous waste material transportation assets. The method also includes the step of disposing of the retrieved medical waste in one or more of the disposal facilities, where the disposal facilities are adapted to depose of all retrieved medical waste. In certain embodiments, the medical wastes may be sent to different disposal facilities depending on the type of medical waste involved. For example, for normal medical waste, the retrieved medical waste can be sent to any disposal facility. However, if the medical waste includes potential contamination for bio-hazards or radio hazards, the such medical waste will be sent to special disposal facilities adapted and authorized for disposal of hazardous medical waste. The method also includes tracking all deployed medical waste kits.

The tracking step may also include tracking all items within each deployable kit. In certain embodiments, the tracking step is performed by a local tracking subsystem associated with local command and control unit. In other embodiments, the tracking step is performed by a central tracking component associate with the central command and control subsystem and a plurality of facility or local tracking components associated with the local command and control unit. In certain embodiment, the tracking subsystem includes the ability to track each deployed kit via global position technology. In other embodiments, the tracking system includes the ability to track each deployed kit via global position technology and active or passive tags on each item in each kit so that the location of each item and each kit can be tracked for retrieval and disposal. Such item tracking may be especially critical in deployments involving hazardous medical waste such as medical waste involving toxins, pathogens (e.g., bacterial, viral, fungal, etc.), radiation, or the like or mixtures or combinations thereof.

The invention provides a method for implementing and using a medical waste management system of this invention comprising the step of providing a control subsystem including a central control unit and a plurality of local control units. The central control unit is adapted to control the management of all assets, management of the warehousing of all medical waste management system (MWMS) assets, management of the distribution of all MWMS assets, management of the retrieval of all used MWMS assets, management of disposal of all retrieved MWMS assets, and optionally management of the tracking of all MWMS assets. The local control units are adapted to manage local MWMS assets, manage warehousing of local MWMS assets, manage distribution of local MWMS assets, manage local retrieval of used MWMS assets, manage local disposal of retrieved MWMS assets and optionally manage local tracking MWMS assets.

The method also includes the step of warehousing medical waste management assets in one warehouse facility or a plurality of warehouse facilities. The warehousing step includes the steps of preparing deployable medical waste kits, storing deployable medical waste kits, and maintaining deployable medical waste kits. In the event of a non emergency or emergency situation or a plurality of non-emergency or emergency situations, the method also includes the step of distributing deployable medical waste kits via deployment transportation assets to one or more sites associated with a non emergency or emergency local or non-emergency or emergency locals based on a deployment order or request. The distributing step is adapted to distribute an effective number of warehoused deployable medical waste kits from one or more of the warehouse facilities to one site or a plurality of sites at each emergency or non-emergency local, where the number of deployable medical waste kits is sufficient to collect and temporarily store an amount of generated medical waste based the order or request and any subsequent orders.

The methods also include the step of retrieving the collected and stored on-site medical waste via retrieval transportation assets and transporting the collected medical waste to one or more disposal facilities, where the medical waste is properly treated under controlled conditions. In certain embodiments, the retrieval transportation assets include the United States Postal Service or other non-governmental couriers' services such as FedEx, DHL, UPS, Lone Star, etc. In other embodiments, the retrieval transportation assets can include appropriate hazardous waste transportation assets. The method also includes the step of disposing of the collected medical waste in one disposal facility or a plurality of disposal facilities, where each disposal facility is adapted to depose of all medical waste retrieved from each emergency or non-emergency local. The method also includes tracking all deployed medical waste kits. The tracking step can include tracking all items within each deployable kit. In certain embodiments, the tracking step is performed by a local tracking subsystem. In other embodiments, the tracking step is performed by a central tracking component and a plurality of facility tracking components. In certain embodiment, the tracking subsystem includes the ability to track each deployed kit via global position technology. In other embodiments, the tracking system includes the ability to track each deployed kit via global position technology and active or passive tags on each item in each kit so that the location of each item and each kit can be tracked for retrieval and disposal.

