Removable ink for surgical instrument
AssigneeCovidien LP
InventorCharles D. Allen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for preventing reuse of a surgical instrument. The single-use surgical instrument includes a housing, an electrical connector and a treatment component. Indicia may be printed on the housing, the electrical connector and/or the treatment component. A removable ink is applied to any portion of the surgical instrument in the form of indicia that is readable by a scanning device. The removable ink includes a protein-based composition that is reactivateable with a sterilization solution having an enzyme-based composition such that upon sterilization, the removable ink reacts with the sterilizing solution and becomes unreadable by the scanning device.
Claims7
A method for preventing re-use of a surgical instrument, comprising:
- electrically coupling a scanning device to an electrosurgical energy source;
- reading a removable ink supported on the surgical instrument with the scanning device, the removable ink including a protein-based composition activateable with a sterilization solution having an enzyme-based composition;
- using the surgical instrument for the surgical instrument's intended purpose;
- and
- placing the surgical instrument into the sterilization solution to at least partially dissolve the removable ink rendering the removable ink unreadable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.