Mary Louise Mccoy

US Patent:

7142118, Nov 28, 2006

Filed:

Jun 22, 2004

Appl. No.:

10/873783

Inventors:

John A. Hamilton - Tampa FL, US
Mary L. McCoy - Tampa FL, US
Charles Pope - Tampa FL, US
Joseph A. Largey - Tampa FL, US

Assignee:

SRI/Surgical Express, Inc. - Tampa FL

International Classification:

G06Q 50/00
G06F 7/06

US Classification:

3405721, 235375, 377 5, 705 2, 700215, 209 33

Abstract:

The present invention contributes to advancements in the art of inventory management and distribution by providing a system and method for processing, distributing, and tracking reusable inventory items. Reusable articles, such as surgical garments and accessories, are adapted with radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tags having unique identification numbers. A “reader” is used to retrieve stored information from the tags without requiring direct contact or clear line-of-sight. The reusable articles are processed and distributed using an inventory management system wherein lifecycle data is obtained for each reusable article. The reusable articles are distributed to the end users from central processing facilities, used, returned, cleaned, inspected, folded, sterilized, and returned to inventory for re-distribution. Periodic quality control inspections are conducted in response to predetermined usage parameters. The use of RFID tags and a corresponding computer network allows for the acquisition of data corresponding to each reusable article within a distribution system having multiple remote distribution and processing facilities.