PRIOR ART SEARCH

PH0639004A *1992-07-221994-02-15C M D:KkTreatment of medical treatment waste and device therefor. US5620654A *1994-01-101997-04-15Moledet, Kfar Bnei Brith, Moshav Shitufi Paklai Ltd. Method and equipment for sanitization of medical waste. US6186428B1*1998-12-282001-02-13Steriwaste, Inc. Bio-hazardous waste processor and optional encasement. W02006100191A1*2005-03-252006-09-28Ekins Anstalt Equipment for shredding, moistening and feeding precise quantities of solid hospital waste or other products into suitable sterilization containers. W02009064538A2 *2007-11-142009-05-22Donald Sampson Bio-waste sterilizer. in the event of h US4595102A*1984-12-181986-06-17 The Kendall Company Kit for performing a medical procedure. US4737910A*1985-10-151988-04-12 Kim brow Ronald H Apparatus for tracking inventory. US5107857A *1989-04-101992-04-28 Radiation Management Consultants, Inc. Disposable decontamination unit US5236088A*1992-07-291993-08-17 Smith & Nephew Richards, Inc. Biomedical material shipment kit and method US5300226A*1990-10-231994-04-05Stewart E. Erickson Construction, Inc.Waste handling method US5347274A *1990-05-171994-09-13At/Comm Incorporated Hazardous waste transport management system US5374813A *1992-10-151994-12-20Life Surgery, Inc. Surgical instrument recycling and tracking system. US5532928A*1992-11-251996-07-02Recra Environmental, Inc. Computer system and method for waste accounting, reduction, and evaluation. US5752234A*1995-08-181998-05-12Patient Solutions Method and apparatus for managing disposable medical supplies appropriate for a single patient visit. US5991728A *1997-04-301999-11-23Deroyal Industries, Inc. Method and system for the tracking and profiling of supply usage in a health care environment. US6321983B1*1998-07-272001-11-27Hitachi, Ltd. Method for managing life cycles and system for the same. US20020029155A1*2000-08-042002-03-07Frank Hetzel Registration and ordering system. US20020089434A1*2000-11-062002-07-110hanes Ghanaian Electronic vehicle product and personnel monitoring EHealth emergencies including natural and man-made disasters, medical personnel, equipment and supplies are generally distributed to the site of the emergency or emergencies. These infrastructures are fairly well designed and conceived; however, little or no consideration has been given to the large amount of medical waste that would be generated in such emergencies.

Thus, there is a considerable need in the art for systems that can handle medical waste and that can be deployed prior to, concurrent with or subsequent to the deployment of the medical personnel, equipment and supplies to non-emergency and emergency sites.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

1. The objective of the invention is to an integrated (medical hospital, Ayurveda hospital) medical waste management, mapping, treatment auto system may include required WI-FI sensors, interlocks, communications links, location, system based local server, global server, IoT-Based control machine and other features. 2. The other objective of the invention is to such compliance apparatus may include an electronic scale for determining the weight of the waste loaded into the receiver compartment, a metal detector, any other material not related to medical or a sensor for determining if the decontaminating disinfectant is a recommended or authorized disinfectant. 3. The other objective of the invention is to the Invention also provide the medical waste management and disposal and, in particular, to an integrated system with numerous improvements and interlocks to encourage safe, unmanned automatic and proper operation. 4. The other objective of the invention is to a medical waste treatment system a receiver compartment for loading medical waste to be treated and the receiver compartment feeds a motor-driven shredder operative to shred the waste placed in the receiver compartment. 5. The other objective of the invention is to a tank receives a decontaminating disinfectant which is mixed with the waste loaded into the receiver compartment. A pump recirculates the waste and disinfectant mixture through the shredder until the particle size of the decontaminated waste is reduced to a desired granular consistency, at which point the mixture is output through a discharge port.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to medical waste management and disposal and, in particular, to an integrated system with numerous improvements and interlocks to encourage safe, unmanned automatic and proper operation. A medical waste treatment system constructed in accordance with the invention includes an enclosure having a receiver compartment for loading medical waste to be treated. The receiver compartment feeds a motor-driven shredder operative to shred the waste placed in the receiver compartment. A tank receives a decontaminating disinfectant which is mixed with the waste loaded into the receiver compartment. A pump recirculates the waste and disinfectant mixture through the shredder until the particle size of the decontaminated waste is reduced to a desired granular consistency, at which point the mixture is output through a discharge port.

