Medical/surgical waste collection portable rover capable of zero setting a float used to measure the volume of liquid in a waste container

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10343102-B2
Application number	US-201815874178-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 18, 2018
Priority date	Dec 14, 2005
Publication date	Jul 9, 2019
Grant date	Jul 9, 2019

Abstract

A medical/surgical waste collection rover includes a first waste container disposed on a portable cart and receiving waste under the influence of a vacuum. A fluid measuring system includes a float element disposed within the first waste container, and a controller causing liquid in a reservoir disposed on the cart to prefill the first waste container and subject the float element to an initial lifting to a zero point level. The fluid measuring system determines a volume of contents within the first waste container based on a position of the float element relative to the zero point level. The fluid measuring system may include a sensor rod extending through the first waste container and a second waste container disposed on the cart and separated from the first waste container by a transfer valve. Methods of estimating the volume of liquid and/or medical/surgical waste within the waste container are also provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A medical/surgical waste collection rover comprising:
a portable cart;
a first waste container disposed on said portable cart and comprising a connecting member adapted to be coupled to a suction line through which medical/surgical waste is drawn into said first waste container under the influence of a vacuum;
a reservoir disposed on said portable cart and in fluid communication with said first waste container with said reservoir adapted to store a liquid to be dispensed into said first waste container;
a fluid measuring system comprising:
a float element disposed within said first waste container and configured to float within said first waste container;
a transceiver adapted to monitor a position of said float element within said first waste container and receive signals representative of the position of said float element;
a sensor rod extending through said first waste container and in electric communication with said transceiver, wherein said sensor rod is comprised of magnetostrictive material and in electric communication with said transceiver with said float element comprising a magnet, wherein said transceiver is adapted to propagate an interrogation pulse that generates an electromagnetic field as the irrigation pulse travels along said sensor rod with said magnet of said float element adapted to cause return pulses to be reflected towards said transceiver in response to receiving the irrigation pulse; and

a controller disposed on said portable cart and configured to cause the liquid in said reservoir to prefill said first waste container and subject said float element to an initial lifting from a bottom of said first waste container to a zero point level with said fluid measuring system configured to determine a volume of the liquid and/or the medical/surgical waste within said first waste container based on the position of said float element within said first waste container relative to the zero point level.

2. The medical/surgical waste collection rover of claim 1 , further comprising a prefill pump in electronic communication with said controller, and in fluid communication with said reservoir and said first waste container with said controller configured to operate said prefill pump to cause the liquid in said reservoir to prefill said first waste container.

3. The medical/surgical waste collection rover of claim 1 , wherein said float element is a first float element with said medical/surgical waste collection rover further comprising:
a second waste container disposed on said portable cart;
a transfer valve disposed between said first and second waste containers with said transfer valve operable between open and closed positions for allowing transfer of the medical/surgical waste from said first waste container to said second waste container; and
a second float element disposed within said second waste container and configured to float within said second waste container after transfer of the liquid and/or the medical/surgical waste from said first waste container.

4. The medical/surgical waste collection rover of claim 3 , wherein said sensor rod extends through said first and second waste containers with said first float element slidable along said sensor rod within said first waste container.

5. The medical/surgical waste collection rover of claim 3 , wherein said reservoir is in communication with said second waste container with said controller further configured to cause the liquid in said reservoir to prefill said second waste container and subject said second float element to an initial lifting from a bottom of said second waste container to a zero point level of said second waste container with said fluid measuring system configured to determine a volume of the liquid and/or the medical/surgical waste within said second waste container relative to the zero point level of the second waste container.

6. The medical/surgical waste collection rover of claim 1 , wherein the bottom of said first waste container is irregularly shaped with the liquid prefilling said first waste container providing the initial lifting of said float element above the irregularly shaped bottom of said first waste container to the zero point level.

7. The medical/surgical waste collection rover of claim 1 , wherein said fluid measuring system further comprises a memory device adapted to be in electronic communication with a reference element, said memory device configured to store a distance between the zero point level and the reference element with said fluid measuring system adapted to determine the volume of the liquid and/or the medical/surgical waste within said first waste container based on the distance stored in said memory device.

8. The medical/surgical waste collection rover of claim 1 , further comprising a temperature sensor in thermal communication with said first waste container and configured to sense a temperature of said first waste container with said fluid measuring system configured to determine the volume of the liquid and/or the medical/surgical waste within said first waste container based on the signals from said transceiver and modified based on the temperature of said first waste container as sensed by said temperature sensor.

9. A medical/surgical waste collection rover comprising:
a portable cart;
a first waste container disposed on said portable cart and adapted to receive medical/surgical waste with said first waste container comprising a connecting member adapted to be coupled to a suction line to draw the medical/surgical waste into said first waste container under the influence of a vacuum;
a second waste container disposed on said portable cart;
a transfer valve disposed between said first and second waste containers with said transfer valve operable between open and closed positions for allowing transfer of the medical/surgical waste from said first waste container to said second waste container;
a fluid measuring system comprising:
a sensor rod extending through said first waste container and said second waste container;
a transceiver electrically coupled to said sensor rod and adapted to propagate an interrogation pulse along said sensor rod and receive a float return pulse; and
a float element disposed within said first waste container and configured to float within said first waste container and further configured to reflect back to said transceiver the float return pulse along said sensor rod in response to receiving the interrogation pulse,

wherein said fluid measuring system is configured to determine a volume of the medical/surgical waste within said first waste container based on a known geometry of said first waste container and signals generated by said transceiver associated with the interrogation pulse and the float return pulse.

10. The medical/surgical waste collection rover of claim 9 , wherein the signals generated by said transceiver include a signal indicative of a time the interrogation pulse is propagated, and a signal indicative of a time the float return pulse is received with said fluid measuring system configured to determine an elapsed time between the signals and, based on the elapsed time, determine the volume of the medical/surgical waste within said first waste container.

11. The medical/surgical waste collection rover of claim 9 , wherein said float element is slidable along said sensor rod.

12. The medical/surgical waste collection rover of claim 10 , further comprising a reference element disposed adjacent said sensor rod and configured to reflect back to said transceiver a reference return pulse along said sensor rod in response to receiving the interrogation pulse with said t

Assignees

• Stryker Corp

Inventors

• Reasoner Stephen J
• Gamhewage Chamara
• Rocque Glen D

Classifications

• A61M2205/7545

  for solid matter, e.g. microaggregates · CPC title

• B01D53/02

  by adsorption, e.g. preparative gas chromatography {(solid sorbent compositions B01J20/00, preparation of inorganic compounds or elements C01)} · CPC title

• B01D53/025

  with wetted adsorbents; Chromatography (analytical chromatography G01N30/00 - G01N30/96; for liquids B01D15/08) · CPC title

• A61M2205/707

  Testing of filters for clogging · CPC title

• A61M2205/3355

  Controlling downstream pump pressure · CPC title