Sterility breach detection system and controller system for a sterilization container
Inventors
Wang, Ruoya • Cote, Anne E. • Wu, Kun-Chi • White, Tracy J. • Meadows, Vernon • Madsen, Edward B.
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-10987185-B2
Publication Date
2021-04-27
Expiration Date
Abstract
The present disclosure provides sterilization containers with features for sealing a volume against an ingress of contaminants. The present disclosure also provides a sterility breach detection system for detecting whether the sterilization container seal has been breached, which potentially could compromise the sterility of any contents of the container. Further, the present disclosure provides a controller system for detecting, tracking, and alerting a user to the state of a sterilization container, such as whether the container seal has been breached. The sterility breach detection system and/or the controller system may utilize a smart gasket to detect breaches in a seal of a sterilization container, and a controller in operative communication with the smart gasket may activate an indicator to alert a user to a detected breach in the seal.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to a sterilization container system that includes a container body and a container lid defining a container interior, together with a container gasket that seals the container interior against an ingress of contaminants. The container gasket includes a transmission pathway embedded in the container gasket, wherein the transmission pathway is a metal wire.
A controller processes a signal transmitted along the embedded transmission pathway to determine whether a breach exists in the container gasket. Reflected signals are used to evaluate whether the container remains sealed against contaminant ingress, and the controller may establish a baseline signal value and compare a detection signal to the baseline signal value to determine whether a gasket or sterility breach exists.
The system further comprises sensor functionality and user indication. A sensor, or a plurality of sensors, is attached to the sterilization container, and the controller processes data from the sensor or sensors in operative communication with the transmission pathway. An indicator disposed on the sterilization container provides user-visible indication of a state of the sterilization container, including activation to indicate that a breach exists in the container gasket or insufficient conditions.
Claims Coverage
The provided data includes three independent claims. Across these independent claims, the central inventive features involve an embedded transmission pathway in a sealing gasket, controller processing of a transmitted signal to determine a gasket breach, and activation of an indicator to communicate a sterilization container state to a user, optionally using sensor data from one or more sensors.
Embedded transmission pathway in sealing gasket for breach detection
A sterilization container system comprising a sterilization container including a container body and a container lid defining a container interior, a container gasket for sealing the container interior against an ingress of contaminants, and a transmission pathway embedded in the container gasket, wherein the transmission pathway is a metal wire.
Controller processing signal to determine gasket breach
A controller configured to process a signal transmitted along the transmission pathway to determine whether a breach exists in the container gasket.
Indicator activation based on processed signal or sensor data
An indicator for indicating a state of the sterilization container to a user, and a controller configured to activate the indicator, wherein the controller processes data from a sensor to activate the indicator or processes the signal transmitted along the transmission pathway to activate the indicator to indicate to a user that a breach exists in the container gasket.
Sensor suite and user indication with embedded metal-wire pathway
A sterilization container system comprising a plurality of sensors, an indicator, and a controller in operative communication with the transmission pathway and the plurality of sensors, wherein the transmission pathway is a metal wire and the controller is configured to determine whether a breach exists in the container gasket and activate the indicator to indicate to a user that a breach exists in the container gasket.
Overall, the claim set covers a sterilization container with a sealing gasket that embeds a metal-wire transmission pathway, and a controller that processes signals and optionally sensor data to determine whether a breach exists in the container gasket and to activate an indicator to communicate the container state to a user.
Stated Advantages
Not explicitly described in patent.
Documented Applications
Not explicitly described in patent.
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