The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 14, 2004
Filed:
Aug. 04, 2003
Systems and methods to identify and disable re-used devices based on detecting environmental changes
Robert R. Burnside, Mountain View, CA (US);
David K. Swanson, Mountain View, CA (US);
SciMed Life Systems, Inc., Maple Grove, MN (US);
Abstract
A medical system for limiting usage of a medical probe, such as, e.g., a catheter or a surgical probe, is provided. The medical system comprises a medical probe that includes an electronic storage component for storage of data. The electronic storage component has environmental sensing capabilities and detects an environmental condition to which the medical probe is exposed. If the detected environmental condition is associated with a sterilization cycle, the electronic storage component stores a probe sterilization indicator indicating that the medical probe has been sterilized. The medical system further includes a medical probe control unit to which the medical probe is connected. The medical probe control unit is configured for writing and reading data to and from the electronic storage component of the medical probe when the medical probe is connected to the control unit. The medical probe control unit comprises a control circuit that prevents operation of the medical probe based on the presence of the probe sterilization indicator. Prevention of the medical probe operation is also based on a probe usage indicator, which is employed to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate sterilization of medical probes.