Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G16—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
  • G16H—HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
  • G16H40/00—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices
  • G16H40/40—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61C—DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE
  • A61C19/00—Dental auxiliary appliances
  • A61C19/02—Protective casings, e.g. boxes for instruments; Bags
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
  • G06Q10/08—Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
  • G06Q10/087—Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
  • G06Q10/0875—Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G16—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
  • G16H—HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
  • G16H40/00—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices
  • G16H40/20—ICT specially adapted for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities; ICT specially adapted for the management or operation of medical equipment or devices for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G16—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
  • G16H—HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
  • G16H70/00—ICT specially adapted for the handling or processing of medical references
  • G16H70/20—ICT specially adapted for the handling or processing of medical references relating to practices or guidelines
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B34/00—Computer-aided surgery; Manipulators or robots specially adapted for use in surgery
  • A61B34/25—User interfaces for surgical systems
  • A61B2034/256—User interfaces for surgical systems having a database of accessory information, e.g. including context sensitive help or scientific articles
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B90/00—Instruments, implements or accessories specially adapted for surgery or diagnosis and not covered by any of the groups A61B1/00 - A61B50/00, e.g. for luxation treatment or for protecting wound edges
  • A61B90/90—Identification means for patients or instruments, e.g. tags
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B90/00—Instruments, implements or accessories specially adapted for surgery or diagnosis and not covered by any of the groups A61B1/00 - A61B50/00, e.g. for luxation treatment or for protecting wound edges
  • A61B90/90—Identification means for patients or instruments, e.g. tags
  • A61B90/98—Identification means for patients or instruments, e.g. tags using electromagnetic means, e.g. transponders
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61C—DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE
  • A61C2204/00—Features not otherwise provided for
  • A61C2204/005—Features not otherwise provided for using chip tag or any electronic identification mean, e.g. RFID

Definitions

• the disclosure relates to a system and to a method for managing dental instruments. Furthermore, the disclosure relates to a computer program for managing dental instruments.
• dental instruments there can be many different needs related to dental instruments. For example, there can be a need to arrange the dental instruments to form individual instrument sets and a dental instrument of a given instrument set should not be accidentally replaced with a similar dental instrument not belonging to the instrument set under consideration.
• a user of a given instrument set may want for example that all the dental instruments used by this user have been sharpened and/or otherwise maintained by a given maintenance person. Therefore, there is not only the above- mentioned need to track the dental instruments involved in various processes but there can be for example also a need to manage instrument sets of the kind mentioned above.
• dental instrument is used in this document to denote, for example and not limited to, dental hand instruments, such as sickles, curettes and handles for scalpels, handpieces for burs and other rotary instruments, and retractors etc as presented in e.g. the publication Scheller-Sheridan, Mé, Basic guide to dental instruments, John Wiley & Sons, 2011. ISBN-10: 1 -4051 -3379-1 ISBN-13: 978-1 - 4051 -3379-1 as well as Boyd, Linda Bartolomucci, Dental Instruments-E-Book: A Pocket Guide, Elsevier Health Sciences, 2020. ISBN-10:032367352X ISBN-13: 9780323673525.
• a new system for managing dental instruments each of which can be provided with a unique instrument identifier such as e.g. a barcode and/or a radio frequency identifier “RFID” tag.
• a unique instrument identifier such as e.g. a barcode and/or a radio frequency identifier “RFID” tag.
• the system comprises:
• - a data processing system comprising one or more processors and memory, the data processing system being communicatively connected to the readers.
• the data processing system is configured to maintain a database containing status information related to the dental instruments and to update the database based on the reader data received at the data processing system from the readers, the status information being indicative of at least one of the following for the dental instruments: i) usability of the dental instrument for a predetermined therapeutic operation, ii) instrument-specific data accessible by using the reader data as a pointer to the instrument specific data, and iii) completeness of an instrument set to which the dental instrument belongs. Therefore, the system can be adapted to carry out various monitoring and management tasks related to the dental instruments.
• the data processing system is configured to maintain group data entities each indicating which ones of the dental instruments belong to a given instrument set, compare the received reader data to the group data entities, and update the status information to indicate that one of the instrument sets is complete in response to a situation in which the received reader data identifies all the dental instruments belonging to the one of the instrument sets.
