HANDHELD WASTE SCANNING METHOD

• US 20080029439A1
• Filed: 07/12/2007
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Carefusion 303 Incorporated (Becton Dickinson & Co)
• Original Assignee: Vesta Medical LLC (Becton Dickinson & Co)
• Inventors: Mallett, Scott, Davidner, Alan, Benson, James, Regla, Peter, Danta, Randall, Corey, Alan
• Granted Patent: US 7,454,358 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 209/3.3
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2050/185 Drawers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 50/10 Furniture specially adapted for surgical or diagnostic appliances or instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 50/13 Trolleys, e.g. carts
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 50/36 for collecting or disposing of used articles
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 7/005 Computer assisted manual sorting, e.g. for mail
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/30 Administration of product recycling or disposal
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 90/00 Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 209/93 Municipal solid waste sorting

Abstract

A system for disposing of medical waste is generally configured to sort waste items into a plurality of containers according to applicable rules and regulations governing the handling and/or disposal of such items. In some embodiments, a system comprises sorting stations each of which houses a number of disposable containers. Each station can identify an item of waste, determine the most appropriate container for the item, and facilitate disposal of the item in the appropriate container. In some embodiments, a detection system for determining a presence and/or a quantity of waste items within a container is also provided. In some embodiments, access to discarded waste items is restricted once the waste items have been placed in a container.

Claims

1. A method for sorting waste items, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of container compartments, each container compartment configured to receive a removable container;

providing a plurality of removable containers;

wherein the removable containers are configured to be placed within the container compartments,

wherein each of the removable containers is associated with at least one of a plurality of waste categories,

providing a handheld scanner configured to determine a information associated with a waste item;

providing a control system that compares information obtained from the handheld scanner with waste item classification information;

assigning the waste item to at least one waste category; and

identifying one of the removable containers based on the waste category;

opening the identified removable container to move to the open position to permit disposal of said waste item; and

restricting access to the identified removable container after receipt of a waste item.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of restricting access comprises closing an opening in said container.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of restricting access comprises closing a gate associated with said container.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of restricting access comprises locking a lid associated with said container.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising locking said container after said container has reached a pre-set fill level.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the handheld scanner comprises a barcode scanner.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating information from the handheld scanner to said control system.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising wirelessly communicating information from the handheld scanner to said control system.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying information regarding the waste item being discarded.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said waste item classification information comprises classification information based on environmental or drug enforcement regulations for medical or pharmaceutical waste.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a manual input system for manually entering information regarding the waste item.

12. A method for sorting waste items, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of container compartments, each container compartment configured to receive a removable container;

providing a plurality of removable containers, wherein the removable containers are configured to be placed within the container compartments;

wherein each of the removable containers is associated with at least one of a plurality of waste categories,

providing means for determining the identity of a waste item;

providing a control system that compares said identity with waste item classification information;

assigning the waste item to at least one waste category; and

identifying one of the removable containers based on the waste category;

opening the identified removable container to move to the open position to permit disposal of said waste item; and

restricting access to the identified removable container after receipt of a waste item.