Compliance apparatus is provided as part of the system for determining if the waste, the decontaminating disinfectant, or the status of the system are consistent with recommended or authorized system operation. In accordance with one embodiment, the compliance apparatus includes an electronic scale for determining if the weight of the waste loaded into the receiver compartment exceeds a predetermined limit of the system's capacity. If the weight exceeds the predetermined limit, an error or alarm may be generated and/or an interlock may be activated preventing system operation. Such an error, alarm or interlock may be responsive to any of the compliance apparatus disclosed herein. The compliance apparatus may include a metal detector for determining if the waste loaded into the receiver compartment contains any metal objects incompatible with the motor-driven shredder. The compliance apparatus may include a sensor for determining if the decontaminating disinfectant is a recommended or authorized disinfectant. In the preferred embodiment, the decontaminating disinfectant is received in a containing having an RFID tag or computer-readable code, and the system is operative to determine if the decontaminating disinfectant is a recommended or authorized disinfectant by the RFID tag or code detected or imaged by the sensor.

The compliance apparatus may further comprise a sensor for detecting whether the shredded waste slurry has sufficient water content, and a water filling valve or pump for adding water to the slurry until the sensor detects that the water-to-solid ratio of the slurry reaches a desired ratio. A sensor may additionally be provided for detecting whether the disinfectant is at or below a predetermined level in parts per million, with a pump for adding water or other liquid to the medical waste to ensure that the disinfectant is at or below the predetermined level prior to discharge of the effluent into the sewer; thereby ensuring compliance with local discharge regulations and ordinance for discharge of disinfectants. The compliance apparatus may further include a software algorithm as part of the system's controller for detecting whether the recommended or authorized disinfectant has been placed into the device, with said software relying upon a database of randomly generated multi-digit numbers that correspond with a valid disinfectant identification numbers which are printed on the labels of recommended or authorized disinfectants.

The compliance apparatus may include a communications link enabling one or more systems to transmit information to a central station for detennining if the waste, the decontaminating disinfectant, or the status of the systems are consistent with recommended or authorized system operation. The communications link to the central station is wired or wireless. The communications link to the central station may form part of a bidirectional communication link enabling the central station to deliver updates or commands associated with the recommended or authorized operation of each system. Such updates may include, for example, reminders regarding preventative maintenance or changes in regulatory rules, laws, ordinances or guidelines. The system may include a separator unit to receive the decontaminated, granular waste from the discharge port, remove liquid from the mixture, and transfer the waste to a filter bag or other receptacle for disposal purposes. A conduit may be provided for discharging the liquid removed from the decontaminated, granular waste to a drain, with the compliance apparatus in this case including a pump for adding a specified amount of water to the discharged liquid to ensure compliance with local sanitary sewer ordinances or regulations.

The treated waste de-watering separator unit includes a conveyor or chute, and a heated or non-heated air knife may be disposed along the conveyor or chute to remove liquid from the shredded granular material that may otherwise remain due to surface tension. The system may further be including a discharge valve on the discharge port that is closed while the waste is recirculated through the shredder, and wherein the valve is opened to convey the decontaminated, granular waste to the separator unit. To enhance the biodegradability of the decontaminated waste, the system may further include compliance apparatus for the use of stabilized hydrogen peroxide (H 2 0 2 ) as a fully biodegradable disinfectant. An independent, dedicated hydrogen peroxide (¾(¾) generator may be provided to produce the %02 added to the untreated waste. A viewing window may be included in the systems' waste receiver enabling an operator to view the waste being treated.

