System and method of tracking surgical sponges
First Claim
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1. A surgical supply tracking system, comprising:
- a plurality of surgical sponges, each sponge comprising;
a non-threadlike, radiographically detectable object securely fixed to the sponge, wherein the object is less than one (1) centimeter in any dimension;
a scanning device for detecting each radiographically detectable object corresponding to each surgical sponge of the plurality of surgical sponges;
a sponge counter coupled to the scanning device, comprising;
a processor;
a display;
a memory;
logic stored on the memory and executed on the processor for counting each radiographically detectable object; and
logic for displaying on the display a number corresponding to the number of counted radiographically detectable objects.
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Abstract
The apparatus and method is provided that employs a “radiopaque” object to count and account for surgical sponges in an operating room. A radiopaque object is embedded in surgical sponges so that a scanning device can detect and count a large number of the sponges within a container. The container is designed to minimize contact with the sponges by humans. In addition, a surgical team can insure that no surgical sponge is left in a patient without performing the messy and time-consuming job of individually counting sponges as they are entered and disposed of from the surgical site.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A surgical supply tracking system, comprising:
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a plurality of surgical sponges, each sponge comprising;
a non-threadlike, radiographically detectable object securely fixed to the sponge, wherein the object is less than one (1) centimeter in any dimension;
a scanning device for detecting each radiographically detectable object corresponding to each surgical sponge of the plurality of surgical sponges;
a sponge counter coupled to the scanning device, comprising;
a processor;
a display;
a memory;
logic stored on the memory and executed on the processor for counting each radiographically detectable object; and
logic for displaying on the display a number corresponding to the number of counted radiographically detectable objects. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A trackable, surgical sponge apparatus, comprising:
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a plurality of surgical sponges; and
a non-threadlike, radiographically detectable object securely affixed to each surgical sponge of the plurality of surgical sponges, wherein each radiographically detectable object is less than one (1) centimeter in any dimension and is countable by a scanning device. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of tracking and counting surgical sponges, comprising the steps of:
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affixing a plurality of non-threadlike, radiopaque objects less than one (1) centimeter in a plurality of surgical sponges, wherein each surgical sponge has one (1) radiopaque object;
scanning a container containing a number of the plurality of surgical sponges that have been employed in a surgical field;
determining, based upon the number of radiopaque objects detected in the scanning step, the number of surgical sponges in the container; and
displaying on a display device the number of surgical sponges in the container. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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Specification