Sterilization Monitoring Database Upgrades
Our group was chosen to make upgrades being made to the database that is used by the Sterilization Monitoring service at UNC Adams School of Dentistry.
The Sterilization Monitoring service provides testing and documentation for dental offices (and others) that their autoclaves or other sterilization devices are working properly and meeting state laws. They receive 300-500 tests per day and serve approximately 1200 clients from North Carolina and surrounding states. Our group is excited for the opportunity to help upgrade the database that helps this crucial service continue to run.
As was given to us, the database was built using python and the python web framework Django. The most significant upgrades as provided to us by our client included the functionality to query the database for dental offices using an address, phone, or practice name, the ability to add or delete a user of the database, and much more. The client also was open to other upgrades like redesigning the user interface or making a new database.
This database is crucial to the daily operations that take place within the Sterilization Monitoring service. The testing that takes place is required by state law and the operation here at the UNC Adams School of Dentistry is one of the few places that this is done in the state of North Carolina. Because of this, the lab is constantly busy running tests that check to see if these sterilizers are running correctly. It doesn’t help that state law requires that these sterilizers are tested weekly. This makes this aging database a crucial part of the operating ability of the lab. The database, which was written over 10 years ago, currently runs on Python 2.7 and uses PyQt to generate a user interface.
The database also contains errors like the inability to add or delete users, which has led to current workers having to use unknown logins to access the database with. There are also many report templates which can be updated with new information and tracking. Our group also hopes that we can successfully update the verison of Python used in the database to 3.10 or 3.11. We hope that the upgrades we make will make the database more functional and up to date with the lab’s needs.