A medical waste treatment system, comprising: an enclosure having a receiver compartment for loading medical waste to be treated; a motor-driven shredder operative to shred the waste placed in the receiver compartment; a tank for receiving a decontaminating disinfectant; a conduit for delivering the decontaminating disinfectant to mix with the waste loaded into the receiver compartment; a pump for recirculating the waste and disinfectant mixture through the shredder until the particle size of the decontaminated waste is reduced to a desired granular consistency; a discharge port for outputting the decontaminated waste having the desired granular consistency; and compliance apparatus for determining if the waste, the decontaminating disinfectant, or the status of the system are consistent with recommended or authorized system operation. The medical waste treatment system of claim 1 , wherein the compliance apparatus includes:

A sensor for detecting whether the disinfectant is at or below a predetermined level in parts per million prior to the discharge of diluted disinfectant into the sewer system; and a pump for adding water or other liquid to the medical waste to ensure that the disinfectant is at or below the predetermined discharge requirement level. 10. The medical waste treatment system of claim 1, wherein the compliance apparatus includes a communications link enabling one or more systems to transmit information to a central station for determining if the waste, the decontaminating disinfectant, or the status of the systems are consistent with recommended or authorized system operation. The invention provides, in a first embodiment, an apparatus for processing solid biomedical waste. The apparatus comprises a waste input container having an input opening in a top thereof and an output opening in a bottom thereof. An input door is operative to close and substantially seal the input opening, and an output door is operative to close and substantially seal the output opening. A shredder is mounted under the output opening and is operative to shred waste to a desired maximum size. A processing chamber is located under the shredder such that, when the output door is open, solid waste deposited in the waste input container passes through the output opening and through the shredder, and shredded waste drops into the processing chamber. A sealable discharge opening is provided in the processing chamber. An ozone gas source is connected to the processing chamber and is operative to direct ozone gas into the processing chamber, and an ozone indicator is operative to indicate a concentration of ozone gas present in an atmosphere inside the processing chamber.

A chamber exhaust is selectively operative to exhaust the atmosphere from the processing chamber, and a hopper exhaust is selectively operative to exhaust the atmosphere from the waste input container. The invention provides, in a second embodiment, a method for processing solid biomedical waste. The method comprises providing a shredder above a substantially sealed processing chamber; maintaining a selected concentration of ozone in an ozone rich atmosphere inside the processing chamber during shredding at a level sufficient to sterilize the biomedical waste; feeding waste into the shredder and operating the shredder to shred the waste to a desired maximum size, and allowing shredded waste to fall through the ozone rich atmosphere inside the processing chamber and keeping the waste in the processing chamber for a length of time sufficient to sterilize the biomedical waste at the selected concentration of ozone; and exhausting the ozone rich atmosphere from the processing chamber and removing sterilized waste.

The invention uses gaseous ozone in a simple system that does not require the use of slurries as in the prior art. A considerable level of automation can be provided by the inclusion of sensors and control mechanisms. The sensors operate to provide information about ozone levels in the processing chamber, or to indicate when the hopper is full or when the treatment process is complete and another batch of material can he safely added to the processing chamber. The invention provides an apparatus that is relatively simple and easy to install and which is relatively inexpensive to operate, and allows for substantially automated and continuous treatment of biomedical waste. Biomedical waste treated with the apparatus will be essentially free from pathogens, and as such safe for disposal in municipal landfills and the like. The apparatus for practicing the method of the invention is simple and economical, such that same could be installed in a hospital or like source of biomedical waste and all waste could be processed therein. Chemicals and pharmaceuticals would still require separation; however, these wastes are not presently considered general waste suitable for conventional disposal in any event.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DIAGRAM

FIG. 1A: depicts an embodiment of a waste management system of this invention. FIG. 1B: depicts an embodiment of a warehousing facility of this invention. FIG. 2A: depicts an embodiment of a waste management deployable kit of this invention. FIG. 2B: depicts another embodiment of a waste management deployable kit of this invention. FIG. 3 depicts another embodiment of a waste management deployable kit of this invention. FIG. 4A: depicts another embodiment of a waste management deployable kit of this invention. FIG. 4B: depicts another embodiment of a waste management deployable kit of this invention. FIG. 5: depicts another embodiment of a waste management deployable kit of this invention. FIG. 6: depicts a conceptual flow chart of the operations of the system. FIG. 7: depicts another conceptual flow chart of the operations of the system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1A, an embodiment of a waste management system of this invention, generally 100, is shown to include a central command and control facility 102, a plurality of warehouse facilities 104, one retrieval facility 106 or a plurality of retrieval facilities 106, and one disposal facility 108 or a plurality of disposal facilities 108. Each warehouse facility 104 is in data communication via data communication links 110 with the central facility 102. The data communication links 106 support a robust wire and/or wireless communications protocols such as intranets, internets or other broadband global networks, phone lines, or the like. Each warehouse facility 104 is in data communication via data communication links 112 with the central facility 102.

