Electronic management of sterilization process information
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- generating an electronic sterilization record for a sterilized load;
optically scanning a sterilization monitor associated with the sterilized load;
storing a digital representation of the scanned sterilization monitor; and
associating the stored digital representation with the electronic sterilization record.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for electronic management of information relating to sterilization and high level disinfection process monitoring generates electronic sterilization record for sterilized and high level disinfected loads, and optically scans sterilization monitors associated with the sterilized loads. The system stores a digital representation of each scanned sterilization monitor, and associates the digital representation with the electronic sterilization record. The electronic sterilization record also may contain a variety of information including a sterilization status data entered by a user. The system permits a user to review both the sterilization status information and the digitized representation of the sterilization monitor online to verify accuracy. In this manner, a representation of the actual sterilization monitor can be stored and retrieved when desired for verification of result, audits and other quality review activity.
111 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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generating an electronic sterilization record for a sterilized load;
optically scanning a sterilization monitor associated with the sterilized load;
storing a digital representation of the scanned sterilization monitor; and
associating the stored digital representation with the electronic sterilization record. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system comprising:
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a computer that generates an electronic sterilization record for a sterilized load;
a scanner that optically scans a sterilization monitor associated with the sterilized load;
a storage device that stores a digital representation of the scanned sterilization monitor, wherein the computer associates the digital representation with the electronic sterilization record. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A computer-readable medium carrying instructions to cause a programmable processor to:
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generate an electronic sterilization record for a sterilized load;
control a scanner to optically scan a sterilization monitor associated with the sterilized load;
store a digital representation of the scanned sterilization monitor; and
associate the digital representation with the electronic sterilization record. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method comprising:
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generating an electronic sterilization record for a sterilized load;
optically scanning a sterilization monitor associated with the sterilized load;
storing a digital representation of the scanned sterilization monitor;
associating the stored digital representation with the electronic sterilization record;
receiving information from a first user indicating a sterilization condition of the sterilized load;
associating the received information with the electronic sterilization record; and
presenting the electronic sterilization record to a second user for comparison of the information received from the first user to the digital representation of the scanned sterilization monitor. - View Dependent Claims (35)
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36. A system comprising:
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a computer that generates an electronic sterilization record for a sterilized load;
an optical scanner that scans a sterilization monitor associated with the sterilized load, wherein the computer stores a digital representation of the scanned sterilization monitor, and associates the digital representation with the electronic sterilization record;
a user input device that receives information from a first user indicating a sterilization condition of the sterilized load, wherein the computer associates the received information with the electronic sterilization record; and
a user output device that presents the electronic sterilization record to a second user for comparison of the information received from the first user to the stored digital representation of the scanned sterilization monitor. - View Dependent Claims (37)
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38. A computer-readable medium carrying instructions to cause a programmable processor to:
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generate an electronic sterilization record for a sterilized load;
control an optical scanner to scan a sterilization monitor associated with the sterilized load;
store a digital representation of the scanned sterilization monitor;
associate the stored digital representation with the electronic sterilization record;
receive information from a first user indicating a sterilization condition of the sterilized load;
associate the received information with the electronic sterilization record; and
present the electronic sterilization record to a second user for comparison of the information received from the first user to the stored digital representation of the scanned sterilization monitor. - View Dependent Claims (39)
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40. An electronic sterilization record stored on a computer-readable medium, the electronic sterilization record comprising:
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information entered by a user representing a sterilization condition of a sterilized load;
a digital representation of a scanned sterilization monitor associated with the sterilized load. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42)
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Specification