• This embodiment is applicable in cases where there is a need to arrange the dental instruments to form individual instrument sets, and a dental instrument of a given instrument set should not be accidentally replaced with a similar dental instrument not belonging to the instrument set under consideration.
• the data processing system is communicatively connected to an appointment system of e.g. a dental clinic, and the data processing system is configured to calculate need estimates for the dental instruments at predetermined sites based on information received from the appointment system and indicative of actions related to scheduled appointments and to be carried out with the dental instruments.
• the data processing system is communicatively connected to an enterprise resource planning “ERP” system of an enterprise, e.g. a dental clinic, or another organization.
• ERP enterprise resource planning
• the system can be configured to trigger for example events in the ERP system according to individual instrument and/or instrument set readouts in maintenance processes of the dental instruments.
• the system can be configured to automatically trigger ERP warehouse actions, workorders, and/or billing events upon specific changes in the above-mentioned database.
• the data processing system is configured to send, to a user interface, data indicative which one or ones of the dental instruments are located at a site in response to a reception of a query message identifying the site.
• the data processing system is configured to send, to a user interface, data indicative which one or ones of the dental instruments are eligible for a treatment action in response to a reception of a query message identifying the treatment action.
• the data processing system is configured to send to a user interface, in response to a reception of a query message, data indicative which one or ones of the dental instruments have been subject to maintenance actions so many times that the absolute value of a difference between the number of the maintenance actions directed to a dental instrument under consideration and the maximum allowable number of the maintenance actions directable to this dental instrument is at most a safety margin.
• the data processing system is configured to control a user interface to display a list of the dental instruments so that list items representing dental instruments having different statuses and/or locations are presented with different colors and/or other different indicia.
• the readers comprise user interfaces enabling a user to set the instrument-specific data
• the data processing system is configured to maintain a database configured to store the instrument-specific data so that the instrument-specific data is accessible by using the reader data as a pointer to the instrument specific data.
• the data processing system is configured to form action tracking data expressing actions carried out with the dental instruments and actions directed to the dental instruments in a chronological order, and to compare the action tracking data to predetermined reference data to reveal nonidealities in processes involving the dental instruments.
• the data processing system is configured to maintain a database defining activities related to the dental instruments, maintain activity rules defining which one or ones of the activities are allowable subsequent to other one or ones of the activities and which one or ones of the activities are forbidden subsequent to other one or ones of the activities, recognize activities related to the dental instruments based on the reader data, maintain a state-machine indicative of a status of each of the dental instruments based on the recognized activities, and prevent an attempted state transition related to one of the dental instruments in response to a situation in which the attempted state transition corresponds to one of the activities forbidden subsequent to another of the activities carried out earlier in conjunction with the dental instrument under consideration.
• the data processing system is configured to force the attempted state transition in a response to a situation in which a user inputs authorization data to the data processing system, i.e. the authorization data overrules prevention of the attempted state transition based on the activity rules.
• the data processing system is configured to maintain a log data expressing a chain of the activities related to each of the dental instruments, and return one of the dental instruments to a most recent state that is allowable by the activity rules in response to cancellation of each state transition that has been forced by the authorization data in conjunction with the one of the dental instruments.
• the method comprises receiving, at a data processing system, reader data from instrument identifiers of the dental instruments.
• the method further comprises maintaining a database containing status information related to the dental instruments and updating the database based on the reader data received at the data processing system from the instrument identifiers, the status information being indicative of at least one of the following for the dental instruments: i) usability of the dental instrument for a predetermined therapeutic operation, ii) instrument-specific data accessible by using the reader data as a pointer to the instrument specific data, and iii) completeness of an instrument set to which the dental instrument belongs.
• the computer program comprises computer executable instructions for controlling a programmable processor to receive reader data from instrument identifiers of the dental instruments.