The data communication links 112 support a robust wire and/or wireless communications protocols such as intranets, internets or other broadband global networks, phone lines, or the like. Each warehouse facility 104 is in data communication via data communication links 114 with the central facility 106. The data communication links 112 support a robust wire and/or wireless communications protocols such as intranets, internets or other broadband global networks, phone lines, or the like. Each warehouse facility 104 is in data communication via data communication links 116 with the central facility 108. The data communication links 112 support a robust wire and/or wireless communications protocols such as intranets, internets or other broadband global networks, phone lines, or the like. Although the three facilities 104, 106, and 108 are shown here as different, the three operations described for each of the three facilities 104, 106, and 108, can be combined so that each facility has a warehousing component, a retrieval component and a disposal component as shown in FIG. 1B.

Looking at FIG. 1B, for facilities that includes all three components, the facility layout can be as illustrated in this illustrative embodiment, generally, 140. Although a specific layout is shown here, the actual layout is not material and will depend on many different things including the aesthetic taste of the management team for each facility; yet the facilities can all be standardized to a single blue print. The facility 140 includes a office component 142. The office component 142 includes offices 144, a computer component 146 and entrances and exits 148. The facility 140 also includes a warehousing component 150, which includes an item storage component 152 having an entrance/exit 154 and environmental sensors 156, a kit preparation component 158 having entrances and exits 160 and environmental sensors 162, a kit storage component 164 having entrance/exit 166 and environmental sensors 168, and a kit staging component 170 having entrance/exit 172 and an environmental sensor 174. The facility 140 also includes a kit deployment component 176 having entrances and exits 178, where kits from the staging component 168 are transferred to transportation assets (not shown) via exit 180. The facility 140 also includes a retrieval component 182 having entrance/exit 184 adapted to receive medical waste assets filled with medical waste slated for disposal. The facility 150 also includes a disposal component 186 including four disposal furnaces 188 and entrance/exit 190. Each furnace 188 includes a control panel 192.

The computer component 146 includes one or a plurality of computers including at least one processing unit, at least one memory unit, at least one mass storage unit, communication hardware and software, inventory management and tracking hardware and software, asset management and tracking hardware and software, deployable kit management and tracking hardware and software, deployed kit management and tracking hardware and software, and sensor monitoring and management hardware and software. The computers can be any computer manufactured for unit in business applications including IBM, Intel, Apple, HP, AMD, Toshiba, Dell, or any other computers.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A&B, an embodiment of a waste management deployable kit of this invention, generally 200, is shown to include a pallet 202 on which a grouping of items 204 is placed and surrounded by a shrink wrap plastic covering 206. Of course, the exact dimensions of the pallet 202 and the number and makeup of the items will depend on the type of unit being prepared, how many people it is intended to handle.

Referring now to FIG. 3, another embodiment of a waste management deployable kit or unit of this invention, generally 300, is shown to include three subunits 302. Each subunit 302 comprises a pallet 304 on which a grouping of items 306 and surrounded by a shrink wrap plastic covering 308. Each pallet 304 can optionally include a tag 310, which can be active or passive and include a GPS component so that the location of each pallet 304 can be monitored on a continuous, periodic or intermittent basis. The grouping of items 306 in one of the subunits 302 can include 5 gal containers 312, 3 gal containers 314, and 2 gal containers 316. Each item 312, 314 and 316 can also include a tag 318, active or passive for tracking the items, and the tags 318 can include a GPS component for continuous, periodic or intermittent tracking of subunit items. Of course, the exact dimensions of the pallet 304 and the number and makeup of the items will depend on the type of unit being prepared, how many people it is intended to handle. Additionally, a single kit may include more or less than three subunits 302 and each pallet 304 can include a different assortment of items including some or all of those disclosed above.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A&B, another embodiment of a waste management deployable kit or unit of this invention, generally 400, is shown to include a sealable container 402 including an openable door 404 and an opening/closing/locking mechanism 406. The container 402 can include a tag 408, active or passive for tracking the items, and the tag 408 can include a GPS component for continuous, periodic or intermittent tracking of containers 402. Of course, the exact dimensions of the container 402 and the number and makeup of the items will depend on the type of unit being prepared, how many people it is intended to handle.

