Abstract:
The present invention is a device for displaying and assisting a user in counting used surgical sponges and the like. The device includes integral sets of holders arranged around an exterior edge of the device. Each set of holders is arranged away from the other sets of holders such that a user can practice a method of easily and accurately accounting for used surgical sponges.

Description:
[0001]    There are no related patent applications. 
         [0002]    This patent application did not receive federal research and development funding. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The invention is generally directed to a method and device for displaying and counting used surgical sponges. More specifically the present invention relates to a device which easily allows for visual recognition of a sum of sponges used during a medical procedure. The device helps keep track of the used sponges to prevent medical accidents caused by unaccounted sponges. 
         [0004]    Medical accidents may occur during surgery when surgical sponges are inadvertently left in a patient. The patient may develop a life-threatening injury or infection when this type of accident occurs. It is therefore important to carefully count used surgical sponges. 
         [0005]    Previously, others have counted used surgical sponges in a manner whereby used surgical sponges are passed from a surgeon to a scrub nurse who drops the used sponges in a kick bucket. A circulating nurse retrieves the used sponges from the kick bucket and either arranges them for final count or places them in a bag in sets of five sponges. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,899 to Schleicher discloses an apparatus for facilitating the counting and disposal of surgical sponges. In Schleicher, a plurality of disposable sponge-supporting trays includes a plurality of slits which facilitate the locating and holding of used sponges. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,332 to Wiestmiller discloses a sponge arraying and disposal receptacle that includes a transparent bag and a pair of slightly inclined chutes from which a plurality of prongs extend. Projections extend downwardly from the chutes and are rigidly attached to inside portions of the bag so that it may be suspended between the chutes for visual observation of its contents. 
         [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,595 to Meringola teaches a surgical sponge assembly comprising a plurality of multi-layer sponges. Each sponge includes a twill strip. A holder or rack includes a plurality of slots into which a respective twill strip is insertable. 
         [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,615 to Fischer discloses a surgical sponge monitor system including a monitor board with a tally board that includes a plurality of sites. Each side includes slits and is adapted to deform in response to application of a modest force such that a deposited sponge partially protrudes from the slits. 
         [0010]    The aforementioned U.S. patents are illustrative of prior art devices. However, none of these patents disclose a device and counting method for use with a ring stand whereby a set of five surgically used sponges are grouped together in a set that is readily displayed on an exterior edge of a sponge counting apparatus that comprises a plurality of sets projections. Moreover, none of the prior art provides a sponge displaying device where used sponges are arranged in a vertical position and can be viewed in their entirety such that the sponge body and the x-ray loop are displayed. In this manner, used sponges may be easily viewed and counted from across an operating room. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    If several hours of surgery have occurred, surgical stresses sometime lead to miscounting of the sponges using prior art counting techniques. The present invention aims to overcome this problem by visually grouping and prominently displaying a group of sets of used sponges in their entirety. The sets of sponges are staged and hung around a centralized area. The centralized area can be easily viewed and counted from across the room. In this manner, the sets of five used surgical sponges are grouped together such that large numbers of used surgical sponges may be easily counted. The user easily views the state of each projection or finger and determines whether a used surgical sponge is associated with that particular projection or finger. A total count of used surgical sponges may be easily determined by viewing and counting the number used sponges. Since the sponges are typically provided in sterile packaging in sets of five, the device allows for ease in counting used sponges. A user may view the full sets of projections multiply them by five, and then add the remaining number of projections of any partially full set of projections to easily arrive an at an accurate accounting. 
         [0012]    In a first embodiment, the present invention includes a square center with four sides and is provided with two sets of five fingers or holders extending from each side. In this embodiment, the invention may be practiced by overlaying or intertwining two sets of five rods with another two sets of five rods at right angles. Thus, medical personnel can visually count the number of used sponges at a glance by viewing the sets of holders that have a sponge associated therewith. 
         [0013]    In a second embodiment, the invention may be provided in a circular embodiment having an inner ring onto which a plurality of sets of five holders are fastened for securing used surgical sponges thereon. 
         [0014]    In a further embodiment, ends of the overlapping rods of the first embodiment include upturned ends for accepting a used surgical sponge. 
         [0015]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and device for easily accounting for all surgical sponges during a surgical operation. The device groups a plurality of used surgical sponges together in sets of five. A user can thereby easily look at the number of sets of sponges and quickly ascertain a number of used surgical sponges. This counting method may be facilitated by placing the device against a backdrop having a different color, such as a colored trash bag. The different colored backdrop aids in making the used sponges easier to view. 
         [0016]    It is an object of the invention to provide a counting device for securing a plurality of used surgical sponges where the counting device includes sets of holders integrally formed apart from one another and extending from an exterior edge of the device. 
         [0017]    It is a further object of the invention to provide a surgical sponge displaying and counting device that provides high visibility of used surgical sponges such that a total number of used surgical sponges may be easily viewed and counted from across a room against a colored backdrop. 
         [0018]    It is further an object of the invention to provide a surgical sponge displaying and counting device that may is cost-effective and easy to produce. The device provides accessibility and viewing capability from all angles. Moreover, the device may be used with existing surgical assisting devices such as ring stands. 
         [0019]    The above and further objects, details and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0020]      FIG. 1  is a plan view of a first embodiment of the invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of a second embodiment of the invention formed in a circular shape. 
           [0022]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the invention showing the first embodiment with upturned edges. 
           [0023]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the invention showing the embodiment of  FIG. 3  arranged atop a disposable sheet. 
