Patent ID: 7980517

Claim:
A neutral field tray attachable to a mayo stand and for use with a surgical instrument having a proximal end defining a handle, a distal end with an exposed sharp for acting on the patient, and a longitudinal axis extending between said proximal and distal ends, the mayo stand having a vertical leg, a rectangular frame horizontally cantilevered at the upper end of the leg, the frame having an inner surface, an outer surface parallel to the inner surface, an upper surface, and a lower surface parallel to the upper surface, the lower surface defining a perimeter, and a wheeled bottom at the lower end of the leg to provide mobility to the stand, the neutral field tray comprising: a base having a proximal end and a distal end and defining a length between said proximal and distal ends; two sidewalls extending upward from opposite sides of said base between said proximal and distal ends, said base having a downward slope away from at least one of said sidewalls, said slope oriented transverse to said length of the base; one and only one instrument trough extending parallel to the length of the base, said trough provided recessed relative to the base and sized and configured to support at most a single surgical instrument with the distal end of the instrument at a distal end of said trough and a proximal end of the instrument at a proximal end of said trough, said proximal end of said trough being open; a distal endwall extending upward from said distal end of said base between said two sidewalls; a cover extending between said sidewalls above said base and adjacent said distal endwall; and an attachment portion for removably attaching said tray directly to the frame of the mayo stand, wherein said trough and said attachment portion are fixed in orientation relative to each other such that when said attachment portion is directly attached to the frame of the mayo stand, said distal end of said trough is located vertically below the lower surface of the frame.