Referring now to FIG. 5, another embodiment of a waste management deployable kit or unit of this invention, generally 500, is shown to include a sealable container 502 including a plurality of sealable subcontainer 504 including an openable door (not shown) and an opening/closing/locking mechanism 506, where each subcontainer 504 can include a plurality of the same or different items described herein (not shown). The container 502 can include a tag 508, active or passive for tracking the items, and the tag 508 can include a GPS component for continuous, periodic or intermittent tracking of containers 502. The subcontainer 504 can include a tag 510, active or passive for tracking the items, and the tags 510 can include a GPS component for continuous, periodic or intermittent tracking of subcontainers 504. Of course, the exact dimensions of the container 502 and the number and makeup of the items will depend on the type of unit being prepared, how many people it is intended to handle.

Implementation Flow Charts:

Referring now to FIG. 6, a conceptual flow chart of the operations of the system, generally 600, is shown to include the step of receiving a request for deployment 602 from a medical response agency. Once the request for deployment is received, the system 600 receives site information 604 from the agency including number of sites, site locations, estimated size of deployment-number of people to be treated, and type of emergency or non-emergency situation. The system 600 then distributes, from one or more warehousing facilities, sufficient waste management kits to each site to handle generated medical waste based on the deployment request in a distribution step 606.

As the emergency or non-emergency situation unfolds and medical waste is accumulated, the response team forwards containerized medical waste to the indicated disposal facility in a transportation step 608. In certain embodiments, the transportation step 608 includes contacting a courier such as the United States Postage Service, UPS, DHL, FedEx or the like to pick up and deliver the containerized medical waste to the indicated disposal facility. In other embodiments, the transportation step 608 includes dispatching specialized hazardous waste handlers to collect and transport the containerized medical waste of the indicated disposal facility. The system 600 also includes the step of receiving the containerized medical waste at the indicated disposal facility, in a receiving containerized medical waste step 610. The system 600 also includes the step of disposing of the containerized medical waste, in a disposal step 612, where the medical waste is disposed of according to guidelines for handling the specific type of medical waste.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a conceptual flow chart of the operations of the system, generally 700, is shown to include the step of receiving a request for deployment 702 from a medical response agency. Once the request for deployment is received, the system 700 receives site information 704 from the agency including number of sites, site locations, estimated size of deployment-number of people to be treated, and type of emergency or non-emergency situation. The system 700 also includes the step of processing the deployment request and site information at a central command and control facility, in a processing step 706, where the command and control center determines which warehousing facilities are required to respond to the request. The central command and control center then directs one or more warehousing facilities to distribute kits to each site sufficient to collect generated medical waste based on the site information in a distribution step 708.

As the emergency or non-emergency situation unfolds and medical waste is accumulated, the response team forwards containerized medical waste to the indicated disposal facility via a transportation step 710. In certain embodiments, the transportation step 712 includes contacting a courier such as the United States Postage Service, UPS, DHL, FedEx or the like to pick up and deliver the containerized medical waste to the indicated disposal facility. In other embodiments, the transportation step 712 includes dispatching specialized hazardous waste handlers to collect and transport the containerized medical waste of the indicated disposal facility. The system 700 also includes the step of receiving the containerized medical waste at the indicated disposal facility, in a receiving containerized medical waste step 712. The system 700 also includes the step of disposing of the containerized medical waste, in a disposal step 714, where the medical waste is disposed of according to guidelines for handling the specific type of medical waste.

