Patent ID: 11872094
Assignee: COVIDIEN LP
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 11:
12. A system for accounting for transponder tagged objects used during clinical procedures, the system comprising:
a trocar including a cannula with a lumen, the cannula having:
a proximal port at a proximal end of the lumen;
a distal port at a distal end of the lumen; and
at least one trocar antenna; and

at least one interrogator communicatively coupled to the at least one trocar antenna, the at least one interrogator being configured to:
cause the at least one trocar antenna to emit at least one interrogation signal having a range that covers at least a portion of an interior of the lumen of the cannula;
detect any response signals to the at least one interrogation signal, the response signals returned from any wireless communications identification transponders in the portion of the interior of the lumen of the cannula;
identify each of a number of wireless communications identification transponders in the portion of the interior of the lumen of the cannula based on the detected response signals;
store to at least one nontransitory processor-readable medium information that identifies each of the wireless communications identification transponders or items physically associated respective wireless communications identification transponders that pass through at least a portion of the interior of the lumen;
store an itemization of each of the wireless communications identification transponders that passes through at least a portion of the interior of the lumen;
itemize each of the wireless communications identification transponders that exits the lumen of the trocar via the distal port; and
itemize each of the wireless communications identification transponders that enters the lumen of the trocar via the distal port.