• the computer program further comprises computer executable instructions for controlling the programmable processor to maintain a database containing status information related to the dental instruments and to update the database based on the reader data received from the instrument identifiers, the status information being indicative of at least one of the following for the dental instruments: i) usability of the dental instrument for a predetermined therapeutic operation, ii) instrument-specific data accessible by using the reader data as a pointer to the instrument specific data, and iii) completeness of an instrument set to which the dental instrument belongs.
• a computer program product according to the invention comprises a non-volatile computer readable medium, e.g. a compact disc “CD”, encoded with a computer program according to the invention.
• a non-volatile computer readable medium e.g. a compact disc “CD”
• figure 1 illustrates a system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment for managing dental instruments
• figure 2 shows a flowchart of a method according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment for managing dental instruments.
• FIG. 1 illustrates a system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment for managing dental instruments.
• the system comprises readers 118, 119, and 120 configured to receive reader data from the instrument identifiers of the dental instruments.
• Each reader may comprise for example a radio reader for reading RFID tags and/or an optical reader for reading barcodes, Quick Response “QR” code, and/or other optical identifiers.
• the reader 118 is located at a maintenance site 132 where the dental instruments are washed, maintained, e.g. sharpened with a sharpening tool 137, and their condition is inspected.
• the reader 119 is located at a sterilization site 133 where the dental instruments are sterilized with an autoclave 138 and/or with other sterilization means. After the sterilization process, the dental instruments are ready for use and they are transferred to a storage site 134.
• the reader 120 is located at a usage site 135 where the dental instruments are used for their purposes of usage.
• Each of the readers 118-120 is configured to generate an identifier signal after reading an identifier of a dental instrument.
• Each identifier signal contains identification data that advantageously uniquely identifies the dental instrument corresponding to the identifier signal under question.
• the system comprises a data processing system 101 that comprises one or more processors and memory.
• the data processing system 101 is communicatively connected to the readers 118, 119, and 120 via e.g. Ethernet or with some other suitable local networking technology.
• the data processing system 101 can be connected to an external memory 121 and/or to cloud 141 services.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to maintain a database containing status information related to the dental instruments and to update the database based on the reader data received at the data processing system 101 from the readers 118, 119, and 120.
• the status information is indicative of at least one of the following for the dental instruments: i) usability of a given dental instrument for a predetermined therapeutic operation, ii) instrument-specific data accessible by using the reader data as a pointer to the instrument specific data, and iii) completeness of an instrument set to which the dental instrument belongs.
• the system can be adapted to carry out various monitoring and management tasks related to the dental instruments.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to maintain group data entities each indicating which ones of the dental instruments belong to a given instrument set.
• group data entities each indicating which ones of the dental instruments belong to a given instrument set.
• the instrument set 103 comprises dental instruments 106, 107, 108, and 109
• the instrument set 104 comprises dental instruments 110, 111 , 112, and 113
• the instrument set 105 comprises dental instruments 114, 115, 116, and 117.
• the instrument set 103 is at the maintenance site 132
• the instrument set 104 is at the sterilization site 132
• the instrument set 105 is at the usage site 135.
• Each of the dental instruments 106-117 is provided with a unique instrument identifier that can comprise for example a barcode and/or a radio frequency identifier “RFID” tag.
• the instruments 106-109 of the instrument set 103 are handled with the aid of a collector platform 122
• the instruments 110-113 of the instrument set 104 are handled with the aid of a collector platform 123
• the instruments 114-115 of the instrument set 105 are handled with the aid of a collector platform 124.
• the collector platforms 122-124 are auxiliary devices for keeping together the instruments belonging to a same instrument set. It is worth noting that in many cases it is also possible to handle the instrument sets without auxiliary devices such as the collector platforms 122-124. Furthermore, it is also possible that a collector platform contains one or more instrument sets and, in addition, one or more separate instruments which do not belong to any instrument set. It is also possible to treat the instruments contained by a large collector platform as a higher-level instrument set that comprises different lower-level sets and possibly separate instruments not belonging to any of the lower level sets. Therefore, it is possible to define various set hierarchies.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to compare the received reader data to the group data entities, and to update the status information to indicate that a given one of the instrument sets is complete in response to a situation in which the received reader data identifies all the dental instruments belonging to the one of the instrument sets.
