Method and apparatus to account for transponder tagged objects used during medical procedures

A system to account for medical procedure objects, the system comprising:

• a plurality of sterile fields, each of the sterile fields encompassing an area that excludes any portion of a body of a patient on which a medical procedure is performed, each of the sterile fields including at least one sterile field antenna that is carried by at least a portion of a surface proximate the at least one sterile field, fixed with respect to the respective sterile field and having a detection range coextensive with the respective sterile field;
• a non-sterile field that encompasses an area that excludes any portion of the body of the patient on which the medical procedure is performed, the non-sterile field including at least one non-sterile field antenna that is carried proximate the non-sterile field, fixed with respect to the non-sterile field, and having a detection range coextensive with the non-sterile filed;
• a control subsystem including at least one processor and at least one processor-readable storage medium, the control subsystem configured to:
• at least proximate a start of a medical procedure on a patient, use the respective sterile field antennas to automatically detect each of a number of medical procedure objects for performing the medical procedure within any of the plurality of sterile fields;
• each time one of the medical procedure objects is removed from the at least one sterile field, identify the removed medical procedure object as checked out in a database;
• and
• each time the medical procedure object is returned to the at least one sterile field or to the non-sterile field, identify the returned medical procedure object as checked-in in the database;
• use the non-sterile field antenna to detect a first medical procedure object of the number of medical procedure objects within the non-sterile field;
• after detection of the first medical procedure object within the non-sterile field, detect the first medical procedure object within at least one sterile field using the respective at least one sterile field antenna;
• in response to detection of the first medical procedure object within the at least one sterile field after detection of the first medical procedure object within the non-sterile field, provide an indication that the first medical procedure object has been returned to the at least one sterile field after being present in the non-sterile field;
• and
• at least proximate an end of the medical procedure on the patient, automatically determine whether each of the number of medical procedure objects detected within any of the sterile fields at least proximate the start of the medical procedure are present in at least one of either the sterile fields or at least one non-sterile field.

A system to account for medical procedure objects, the system comprising:

• a computer system including at least one processor and at least one computer-readable storage medium;
• a number of readers to monitor a number of sterile fields in which at least one of medical implements or medical supplies are kept for use during medical procedures, and which any single one of the sterile fields does not encompass a patient support surface that supports a patient during a medical procedure, the readers selectively communicatively coupleable to the computer system;
• a non-sterile field reader to monitor a non-sterile field in which at least one of the medical implements or the medical supplies are placed or disposed after use during medical procedures and which non-sterile field does not encompass a patient support surface that supports the patient during the medical procedure, that non-sterile field reader selectively communicatively coupleable to the computer system;
• and
• a set of instructions executed by the at least one processor responsive to an initial communicative coupling of one of the readers to the computer system, the set of instructions to cause the computer system to:
• autonomously identify the medical implements and medical supplies present in the number of sterile fields based at least in part on communication received from the number of readers;
• each time one of the medical procedure objects is removed from the at least one sterile field, autonomously identify the removed medical procedure object as checked out in a database;
• each time the medical procedure object is returned to the at least one sterile field or to the at least one non-sterile field, autonomously identify the returned medical procedure object as checked-in in the database;
• autonomously detect a first medical implement or medical supply of the identified medical implements and medical supplies within the non-sterile field based at least in part on communications received from the non-sterile field reader;
• after autonomous detection of the first medical procedure object within the non-sterile field, autonomously detect the first medical implement or medical supply within one of the number of sterile fields based at least in part on communications received from the respective reader;
• and
• in response to autonomous detection of the first medical implement or medical supply within one of the number of sterile fields after autonomous detection of first medical implement or medical supply within the non-sterile field, provide an indication that the first medical implement or medical supply has been returned to the one of the number of sterile fields after being present in the non-sterile field.

A method of operating a medical procedure object accounting system, the method comprising:

• detecting by a computer system an initial communicative coupling of an initial reader;
• loading a first set of instructions to at least one computer-readable storage medium in response to the detection of an initial communicative coupling of the initial reader to the computer system, the instructions executable by at least one processor of the computer system to cause the computer system to:
• autonomously identify medical implements and medical supplies present in a number of sterile fields that do not encompass any portion of a body of a patient;
• each time one of the medical procedure objects is removed from the at least one sterile field, autonomously identifying the removed medical procedure object as checked out in a database;
• each time the medical procedure object is returned to the at least one sterile field or to at least one non-sterile field, autonomously identifying the returned medical procedure object as checked-in in the database;
• autonomously detect a first medical procedure object within a non-sterile field that dose not encompass any portion of the body of the patient;
• after autonomous detection of the first medical procedure object within the non-sterile field, autonomously detect the first medical procedure object within one of the number of sterile fields;
• and
• in response to autonomous detection of the first medical procedure object within one of the number of sterile fields after autonomous detection of the first medical procedure object within the non-sterile field, provide an indication that the first medical procedure object has been returned to the one of the number of sterile fields after being present in the non-sterile field;
• and
• executing the first set of instructions by the at least one processor.