Supports – Pipe or cable – Tool cord or tube
Reexamination Certificate
1997-07-17
2001-03-06
King, Anita M. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Pipe or cable
Tool cord or tube
C248S226110
Reexamination Certificate
active
06196503
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system for the storage and organization of wire leads and tubes. In particular, the present invention relates to a system for the storage and organization of wire leads and tubes extending from monitoring equipment found in operating rooms, recovery rooms, and other patient treatment environments. Further, the present invention relates to a system for the storage and organization of wire leads and tubes during patient transport between various patient treatment environments.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typically, a patient operating room or recovery room contains various invasive and non-invasive devices for monitoring patient vital signs and for patient treatment. For example, typical non-invasive patient monitoring equipment includes a pulse oxygen meter, an E.K.G., a blood pressure unit, and a temperature unit. In contrast, invasive monitoring equipment includes transducer units for determining systemic pressure, pulmonary artery pressure, and central venous pressure. For each monitoring unit, a lead of some type extends from the monitoring unit to the patient or the transducer units. These leads may be electrical cables or wires, as in the case of the pulse oxygen meter, the E.K.G., the temperature measurement unit and the transducer units. Alternatively, the leads may be tubing, such as the pneumatic tubing for the blood pressure monitoring units. In general, the length of the leads extending from the monitoring equipment is approximately four to twelve feet.
The extent of organization of the leads extending from the monitoring equipment varies greatly from operating room to operating room and from recovery area to recovery area. In general, however, no operating room nor recovery area protocol exists for storing the monitoring leads after their use. In fact, often the leads are discarded to the floor or left dangling from the monitors. As a result, the leads tend to knot up or become entangled with one another. This creates a cluttered work environment and causes stress to the operating room personnel because the leads must be located and untangled before they can be used again. Untangling the leads at the start of an operating room procedure or a recovery area hook-up takes valuable patient treatment time away from the nurses and doctors.
Leads lying on the floor also can cause the operating room work space to become unworkable because the leads can become entangled under foot or obstruct ready access to the patient. Additionally, such leads can become damaged by personnel stepping on them or rolling heavy equipment over them. Damaged leads require costly replacement because such leads are less effective at transmitting signals to the monitoring equipment.
Similarly, no protocol exists for organizing the transducer units and their associated wire leads during patient transport from the operating room to the recovery area or elsewhere. Typically, the wire leads that extend from the monitoring equipment to the transducers are disconnected from the monitoring equipment and haphazardly thrown on the patient gurney or patient. Little attention is given to keeping the wires from knotting or to keeping the wires separate from one another. Additionally, the transducers are randomly set on the gurney or patient. Thus, when the patient arrives in the recovery area, hospital personnel must untangle the wire leads extending from the transducers before reattaching them to the invasive monitoring equipment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a system for organizing the various leads extending from operating room or recovery area monitoring equipment and leads extending from transducers transported with the patient during transition between the operating room and the recovery area. The cable-tubing organizer system of this invention is provided to store and organize the various leads extending from pulse oxygen metering units, E.K.G. units, temperature and blood pressure monitoring units, as well as the leads extending from the invasive monitoring equipment such as devices which measure systemic arterial pressure, pulmonary artery pressure, and central venous pressure. Additionally, the present invention is provided to store and organize leads extending from transducer units transported with the patient. Further, the present invention is provided to secure a transducer holder containing transducer units during an operating room procedure and during transport between the operating room and the recovery area.
The cable-tubing organizer system according to the present invention includes a monitoring lead assembly for temporarily storing the free ends of the wire or tubing leads of the monitoring equipment between operations or recovery area applications. The monitoring lead assembly includes a plurality of clips, mounted on a base plate, for containing one or more coils of wire or tubing extending from operating room or recovery area monitoring equipment. The monitoring lead assembly includes an attachment mechanism for securing the assembly to an operating table or other stationary object such as shelves which hold the monitoring equipment.
The cable-tubing organizer system further includes a transducer support device for securing a transducer holder and organizing the wire or tubing leads extending from the monitoring equipment during an operating room procedure. The transducer support device includes a transducer bracket for securing a transducer holder that contains several different transducers. The transducer bracket can translate vertically on a slotted plate for adjustment to patient chest level. One end of the slotted plate includes a brace for containing wire leads and pneumatic tubing. A second end of the slotted bracket includes a base for insertion between a mattress and an operating room table or gurney.
The cable-tubing organizer system according to the present invention further includes a transport plate for securing a transducer holder and for storing and organizing of wire leads that extend from transducers attached to the transducer holder. The transport plate includes a bracket for securing the transducer holder and a plurality of clips for containing the wire leads that extend from the transducers.
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Blenderman Richard M.
Cernosek Constance M.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld L.L.P.
DeLuca Jerome
King Anita M.
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