• This embodiment is applicable in cases where a dental instrument of a given instrument set should not be accidentally replaced with a similar dental instrument not belonging to the instrument set under consideration.
• the reader 119 reads the instrument identifier of the instrument under consideration.
• the reading the instrument identifier of the instrument 110 is depicted with a dashed line arrow shown in figure 1 .
• the reader 119 generates the identifier signals each identifying one of the instruments 110-113.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to compare the received identifier signals to the group data entities which define the instrument sets. If the received identifier signals identify all the instruments 110-113 of the instrument set 104, the data processing system 101 sets the status information of the instrument set 104 to indicate completeness of the instrument set 104, i.e. to indicate that the instrument set 104 is complete.
• the operation can be for example such that the status information is set to indicate incompleteness when an identifier signal identifying any of the instruments 110-113 is received for a first time, and the status information is switched back to indicate completeness when the received identifier signals identify all the instruments 11Q- 113.
• the data processing system 101 can be configured to compare the received identifier signals with the group data entity that defines the instrument set 104 and to set the status information to indicate completeness if all the instruments of the instrument set 104 are represented by the received update signals, and to set the status information to indicate incompleteness if one or more of the instruments is/are missing and/or if one or more of the instruments indicated by the received identifier signals are instruments not belonging to the instrument set 104.
• the data processing system 101 is advantageously configured to generate an appropriate alarm signal in cases where the instrument set is detected to be incomplete. In a case the data processing system 101 does not receive an identifier signal related to an instrument read by a previous reader on the path comprising the sites 132-135, an alarm signal can be generated as well. It is also possible that the device 101 generates a message such as for example: “Is instrument 111 in the set?" This message is advantageously delivered to a person operating the reader under consideration. One more option is that the above-mentioned message contains a request to read the instrument set again.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to update the status information to indicate that a given one of the instrument sets is complete only in response to reception of the reader data identifying all the dental instruments belonging to the one of the instrument sets from a same site of operation.
• the site of operation can be e.g. the maintenance site 132, the sterilization site 133, the storage site 134, or the usage site 135.
• the instrument set 104 is deemed to be complete only if all the identifier signals identifying the instruments 110-113 are received from the sterilization site 133.
• the additional condition related to the site of operation reduces a risk of misinterpretations that may take place for example in cases where similar instruments of two instrument sets have been accidentally interchanged and the identifier signals related to one of these incomplete instrument sets are received from one site and the identifier signals related to the other one of these incomplete instrument sets are received from another site.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to update the status information to indicate that a given one of the instrument sets is complete only in response to reception of the reader data identifying the dental instruments belonging to the one of the instrument sets from a same reader.
• the instrument set 104 is deemed to be complete only if all the identifier signals identifying the instruments 110-113 are received from the reader 119.
• This additional condition related to the reader reduces the risk of misinterpretations in the same way as the above-described additional condition related to the site of operation.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to update the status information to indicate that a given one of the instrument sets is complete only in response to reception of the reader data identifying the dental instruments belonging to the one of the instrument sets within a time interval having a pre-determined length, i.e. within a time-window having the pre-determined length.
• the instrument set 104 is deemed to be complete only if all the identifier signals identifying the instruments 110-113 are received by the data processing system 101 within the time interval having the pre-determined length.
• the additional condition related to the length of the reception time interval reduces the risk of misinterpretations that may take place for example in cases where similar instruments of two instrument sets have been accidentally interchanged and the identifier signals related to one of these incomplete instrument sets are received first and the identifier signals related to the other one or ones of these incomplete instrument sets are received later.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to update the status information to indicate that a given one of the instrument sets is complete only in response to reception of the reader data identifying the instruments belonging to the one of the instrument sets within a time interval that is free from receptions of the reader data identifying dental instruments other than the dental instruments belonging to the one of the instrument sets.
• the instrument set 104 is deemed to be complete only if all the identifier signals identifying the instruments 110-113 are received within such a time interval that is free from receptions of identifier signals identifying instruments other than the instruments 110-113. This additional condition reduces the risk of misinterpretations that may take place for example in cases where similar instruments of two instrument sets have been accidentally interchanged and these incomplete instrument sets are handled in a same site of operation substantially simultaneously.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to maintain a logical association between at least one of the dental instruments and one or more entity identifiers.
• Each of the entity identifiers identifies an operational entity operationally associated with the above-mentioned the dental instrument.
• the entity identifiers may comprise for example one or more of the following:
• a collector platform such as e.g. the above-mentioned collector platforms 122-124, for keeping together an instrument set comprising the above-mentioned the dental instrument and one or more other dental instruments,
• one or more identifiers of one or more devices e.g. maintenance tools, eligible to be used for directing an action to the above-mentioned the dental instrument.
• the instrument set 105 that comprises the instruments 114-117.
• the group data entity of the instrument set 105 is associated with an entity identifier that is an identifier of a person 160 who is eligible to use the instrument set 105.
• the instrument set 105 is deemed to be complete only if the identifier of the person 160 is received when the identifier signals identifying the instruments 114-117 are received. Therefore, from the viewpoint of managing the instrument set 104, the person 160 can be logically treated in the same way as any of the instruments 114- 117, i.e.
• the reception of the identifier of the person 160 is a precondition for deeming the instrument set 105 to be complete at the usage site 135 in the same way as the reception of the identifier signals identifying the instruments 114-117 is a precondition for deeming the instrument set 105 to be complete.
• the person 160 may have for example a name pad provided with a barcode and/or with an RFID tag which can be read with the aid of the reader 120.
• the reading the identifiers of the instruments are depicted with dashed line arrows in figure 1 a.
• the reading the identifier of the person 160 is also depicted with a dashed line arrow shown in figure 1 a.
• the management can be site/reader-dependent so that the reception of the identifier of the person 160 is the precondition for deeming the instrument set 105 to be complete only when the identifier signals and the identifier of the person 160 are received from the reader 120 located at the usage site 135.
• Information defining possible site/reader-dependence can be, for example, associated with the group data entity that defines the instrument set 105.
• the data processing system 101 is communicatively connected to an appointment system 140.
• the appointment system 140 can be for example an appointment system of a dental clinic.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to calculate need estimates for the dental instruments at predetermined sites based on information received from the appointment system and indicative of actions related to scheduled appointments and to be carried out with the dental instruments.
• the data processing system 101 can be for example configured to compare the dental instruments that are located at the predetermined sites and eligible for carrying out the actions related to scheduled appointments to the above-mentioned need estimates, and to send, to a user interface and/or a recording memory, an acknowledgement signal in response to a situation in which the dental instruments located at the predetermined sites are capable of satisfying the need estimates, and to send, to the user interface and/or the recording memory, a warning signal in response to a situation in which the dental instruments located at the predetermined sites are incapable of satisfying the need estimates.
• the data processing system 101 is advantageously configured to set the warning signal to express which one or ones of the above-mentioned need estimates are not fulfilled by the available dental instruments.
• the user interface may comprise for example a user interface of the appointment system 140, and/or a user interface connected to the data processing system 101 .
• the data processing system 101 is communicatively connected to an enterprise resource planning “ERP” system 150.
• the ERP system 150 can be for example an ERP system of a dental clinic chain or an ERP system of another organization.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to trigger events in the ERP system 150.
• the data processing system 101 can be for example configured to trigger an event in the ERP system 150 to move instruments between stock locations, and/or to issue workorder for instrument maintenance, and/or after a maintenance activity is completed to issue an invoice concerning the completed maintenance activity.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to send, to the user interface and/or the recording memory, data indicative which one or ones of the dental instruments are located at a site in response to a reception of a query message identifying the site.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to send, to the user interface and/or the recording memory, data indicative which one or ones of the dental instruments are eligible for a treatment action in response to a reception of a query message identifying the treatment action.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to send to the user interface and/or the recording memory, in response to a reception of a lifetime query, lifetime data indicative which one or ones of the dental instruments have been subject to maintenance actions so many times that an absolute value of a difference between the number of the maintenance actions directed to each one of these dental instruments and the maximum allowable number of the maintenance actions directable to the dental instrument is at most a safety margin. This lifetime data can be used for providing early warnings about the ends of the lifetimes of the dental instruments.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to control the user interface to display a list of the dental instruments so that list items representing dental instruments having different statuses and/or locations are presented with different colors.