           [0024]      FIG. 5  is an elevation view of a clamp for securing the present invention to a ring stand. 
           [0025]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a prior art ring stand. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0026]      FIG. 1  shows a plan view of a first embodiment of the invention shown in a square shape. In this embodiment, the sponge monitoring device  1  comprises twenty rods  5  arranged to provide a plurality of projections  3 . The twenty rods  5  comprise a support structure for bearing the weight of used sponges. The rods  5  are arranged in sets  10  and comprise a rigid material. Preferably, the rods  5  are seventeen inches long to facilitate use of the device with a ring stand that is currently used in surgical procedures. Each set  10  includes five rods  5  that are arranged parallel to one another, as shown. Adjoining rods  5  of a set  10  are preferably separated by a one-inch gap, represented as  20  in the Figures. In the preferably embodiment, each set of five rods  5  are separated by two inches from the other set of parallel rods, represented by  15  in  FIG. 1 . As shown, the device of the first embodiment comprises forty projections  3  arranged about exterior edges of the device  1 . The projections are arranged in eight sets such that ten projections are provided on each of the four sides of the device as shown. A central area  25  includes an opening that is preferably two inches by two inches squared. Each side of the device includes a reinforcing bar  18  that attaches to each rod  5  for providing stability to the device  1 . Each end of the reinforcing bar  18  attaches to a connecting bar  17  that attaches to another reinforcing bar  18  as shown. The connecting bar  17  also provides stability and adds to the rigidity of the device  1 . 
         [0027]    The device may be provided in a re-usable manner. In this manner, the rods comprise stainless steel, metal or other material that may be placed in an autoclave for disinfecting. Otherwise, the device may be provided in a disposable form that is discarded after use. In the disposable form, the rods may comprise plastic or other rigid material. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2  is a second embodiment of the invention  1 . In this embodiment, the device  1  includes a circular base member  4  that encloses a circular opening  30 . Preferably, the diameter of circular opening  30  is substantially fifteen inches. A plurality of sets of projections  7  extend outwardly from the circular opening  30  and are substantially one inch in length. A first reinforcing rod  21  intersects circular opening and divides it into two regions. A second reinforcing rod  22  is perpendicular to reinforcing rod  21  and connected at a center thereto. Preferably, the second reinforcing rod  22  further divides the circular opening  30  into four equal quadrants. The reinforcing rods  21 ,  22  attach at opposite ends to circular base member  4  and comprise a support structure for bearing the weight of the used sponges. As mentioned previously, the device of the second embodiment may be provided in a variety of rigid materials, both reusable and disposable. The projections  7  are provided in sets of five and extend from the ends of the device and are represented by  6 . The projections are connected together to provide the circular base member  4 , as shown. 
         [0029]      FIG. 3  is a further embodiment of the invention where the first embodiment is modified to include projections that comprise an up-turned end  16 . This embodiment aids the user in attaching an end of a used sponge to the device via a projection.  FIG. 4  shows the device of  FIG. 3  in use. The device  1  is arranged atop an impervious covering  105  which sits over a ring stand  50 , shown in  FIG. 6 . The impervious covering  105  may comprise a plastic garbage bag. The impervious covering  105  is draped across the ring stand  50  and arranged such that a raised edge or dam  55  is created along the bottom of the ring stand  50 . The dam  55  serves to prevent blood, water and other body fluids that have been absorbed by the used sponges  100  from flowing onto the floor of the operating room. In this manner, the dam  55  may be pulled upward and the body fluids may be trapped inside the impervious covering  105 . A plurality of used surgical sponges  100  are displayed from projections  16 . In this manner, a user easily recognizes the number of used surgical sponges in separated sets of five. A clamp  120  may be provided on each of the four sides of the device  1  for securing both the impervious covering  110  and the device  1  to the ring stand  120 . The clamp  120  fits across an edge of the device and the top of the ring stand  50 . In this manner, the impervious covering  105  is sandwiched between the device  1  and the ring stand  50 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the clamp  120  includes an arcuate region arranged between two extended regions that form opposite ends of the clamp. The clamp  120  may comprise plastic, metal or other such material. 
         [0030]    In use, a user first realizes the size of the sponge holder and the number of sets of 5 projections on each side of the device. During an operation, an end of a surgical sponge is attached to or associated with a particular projection. A counting process is undertaken whereby the user views each projection within a set of projections to determine whether the entire set of projections have a sponge associated therewith. In this manner, the user can easily calculate the total number of used surgical sponges. If all the projections are associated with a surgical sponge then the tally of all used sponges is increased by the total number of projections. In a device of  FIG. 1 , the total number of used sponges would be increased by 40. 
         [0031]    In use, a looped end of a sponge is opened to receive an end of one of the projections. A first set of projections are each associated with a used sponge. The user then continues filling the sets of holders in a systematic manner until all projections are filled or the surgery is complete. Then a count is taken of the number of filled sets of projections is undertaken by viewing the entire amount of used sponges. Bagging sponges are responsible for most of the incorrect counts because once the bag is closed, the mistake is carried on the entire case. Hanging sponges by fives avoid most counting mistakes that occur by constantly viewing and continuously counting of the sponges in their entirety to lessen the possibility of a sponge being left in a patient. 
         [0032]    While the invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in limiting sense. From the above disclosure of the general principles of the present invention and the preceding detailed description, those skilled in the art will readily comprehend the various modifications to which the present invention is susceptible. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereof.