Disposal of sharps in a healthcare environment
OwnerFrederick M. Valerino, Sr., Frederick M. Valerino, Jr.inventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of disposing of hazardous materials wherein a dedicated pneumatic tube system is used. The pneumatic tube system has a plurality of loading stations all connected to a single destination station. The hazardous materials are placed in a disposable carrier which is transported to the destination station. Each disposable carrier has a marker which identifies the disposable carrier. A control unit cooperates with the markers and activates the pneumatic tube system. The disposable carrier is a cylinder with a sealable cover.
Claims8
The method of disposing of biohazardous and/or hazardous “sharps” in a healthcare, hospital or clinical environment, comprising the steps of providing a dedicated single-purpose pneumatic tube system having a plurality of loading stations and a single destination station,
- providing a plurality of disposable carriers, each carrier having an identification means,
- providing a pneumatic tube system control unit activated by the identification means on each of the disposable carriers,
- wherein an operator inserts “sharps” in a selected one of the disposable carriers, seals said disposable carrier and introduces said disposable carrier into the pneumatic tube system at any loading station, and
- the pneumatic tube system transporting the disposable carrier containing the sharps to the destination station without any operator action.
The method of disposing of biohazardous and/or hazardous “sharps” in a healthcare, hospital or clinical environment, comprising the steps of providing a dedicated single-purpose pneumatic tube system having a plurality of loading stations and a single destination station,
- providing a plurality of disposable carriers, each carrier having an individual identification code,
- providing a pneumatic tube system control unit,
- providing a code control unit electronically connected to the pneumatic tube system,
- inserting sharps in the disposable carrier,
- placing the disposable carrier containing the sharps in one of the loading stations,
- the code control unit recognizing the individual identification code on each disposable carrier and the code control unit activating the pneumatic tube system,
- the pneumatic tube system transporting the disposable carrier containing the sharps to the destination station without any operator action.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.