• the readers 118-120 comprise user interfaces 142, 143, and 144 enabling a user to set at least a part of the instrument-specific data.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to control the database storing the instrument-specific data so that the instrumentspecific data is accessible by using the reader data as a pointer to the instrument specific data.
• the user interfaces 142-144 of the readers 118-120 are configured to enable a user to set the instrument-specific data to express at least one of the following: a need to inspect the dental instrument related to the instrument-specific data, a need to repair the dental instrument related to the instrument-specific data, a need replace the dental instrument with a new one.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to form action tracking data expressing actions carried out with the dental instruments and actions directed to the dental instruments in a chronological order. Furthermore, the data processing system 101 is configured to compare the action tracking data to predetermined reference data to reveal nonidealities of processes involving the dental instruments.
• the above- mentioned action tracking data is configured to express, for each of the dental instruments, actions related to the dental instrument after the dental instrument is removed from a storage at the storage site 134 until the dental instrument is returned into the storage or the dental instrument is discarded.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to:
• the data processing system 101 is configured to force the attempted state transition of the above-mentioned dental instrument in a response to a situation in which a user inputs authorization data to the data processing system 101 , where the authorization data overrules the prevention of the attempted state transition based on the activity rules.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to maintain a log data expressing a chain of the activities directed to each of the dental instruments, and return the one of the dental instruments to a most recent state that is allowable by the activity rules in response to cancellation of each state transition that has been forced by the above- mentioned authorization data.
• the data processing system 101 is configured to:
• the instrument-specific data to comprise at least data expressing past activities performed on the corresponding dental instrument and data expressing by which user and/or with which washing machine and/or with which autoclave the past activities have been performed,
• the state-machine set the state-machine to include states that indicate that the dental instrument is either in a usable status or in an unusable status depending on whether a sterilizing activity has been performed subsequent to a cleaning activity or not and whether a use activity has been performed subsequent to the sterilizing activity,
• - receive a signal from the user interface indicating that at least one of the users on the list is categorized as unreliable, and/or at least one of the washing machines is categorized as malfunctioning, and/or at least one of the autoclaves is categorized as malfunctioning, and - search, from the database, for dental instruments whose status is currently the usable-status and whose latest cleaning and/or sterilization activity is performed by the unreliable user and/or the malfunctioning washing machine and/or the malfunctioning autoclave, and to change the status of these dental instruments from usable to unusable.
• One additional challenge that is frequently present in conjunction with dental clinic operations is a need to replace one or more dental instruments of an instrument set or collector platform with one or more new or serviced dental instruments, because an existing dental instrument is worn out and/or needs service or discarding.
• a redefine set -procedure is offered to users of the system.
• This procedure allows a user to take an existing instrument set 103 or collector platform 122, remove and/or add dental instruments as necessary, activate the redefine set -function on a reader 119, then read the dental instruments in the collector platform of the newly reformed instrument set with the reader, and send the information to the database maintained by the processing system 101 in order to tell the database that the instrument set in question now consists of the instruments in the read collector platform 122 or instrument set 103.
• the redefine set -procedure brings the benefit of allowing to easily and quickly redefine and modify existing instrument sets and/or collector platform contents without taking the steps of selecting dental instruments to be removed from a set and/or to be added to a set on e.g. a user interface.
• dental instruments it is practical to take one or more dental instruments from an existing instrument set 103 or collector platform 122 and add the one or more dental instruments to another instrument set 104 or collector platform 123.
• identical dental instruments 106, 113 with unique identifiers from different instrument sets may sometimes be mixed up so that a collector platform contains the right instrument types, e.g. a sickle 110, a forceps 107, and a scalpel 117, but the unique instrument identifiers of the dental instruments are not the identifiers associated as an instrument set 103 in the database maintained by the processing system 101 .
• a user can take a collector platform 103 which has the right instrument types, e.g. a sickle 110, a forceps 107, and a scalpel 117, which unfortunately are associated with different instrument sets 103, 104, 105 in the database, and select a redefine set -function on a reader.
