Project Overview

Surgical Site Infections (SSI) are a major source of morbidity and cost in the United States healthcare system. While there are a number of risks that contribute to increased infection rates, one area that can be addressed is the exposure of operating instruments to the “open air” of an operating room. Current procedures keep instruments sterilized and in their packaging until necessary. This leads to increased time opening each instrument, and consequently, an increased operative time, a major risk factor for SSI. In addition, instruments that need to be reused are sometimes exposed to the air for a prolonged amount of time, again, increasing risk of SSI.

A proposed solution for reducing SSI is through the use of an instrument guard. This instrument guard would be fixed to an instrument table and mayo stand, and would house and compartmentalize various surgical instruments during surgery. Our team’s responsibility this semester is to design an instrument guard that will maintain instrument sterility in the operating room for an extended period of while maintaining ergonomics that would make it an efficient device to use during a surgical procedure.

Team Picture

Contact Information

Team Members

• Sarvesh Periyasamy - Team Leader
• Roland Pomfret - Communicator
• Jiaquan Yu - BSAC
• Lok Wong - BWIG & BPAG

Advisor and Client

• Prof. Tracy Jane Puccinelli - Advisor
• Dr. Matthew Halanski - Client

Related Projects

• Spring 2014: Instrument guard - surgical site infection reducer
• Fall 2013: Instrument guard - surgical site infection reducer