Sterile Electronics Bag and Sterile Closure Mechanism

Abstract

A sterile bag for containing non-sterile objects includes: a body; a sealed first end; a second end forming a cuff and an opening to an internal portion of the bag when in a first position; a visible demarcation located circumferentially along the cuff dividing the bag into two sides; a closure mechanism located along the cuff on the proximal side of the visible demarcation such that when the second end is in a second position there is no cuff and the closure mechanism can be used to seal the bag with the visible demarcation sealed within the bag. In use, a first user with scrubbed hands may touch the bag only on one side of the visible demarcation and a second user with non-scrubbed hands may touch the bag only on the other side of the visible demarcation.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A sterile bag for containing non-sterile objects comprising:
 a body of the bag including a proximal side towards a sealed first end of the bag and a distal side towards an internal portion of the bag;   a second end that includes a cuff forming an opening to the internal portion;   a closure mechanism located circumferentially along the body of the bag, wherein the closure mechanism can be used to seal the bag;   at least one tear guide located circumferentially along the body of the bag, wherein the tear guide maintains a tear parallel to the tear guide, wherein the at least one tear guide is located closer to the second end than the closure mechanism; and   at least one tear slit located closer to the second end than the closure mechanism,   wherein, upon tearing the tear slit along the tear guide, the cuff and a portion of the second end are separated from the remaining body of the bag, wherein the remaining body includes the closure mechanism and the sealed first end.   
     
     
         2 . The bag of  claim 1  wherein the cuff includes a visible demarcation, wherein the proximal side of the visible demarcation is the sterile portion of the bag and distal side of the visible demarcation is the non-sterile portion of the bag. 
     
     
         3 . The bag of  claim 1  wherein the closure mechanism includes an adhesive closure. 
     
     
         4 . The bag of  claim 1  wherein the closure mechanism includes a zipper closure. 
     
     
         5 . The bag of  claim 1  further including a lens window in the body of the bag, wherein the lens window is formed from a material having greater optical clarity than the remaining body of the bag. 
     
     
         6 . The bag of  claim 1  further comprising a bezel ring removably attached to the internal portion of the bag, wherein the bezel ring holds the internal portion of the bag taut across an opening of a lens bezel. 
     
     
         7 . A method of using a non-sterile object in a sterile environment comprising the steps of:
 providing a sterile bag including:
 a body of the bag including a proximal side towards a sealed first end of the bag and a distal side towards an internal portion of the bag; 
 a second end that includes a cuff forming an opening to the internal portion; 
 a closure mechanism located along the body of the bag, wherein the closure mechanism can be used to seal the bag; 
 at least one tear guide located circumferentially along the body of the bag, wherein the at least one tear guide is located closer to the second end than the closure mechanism; and 
 at least one tear slit located closer to the second end than the closure mechanism; 
   grasping the bag such that a user's hands are partially covered by the cuff;   inserting a non-sterile object into the bag;   manipulating the bag and closure mechanism to seal the non-sterile object within the sealed portion of the bag; and   tearing the tear slit along the tear guide, wherein the tear guide maintains the tear parallel to the tear guide, wherein the cuff and a portion of the second end are separated from the remaining body of the bag, wherein the remaining body includes the closure mechanism and the sealed first end.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the non-sterile object is a camera including a lens bezel, and further including the step of:
 attaching one side of a bezel ring to the lens bezel of the camera and the other side of the bezel ring to the internal portion of the bag before the camera is sealed within the bag. 
 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the bezel ring is an adhesive bezel ring. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the step of providing at least one bezel ring includes providing a plurality of sizes of bezel rings on a release liner such that a bezel ring may be selected to appropriately match the lens bezel of the camera. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the method includes:
 folding the bag along at least two fold lines located circumferentially along the body of the bag, wherein the fold lines are located proximal to the closure mechanism. 
 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the cuff includes a visible demarcation, wherein the proximal side of the visible demarcation is the sterile portion of the bag and distal side of the visible demarcation is the non-sterile portion of the bag. 
     
     
         13 . A method of using a non-sterile object in a sterile environment comprising the steps of:
 providing a sterile bag including:
 a body of the bag; 
 a sealed first end; 
 a second end that forms a cuff and an opening to an internal portion of the bag when in a first position; 
 a visible demarcation located circumferentially along the cuff dividing the bag into a proximal side towards the sealed first end and a distal side towards the internal portion of the bag; 
 a closure mechanism located along the cuff on the proximal side of the visible demarcation such that when the second end is in a second position there is no cuff and the closure mechanism can be used to seal the bag with the visible demarcation sealed within the bag; 
   a first user having scrubbed hands grasping the bag proximal to the visible demarcation such that the first user's hands are partially covered by the cuff;   a second user inserting a non-sterile object into the bag without contacting the bag other than distal to the visible demarcation;   the first user manipulating the bag and closure mechanism to seal the non-sterile object and every portion of the bag distal to the visible demarcation within the sealed portion of the bag, without touching the bag anywhere proximal to the visible demarcation.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the non-sterile object is a camera, the bag further includes a lens window and further including the steps of:
 providing at least one bezel ring; 
 the second user attaching one side of the bezel ring to the bezel of the camera and the other side of the bezel ring to the lens window before the first user seals the camera within the bag. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the bezel ring is an adhesive bezel ring. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the step of providing at least one bezel ring includes providing a plurality of sizes of bezel rings so one may be selected to appropriately match the bezel of the camera.