• instrument types e.g. a sickle 110, a forceps 107, and a scalpel 117
• the system When the system detects that the user has initiated the redefine set -function and reads the dental instruments 110, 107, and 117 that belong to different instrument sets 103, 104, and 105 in the database 101 , the system shows on the user interface 143 of the reader 119 information about the instrument sets 103, 104, and 105 in question and queries the user to select which of the instrument sets 103, 104, or 105 the read dental instruments should be reassociated with.
• the user selects one of the existing sets e.g. 103, the dental instruments 110, 107, and 117 are associated with the selected set 103 and the old associations between the dental instruments 106, 108, and 109 and the set are removed or hidden.
• the old associations may be stored for reference and audit trails but are no longer used to associate the dental instruments 106, 108, and 109 with the instrument set 103.
• the system may be configured to automatically choose the set to which the majority of the instruments already belong. For example, if three instruments are read, and two of those instruments belong to the same set, all three instruments are associated with this set. This accelerates the process as the user does not have to consider which existing set to select.
• a) the data processing system 101 is configured to maintain:
• the data processing system 101 is configured to:
• the above-discussed data processing system 101 comprises processor equipment 102 that may comprise one or more processor units each of which can be a programmable processor unit, a dedicated hardware processor unit such as an application specific integrated circuit “ASIC”, a configurable processor unit such as a field programmable gate array “FPGA”, or a combination of these.
• processor equipment 102 may comprise one or more processor units each of which can be a programmable processor unit, a dedicated hardware processor unit such as an application specific integrated circuit “ASIC”, a configurable processor unit such as a field programmable gate array “FPGA”, or a combination of these.
• Figure 2 shows a flowchart of a method according to an exemplifying and nonlimiting embodiment for managing dental instruments.
• the method comprises the following actions: - action 201 : receiving, at a data processing system, reader data from instrument identifiers of the dental instruments,
• - action 202 maintaining a database containing status information related to the dental instruments
• - action 203 updating the database based on the reader data received at the data processing system from the instrument identifiers, the status information being indicative of at least one of the following for the dental instruments: i) usability of the dental instrument for a predetermined therapeutic operation, ii) instrument-specific data accessible by using the reader data as a pointer to the instrument specific data, and iii) completeness of an instrument set to which the dental instrument belongs.
• a method comprises maintaining one or more group data entities each indicating which ones of the dental instruments belong to a corresponding one of instrument sets, comparing the received reader data to the one or more group data entities, and updating the status information to indicate that one of the instrument sets is complete in response to a situation in which the received reader data identifies all the dental instruments belonging to the one of the instrument sets.
• a method comprises updating the status information to indicate that the one of the instrument sets is complete only in response to reception of the reader data identifying the dental instruments belonging to the one of the instrument sets from a same site of operation.
• a method comprises updating the status information to indicate that the one of the instrument sets is complete only in response to reception of the reader data identifying the dental instruments belonging to the one of the instrument sets from a same one of the readers.
• a method comprises updating the status information to indicate that the one of the instrument sets is complete only in response to reception of the reader data identifying the dental instruments belonging to the one of the instrument sets within a time interval having a pre-determined length.
• a method comprises updating the status information to indicate that the one of the instrument sets is complete only in response to reception of the reader data identifying the dental instruments belonging to the one of the instrument sets within a time interval that is free from receptions of the reader data identifying dental instruments other than the dental instruments belonging to the one of the instrument sets.
• a method comprises maintaining a logical association between at least one of the dental instruments and one or more entity identifiers, each of the entity identifiers identifying an operational entity operationally associated with the one of the dental instruments.
• the one or more entity identifiers may comprise for example one or more of the following:
• a method comprises receiving information from an appointment system and calculating need estimates for the dental instruments at predetermined sites based on the information received from the appointment system and being indicative of actions related to scheduled appointments and to be carried out with the dental instruments.
• a method comprises comparing the dental instruments located at the predetermined sites and eligible for carrying out the actions related to scheduled appointments to the above-mentioned need estimates, and sending, to a user interface and/or a recording memory, an acknowledgement signal in response to a situation in which the dental instruments located at the predetermined sites are capable of satisfying the need estimates, and sending, to the user interface and/or the recording memory, a warning signal in response to a situation in which the dental instruments located at the predetermined sites are incapable of satisfying the need estimates.
