Method and apparatus for protecting sterile drapes in surgical thermal treatment systems
First Claim
1. An apparatus to protect a receptacle used to contain a sterile medium in a basin of a thermal treatment system, wherein an object disposed in said basin is thermally treated by said sterile medium, said apparatus comprising:
- a basin of a thermal treatment systema receptacle to contain said sterile medium within said basin; and
a protective member disposed on said receptacle, wherein;
said protective member includes a bottom surface that faces said basin and a top surface that faces away from said basin, andsaid protective member prevents said object from contacting said receptacle when said object is placed within said receptacle,said protective member possesses a solid, imperforate structure, andat least a portion of said protective member top surface includes an undulating configuration, a corrugated configuration, or a series of protrusions.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Surgical drapes employed with thermal treatment systems are re-enforced according to the present invention. This protects against punctures and tears when objects are placed in a receptacle formed by a drape within a thermal treatment system basin to contain a sterile medium. In one embodiment, a plate or pad is used to protect the drape. The plate or pad may be formed of rigid or flexible material of various configurations. The plate or pad may be solid or perforated (e.g., with holes, slots, mesh, etc.), and may be loosely placed on or fixedly attached to the drape. The plate or pad may have depending feet or protrusions that support the plate spaced above the drape material. Alternatively, the drape may be utilized without the plate and include a thick intermediate section resistant to puncture that is disposed within the thermal treatment system basin.
169 Citations
55 Claims
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1. An apparatus to protect a receptacle used to contain a sterile medium in a basin of a thermal treatment system, wherein an object disposed in said basin is thermally treated by said sterile medium, said apparatus comprising:
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a basin of a thermal treatment system a receptacle to contain said sterile medium within said basin; and a protective member disposed on said receptacle, wherein; said protective member includes a bottom surface that faces said basin and a top surface that faces away from said basin, and said protective member prevents said object from contacting said receptacle when said object is placed within said receptacle, said protective member possesses a solid, imperforate structure, and at least a portion of said protective member top surface includes an undulating configuration, a corrugated configuration, or a series of protrusions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. In a thermal treatment system including a basin to thermally treat a sterile medium contained therein and a receptacle being disposed within said basin to contain said sterile medium, wherein an object disposed in said basin is thermally treated by said sterile medium, a protective device disposed within said basin to protect said receptacle, said protective device comprising:
a protective member disposed on said receptacle, wherein; said protective member includes a bottom surface that faces said basin and a top surface that faces away from said basin; said protective member prevents said object from contacting said receptacle when said object is placed within said receptacle, said protective member possesses a solid, imperforate structure; and at least a portion of said protective member top surface includes an undulating configuration, a corrugated configuration, or a series of protrusions. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of preventing puncture of a receptacle used to contain a sterile medium in a basin of a thermal treatment system, wherein an object disposed in said basin is thermally treated by said sterile medium, said method comprising:
(a) re-enforcing at least a portion of said receptacle within said basin to be resistive to penetration with a protective member disposed on said receptacle, wherein; said protective member includes a bottom surface that faces said basin and a top surface that faces away from said basin; said protective member prevents said object from contacting said receptacle when said object is placed within said receptacle; and said protective member possesses a solid, imperforate structure; and at least a portion of said protective member top surface includes an undulating configuration, a corrugated configuration, or a series of protrusions. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. An apparatus to protect a receptacle used to contain a sterile medium in a basin of a thermal treatment system, wherein an object disposed in said basin is thermally treated by said sterile medium, said apparatus comprising:
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a basin of a thermal treatment system a receptacle to contain said sterile medium within said basin; and a protective member disposed on said receptacle, said protective member comprising; a bottom surface that faces said basin and a top surface and that faces away from said basin, and a plurality of holes defined therein, said plurality of holes permitting said sterile medium to flow through said protective member and thermally treat said object, wherein each hole of said plurality of holes extends from said top surface to said bottom surface, and wherein each hole of said plurality extends through the protective member at a non-perpendicular angle relative to said top surface to prevent an object inserted into said receptacle at an object angle that is substantially perpendicular to said top surface from passing entirely through said protective member, thereby preventing said object from contacting said receptacle when said object is disposed within said basin. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. In a thermal treatment system including a basin to thermally treat a sterile medium contained therein and a receptacle being disposed within said basin to contain said sterile medium, wherein an object disposed in said basin is thermally treated by said sterile medium, a protective device disposed within said basin to protect said receptacle, said protective device comprising a protective member disposed on said receptacle, said protective member including:
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a bottom surface that faces said basin and a top surface that faces away from said basin; and a plurality of holes defined therein configured to permit said sterile medium to flow through said protective member and thermally treat said object, wherein each of said plurality of holes extend from said top surface to said bottom surface, wherein each hole of said plurality of holes extends through said protective member at a non-perpendicular angle relative to said top surface to prevent said object inserted into said receptacle at an object angle that is substantially perpendicular to said protective member top surface from passing entirely through said protective member, thereby preventing said object from contacting said receptacle when said object is disposed within said basin. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A method of preventing puncture of a receptacle used to contain a sterile medium in a basin of a thermal treatment system, wherein an object disposed in said basin are thermally treated by said sterile medium, said method comprising:
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(a) re-enforcing at least a portion of said receptacle within said basin to be resistive to penetration with a protective member disposed on said receptacle, wherein said protective member includes; a bottom surface facing said basin and a top surface facing away from said basin, and a plurality of holes configured to permit said sterile medium to flow through said protective member and thermally treat said objects, wherein each hole of said plurality of holes extends from said top surface to said bottom surface, and wherein each hole of said plurality of holes extends through the protective member at a non-perpendicular angle relative to said top surface to prevent an object inserted into said receptacle at an object angle that is substantially perpendicular to said top surface from passing entirely through said protective member, thereby preventing said object from contacting said receptacle when said object is disposed within said basin; and (b) enabling said sterile medium to flow through said protective member and thermally treat said objects via the plurality of holes defined in said protective member. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55)
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Specification