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implant procedures being done now on a daily basis in most facilities, there are only so many instrument sets and sterilizers.” The ONE TRAY Sealed Sterilization
Container from Innovative Sterilization Technologies is FDA-cleared to hold temperature-tolerant medical devices dur- ing steam sterilization cycles and then be stored.
Food and Drug Administra- tion (FDA) is requiring unique device identification (UDI) com- pliance for direct marking of class II devices. Case Medical’s SteriTite universal container system is a class II device that has universal compatibility with all devices and sterilizers. The company now offers a bar code on its containers to meet regulatory requirements and provide added value, including alerts that automatically link to the OR schedule.
Address missing instrumentation
Innovative Sterilization Technologies' ONE TRAY
“CS/SPD staff can now react quickly
to any changes or issues during the day schedule or addressing on call situations when dealing with emergent needs,” said Harmer. “Add on cases with insufficient instrumentation can now be scheduled knowing that a timely solution is available with the use of ONE TRAY. If vendor trays are delivered late, time from sterilizer door close to open typically is less than 25 min- utes instead of the traditional 2 to 3 hours waiting for trays to be dried and cooled after the sterilization cycle.”
Identify and track instruments “As surgical devices have become more complex, instructions for use (IFU) are not just handy, they are a necessity,” said Marcia Frieze, CEO, Case Medical. “Equally important is the need to locate sets and supplies in real time and to identify those items requiring rapid turn-around. Case Medical meets the challenges of containing and storing sur- gical instruments by tak- ing a holistic approach to instrument processing. We listen to the needs of users and develop products that address the needs.” For example, in addition
to their products for clean- ing, sterilization, transport and storage, Case Medical offers a software program, CaseTrak360, that ties ev- erything together, utilizing a 2D barcode for tracking and tracing. Beginning September 24, 2018, the
RST Automation's Assisted Instrument Management (AIM-Tray Assembly) system
The assembly of surgical instrument trays is both a science and an art. As with any process in the CS/SPD, there is pressure on staff to assemble trays accurately but in an efficient manner so they are ready when surgeons need them. A major roadblock in the process is the discovery of missing or damaged instrumentation.
“The absence of organized methods and appropriate storage equipment for maintain- ing extra instrument inventories leads to sig- nificant amounts of wasted technician time,” said Braun C. Kiess, Director of Sales and Chief Financial Officer for RST Automation. “Current methods often require technicians to leave their workstations once or multiple times while assembling a single set to hunt for these instruments. This wasted techni- cian time is not only costly from a utilization perspective but can lead to overtime because SPDs are often inadequately staffed.”
“Furthermore, it has also
been our experience that additional money is wasted when instruments are pur- chased because of a lack of knowledge that they already exist in current inventories,” Kiess added. “While existing computerized instrument management systems contain inventory modules, they are often too time consuming to maintain.”
Case Medical’s SteriTite
universal container system with barcode
RST Automation has cre- ated an Assisted Instrument Management (AIM-Tray Assembly) system, which solves the problem of instru- ments missing from trays while significantly reducing the time spent searching for replacements. Utilizing machine vision technology
34 October 2018 • HEALTHCARE PURCHASING NEWS •
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combined with artifi- cial intelligence, AIM automatically identifies instruments, verifies their presence in the set on count sheets and automates the assembly of ringed instruments onto stringers. Missing instruments are identi- fied at the end of the assembly process and a list of missing instru- ments and their storage locations is printed for efficient retrieval of re- placements for missing instruments.
Keep clean from dirty
With the tremendous volume of surgical instrumentation circulating around a busy hospital — from the CS/SPD to the OR and back again — staff members must have a simple and effective way to differentiate between clean and dirty instruments. “One of the biggest challenges is proper communication while transporting instru- ments,” said Matthew Smith, Marketing Manager for Healthmark. “When transport- ing closed containers, it can be difficult to determine if the contents inside are clean or if they are contaminated. Using labeling products help identify if instruments and equipment are clean or dirty.” Healthmark’s Transportation Identifica-
tion Tags are designed for compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Adminis- tration (OSHA) standard CFR 1910.1030. The 3.125” x 5.125” tags feature one perfo- rated tab, a green top tab with “CLEAN” in black text, a fluorescent orange/red bottom tab with “DIRTY” in black text, and the removable OSHA approved “Biohazard Label” adhesive backing. “The Transportation Identification Tag is produced precisely for transporting mate- rials considered a biohazard, while acting as an essential communication tool in the process,” added Smith. “By labeling a cart or container ‘biohazard’ upon its return to the sterile processing department, the
Healthmark’s Transportation Identification Tags
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