• a method comprises setting the warning signal to express which one or ones of the need estimates are not fulfilled by the dental instruments.
• a method comprises sending, to a user interface and/or a recording memory, data indicative which one or ones of the dental instruments are located at a site in response to a reception of a query message identifying the site.
• a method comprises sending, to a user interface and/or a recording memory, data indicative which one or ones of the dental instruments are eligible for a treatment action in response to a reception of a query message identifying the treatment action.
• a method comprises sending to a user interface and/or a recording memory, in response to a reception of a lifetime query, lifetime data indicative which one or ones of the dental instruments have been subject to maintenance actions so many times that an absolute value of a difference between the number of the maintenance actions directed to each one of these dental instruments and the maximum allowable number of the maintenance actions directable to the dental instrument is at most a safety margin.
• a method comprises controlling a user interface to display a list of the dental instruments so that list items representing dental instruments having different statuses and/or locations are presented with different colors.
• readers that read the reader data comprise user interfaces enabling a user to set the instrumentspecific data
• the method comprises controlling the database storing the instrument-specific data so that the instrument-specific data is accessible by using the reader data as a pointer to the instrument specific data.
• the user interfaces of the readers enable the user to set the instrument-specific data to express at least one of the following: a need to inspect the dental instrument related to the instrument-specific data, a need to repair the dental instrument related to the instrument-specific data, a need replace the dental instrument with a new one.
• a method comprises forming action tracking data expressing actions carried out with the dental instruments and actions directed to the dental instruments in a chronological order, and comparing the action tracking data to predetermined reference data to reveal nonidealities of processes involving the dental instruments.
• the action tracking data expresses, for each of the dental instruments, actions related to the dental instrument after the dental instrument is removed from a storage until the dental instrument is returned into the storage or the dental instrument is discarded.
• a method comprises forcing the attempted state transition of the one of the dental instruments in response to a situation in which a user inputs authorization data that overrules the prevention of the attempted state transition based on the activity rules.
• a method comprises maintaining a log data expressing a chain of the activities directed to each of the dental instruments, and returning the one of the dental instruments to a most recent state that is allowable by the activity rules in response to cancellation of each state transition that has been forced by the authorization data.
• the instrument-specific data to comprise at least data expressing past activities performed on the corresponding instrument and data expressing by which of the users and/or with which of the washing machines and/or with which of the autoclaves the past activities have been performed,
• the state-machine to include states that indicate that the dental instrument is either in a usable status or in an unusable status depending on whether a sterilizing activity has been performed subsequent to a cleaning activity or not and whether a use activity has been performed subsequent to the sterilizing activity
• the method further comprises:
• the method further comprises:
• a method comprises controlling an enterprise resource planning “ERP” system to issue at least one of the following in response to a status change in the database: i) a stock transfer order, ii) a work order, and iii) an invoice.
• ERP enterprise resource planning
• a computer program according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment comprises computer executable instructions for controlling a programmable processor to carry out a method according to any of the above-defined exemplifying embodiments.
• a computer program comprises software modules for managing dental instruments.
• the software modules comprise computer executable instructions for controlling a programmable processor to: receive reader data from instrument identifiers of the dental instruments, - maintain a database containing status information related to the dental instruments, and
• the database based on the reader data received from the instrument identifiers, the status information being indicative of at least one of the following for the dental instruments: i) usability of the dental instrument for a predetermined therapeutic operation, ii) instrument-specific data accessible by using the reader data as a pointer to the instrument specific data, and iii) completeness of an instrument set to which the dental instrument belongs.
• the software modules can be, for example, subroutines and functions generated with a suitable programming language.
• a computer program product comprises a non-volatile computer readable medium, e.g. a compact disc “CD”, encoded with a computer program according to an exemplifying and nonlimiting embodiment.
• a non-volatile computer readable medium e.g. a compact disc “CD”
• a signal according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment is encoded to carry information defining a computer program according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment.

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