Case – auto­mated Sterile Processing Departmant at UKSH, Campus Lübeck

When the newly built University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck (UKSH Lübeck), opened its doors in October 2021, it did so with an auto­mated Sterile Processing Department deli­vered and installed by Gibotech.

An essential part of the Sterile Processing Department is the sterile storage, where surgical equipment is kept until needed for opera­tions. The entire process in the sterile storage is untouched by human hands and fully automated.

Once the equipment is cleaned and inspected, it is packed into wire baskets and regi­stered. These baskets are then stacked by a robot and sorted by weight. The baskets go through the auto­clave and end up in the sterile storage.

The storage is a so-called “chaotic ware­house,” where conveyor belts and an auto­matic crane simply place the wire baskets on avai­lable shelves. The software ensures that the location is recorded, while also opti­mizing the capacity of the storage.

When instru­ments are needed for a planned operation, the crane retrieves the wire basket with the appro­p­riate instru­ments, and a robot with a specially designed tool places the basket in a case cart. The case cart is then sent further along a conveyor belt, specially modified for the carts at UKSH Lübeck.

UKSH Lübeck aimed to reduce physical strain on healt­hcare personnel by elimi­nating repe­titive tasks and heavy lifting. They have succeeded in doing so, among other things, by using tables that can be ergo­no­mi­cally adjusted for each employee. Another advantage of the automation is that it is easy to keep track of master data and ensure full tracea­bility throughout the process.