Mart Receiver Weight Sensor:

A first improvement relates to proper loading of the receiver compartment 204 with appropriate medical waste to be treated and shredded. According to this aspect of the invention, the receiver compartment 204 will be outfitted with one, two or three types of integrated sensors: (i) an integrated pressure transducer or load cell module; (ii) an integrated metal detector; and/or (iii) a radiation detector. The pressure transducer load cell module provides the system controller with information as to the weight of the medical waste which is placed into the system by the operator at the start of the cycle. The transducer itself may be located immediately below the receiver compartment 204 at 205; under the shredder 208 and motor 210 at 209; or under the entire main unit 102 at 103 so long as the change in weight due to the loaded contents may be accurately determined.

Weight determination offers significant advantages. First, the operator is proactively notified of accidental overload of machine prior to start of automatic cycle. If excessive waste is loaded, the machine will not start the initial cycle, and operators will be provided with an "overload" warning when they attempt to start the automatic cycle. The weight of each machine cycle is also stored in memory and printed by a system printer along with all other parametric data associated with each operational cycle. The weight of the untreated medical waste is automatically communicated to the system controller to eliminate need for a side-car stand-alone weight sc ale in markets such as the United Kingdom and Mexico where users of on-site medical waste processors must record starting weight of the untreated medical waste. The weight determination also allows commercial treatment facilities and medical office building installations to track the weight of each machine cycle for immediate billing to specific waste generator clients by the weight of waste loads, and tracking and reporting of waste that was treated by the system for regulatory compliance. The weight determination also ensures that the system will not attempt to treat medical waste which exceeds the maximum weight upon which the system's microbiological efficacy had been validated.

Smart Receiver Metal Detector:

The integrated metal detector module 207 provides the system controller with information regarding whether the untreated waste contains too large of a metal object, such as a non-shredable medical implant or surgical tool, which would trigger automatic shredder overload detection during the automatic cycle. This improvement is advantageous since untreated waste is often loaded in "red bags" that do not readily reveal their contents. This sensor system informs the operator prior to the start of the shredding phase of the system that the red bag which has been placed into the treatment vessel contains "too large" of a metal object which has been mistakenly disposed of into the red bag waste steam before they start the automatic cycle.

Smart Receiver Color Detector:

As further option, the receiver compartment 204 may also contain an optical sensor 203 to detect the color of the loaded material. Such a feature would, for example, allow red bags of material while rejecting yellow or white containers as these signify dangerous chemicals that should not be added to the system due to certain regulatory restrictions on the treatment of waste which has been color coded by waste category.

Smart Receiver Radiation Detector:

As further option, the receiver compartment 204 may also contain a radiation sensor 201 to detect the presence of waste containing radioactive materials, such as oncological waste. Such a feature would, for example, prevent the automatic treatment process from being started by the operator if certain dangerous waste materials that were not intended or approved by regulatory agencies for use in the system were inadvertently loaded into the system.

Smart Receiver Viewing Window:

The smart receiver aspect of the invention would also include an integrated viewing window on the receiver compartment 204 and/or loading door 202 which allows both operators and technicians to view the inside of the waste receiver during the actual treatment process. In addition to careful monitoring of the treatment process, this aspect of the invention facilitates technical troubleshooting during machine manual operation, such as back-flush routines to clear a jammed shredder.

Smart Shredder:

The smart shredder is a sensor enabled monitor interfaced to the discharge valve 220. The sensor 223 installed in the region of the valve detects whether the shredded waste slurry has sufficient liquid content to ensure that it can flow freely through the system's waste recirculation system. If the sensor detects that the shredded waste slurry has a high solids content, the smart shredder will be commanded to stop shredding, and the slurry will be automatically diluted water and/or disinfectant until the sensor detects that the water-to-solid ratio of the waste approximates a 50:50 ratios to ensure smooth movement of the waste stream through the waste recirculation pump 222.

