So, I am a Surgical Technologist who scrubs and assists in surgeries at my local hospital here in Oregon. We are always re-purposing items that are not going to be used or get contaminated (meaning fall off the sterile field, not contaminated with human matter.) whenever we can. We get cloth towels, sponges, plastic bags, plastic trays etc. In this case in the cardiac room, we have these large thick white plastic bins that are sealed with sterile contents inside for the Perfusionist (doctor who runs the Heart Lung Bypass Machine.), and these white bins typically get thrown out. Well I came up with a very cool idea.
Since the containers are not quite square, and more rectangular, if I stack them opposite to each other they catch on a lip and do not fit all the way together. So I cut the bottom of one out and replaced it with some 1/4 hole metal mesh and attached it to the bottom with some metal ties and some food grade silicone caulking. Then the second container got a nice this layer of this caulking over the entire interior of it because I don't know what is in the plastics and I didn't want my honey sitting inside of it leaching any harmful chemicals into it. The last thing I need to do is buy a honey gate and attach it to the bottom, and attack a piece of wood on the top, and I will have a very inexpensive uncapping tank. (23 dollars in metal mesh and silicone Caulking)
(http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/9651/1photo.jpg)
By dexterjcrabtree (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/dexterjcrabtree) at 2011-01-09
(http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/3763/7photo.jpg)
By dexterjcrabtree (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/dexterjcrabtree) at 2011-01-09
(http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/1038/2photoc.jpg)
By dexterjcrabtree (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/dexterjcrabtree) at 2011-01-09
(http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/3085/3photo.jpg)
By dexterjcrabtree (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/dexterjcrabtree) at 2011-01-09
(http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/1024/5photo.jpg)
By dexterjcrabtree (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/dexterjcrabtree) at 2011-01-09
(http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/5403/6photo.jpg)
By dexterjcrabtree (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/dexterjcrabtree) at 2011-01-09
Sounds cool.
Well the pictures are really what do it justice, but I am not privileged yet.....I will revise the subject title once the Moderator adds the pictures.......
Sounds very cool. Do they use the same kind of containers at all Hospital and Surgical Centers or are they variable?
Tim
I honestly don't know if most other heart programs use them as this is the first hospital I have worked at with a heart program.