Smart Discharge:

To ensure compliance with certain local sewer ordinances or regulations, software is used to ensure that specific amounts of fresh water are added to the liquid effluent which contains the disinfectant to ensure concentration control during its discharge into the sanitary drain. This aspect of the invention allows the operator to set up and define into the system's controller the required discharge performance of the machine based upon an easy to interpret software setting in parts per million (ppm). Once the required ppm setting for the discharge is entered into the system controller, the machine will discharge the diluted chemical disinfectant automatically to achieve this ppm discharge limit by automatically injecting into the discharge stream the required amount of cold water to dilute the effluent discharge to the ppm set point.

Claims

WE CLAIM

1) Our Invention "AMTH- Biomedical Waste Management "is an integrated (medical hospital, Ayurveda hospital) medical waste management, mapping, treatment auto system may include required WI-FI sensors, interlocks, communications links, location, system based local server, global server, IoT-Based control machine and other features. For Example: Such compliance apparatus may include an electronic scale for determining the weight of the waste loaded into the receiver compartment, a metal detector, any other material not related to medical or a sensor for determining if the decontaminating disinfectant is a recommended or authorized disinfectant. The Invention also provide the medical waste management and disposal and, in particular, to an integrated system with numerous improvements and interlocks to encourage safe, unmanned automatic and proper operation. A medical waste treatment system a receiver compartment for loading medical waste to be treated and the receiver compartment feeds a motor-driven shredder operative to shred the waste placed in the receiver compartment. A tank receives a decontaminating disinfectant which is mixed with the waste loaded into the receiver compartment. A pump recirculates the waste and disinfectant mixture through the shredder until the particle size of the decontaminated waste is reduced to a desired granular consistency, at which point the mixture is output through a discharge port.

2) According to claims# the invention is to an integrated (medical hospital, Ayurveda hospital) medical waste management, mapping, treatment auto system may include required WI-FI sensors, interlocks, communications links, location, system based local server, global server, IoT-Based control machine and other features.

3) According to claiml,2# the invention is to Such compliance apparatus may include an electronic scale for determining the weight of the waste loaded into the receiver compartment, a metal detector, any other material not related to medical or a sensor for determining if the decontaminating disinfectant is a recommended or authorized disinfectant.

4) According to claiml,2,3# the invention is to the Invention also provide the medical waste management and disposal and, in particular, to an integrated system with numerous improvements and interlocks to encourage safe, unmanned automatic and proper operation. ) According to claiml,2,3,4# the invention is to a medical waste treatment system a receiver compartment for loading medical waste to be treated and the receiver compartment feeds a motor-driven shredder operative to shred the waste placed in the receiver compartment. 6) According to claiml,2,3,5# the invention is to a tank receives a decontaminating disinfectant which is mixed with the waste loaded into the receiver compartment. A pump recirculates the waste and disinfectant mixture through the shredder until the particle size of the decontaminated waste is reduced to a desired granular consistency, at which point the mixture is output through a discharge port.

FIG. 1A: DEPICTS AN EMBODIMENT OF A WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF THIS INVENTION.

FIG. 1B: DEPICTS AN EMBODIMENT OF A WAREHOUSING FACILITY OF THIS INVENTION.

FIG. 2A: DEPICTS AN EMBODIMENT OF A WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPLOYABLE KIT OF THIS INVENTION.

FIG. 2B: DEPICTS ANOTHER EMBODIMENT OF A WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPLOYABLE KIT OF THIS INVENTION.

FIG. 3 DEPICTS ANOTHER EMBODIMENT OF A WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPLOYABLE KIT OF THIS INVENTION.

FIG. 4A: DEPICTS ANOTHER EMBODIMENT OF A WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPLOYABLE KIT OF THIS INVENTION.

FIG. 4B: DEPICTS ANOTHER EMBODIMENT OF A WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPLOYABLE KIT OF THIS INVENTION.

FIG. 5: DEPICTS ANOTHER EMBODIMENT OF A WASTE MANAGEMENT DEPLOYABLE KIT OF THIS INVENTION.

FIG. 6: DEPICTS A CONCEPTUAL FLOW CHART OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE SYSTEM.

FIG. 7: DEPICTS ANOTHER CONCEPTUAL FLOW CHART OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE SYSTEM.