CA1044191A - Molded suture package - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A laminated molded sterilizable package for sutures is constructed of a first molded sheet and a second cover sheet. The molded sheet has a centrally located needle chamber recess and a long, narrow suture channel extending outward of and in a generally spiral path around the needle chamber. In a preferred embodi-ment, the suture channel is characterized by having at least one curve in a reverse direction form the general direction of the spiral. The package is opened by peeling a portion of the cover sheet from the molded sheet to uncover the needle chamber and an adjacent lenth of the suture channel. The package is suitable for use with heavy denier monofilament sutures which may be withdrawn from the package singly or in groupa.
Sutures delivered from the package are characterized by having only gentle bends with no loops or coils and are suitable for use with little or no further straightening.

Description

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., BACI~GROUND ~F THE I~ENI I01 ', .
Thl~ inventlo~ relate~ to auture p~cks.ges, : . . .
1~ a~d more particuls,rly to packages ~hlch provide rOr ~' the conveni~3nt dellv~ry o~ monoril~nent ~lltures in a sub~t~ni;lall~ olled3 unlooped ~orm. -.
C~rtaln auture m~terial~$ particularly mono- :
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fll~ments ~uch as c~tgut and polypropyl~nz ln the h~rier d~ni~rs, are known to ta~ce ~ "~et" during Btor~geg i ~ ~ ~ ? they retain the shape of th~ir po~lti~n in the p~cl~age when re~oved :er~ the package. - .Por exampl~, when su~h ~uture~ ar~ looped, lqound in the ~o~m o~ a coll or wound ùpon ~ reel ~d skored ~ in ~- ch ~ condltlon, the suture will set to th~t ;. con~iguratlon ~d, when removed ~ran the ps,ckag~, wlll tend to fo~m a number o~ loop~ or ~oil~. Such suture Ci 15 ~re pron~ to tangle and 3re di~ ult to keep ~eparate ~1 when aeveral sutur~ aro being used ln a ~lngle oper- ~ -`! ati~n. It . ha~ accordingly been neceasary ~or the nur6e :: :
or surgeon remoYing ~uch ~uture~ rr~ the pac~ge to ;~ ::
at l~a~t partlally str~igh~en the ~uture by str~tching lt be~ore it 1B ready Por use.
Molded pack~g;e~ have bee~l ~uggested ~or u3e i~: wlth~u~ure~h~re~ofore. IJSP 3,338,401 roP ex~mple7 '¦ di~clo~ ~ol~d lamlnaged packages whlch are deslgned to avold 1;he rOnna~Qn o~ ki~a and eharp bends ln delicate f'l~xible 8uture8. The package~ of' thl~ re~er-,., l` . : , .
nce~ are ch~r~cter~ed by hav~ng a needle chamber ~ -loc~ted at o~e end o~ the package An~ a ~uture chaxmel ~ . . -, : hàvlng a plurality o~ r~ther tight convolutions in th~ ~ :
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form of ~ ~plral or modl~led f`igure 8 pa1;tern oYer the remaln~er Or the pack~Lge. Such packagQs are not well suited rOr packaging heavier denler mono~ilament ~uture~ sinc~ th~ esB ~lexible ~ukure~ t~nd to :~ 5 tlgh~en up in the co~volution~ o~ the ~uture ~h~nnel uld cannoli be wlthdr~wn f`rom the end Or the p~ckage a~ may the more dellcate and :~lezlble ~utures ~or whlch the ~s~¢~age was designed. Thi~ binding o~
the suture in the ~uture ch~nel, co~monly re~erred to aa ~ ap~tan er~ect~ " i8 avolded by the packag~
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~, o~ the ln~tQ~t in~renl;lon.
The conrolutions of the packages o~ USP
3J 338a 401 impart consider~ble curvature to ~utures which t~nd to ta~e a set on storage and such: ~uture~ -:
" , ~o:rm loop~, coll~, ~nd/or sinusoldal p~ttern~ when .1 r~moved ~ra~ ~h~ package. In a¢cord~ce with the pre~ent inv~ntlon, ~uture3 whirh are prone to take a set ~r~ packaged in such a way th~ when remo~d ` ! fr~m th~ pac~age they wlll not be aigni~icantly looped or colled. The packages of the present .1 . .
'1 inventlorl ~e designed to lmp~rt mini~um cur~rature ;1 . to th~ ~uture during stor~ge, to prov~de ~or th~ ~
;`, removsl oi:' one or more lndivldual suture~ f`raan a ~ :
p~ckage cont~nlng ~ev~ral ~uture~, and" in a pre- ~ -`, 25 rerr~d embodlment, to p~rtially r~mo~e Bam~ o~ the cur~rature durlng wlthdr~al Or the ~uture ~rall the ::
package. .~.

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. s~y The package~ Or the pre~en~ lnventlon c~prise a lamin~t~ o~ a f'lrBt molded sh0et ~d 8, ~e~o~d cov~r ~heet. The ~olded ~heet de~ln~ a , narrow ~uture ch~nnel h~vlng a plurallty Or curves circum~cribing and te~mlna~ g ~t one cnd in ~n .i , . . .
-`, e~larg~d re~e~ centr~lly loc~ted ln th~ molded "1 ' ' .' Bhe~t. Singl~ ~brmed euturee are placed ln th0 suture channel ~lth the n~edl~s po~lti~ned in the ~ ~
; ~ ~nlarged reces~ . ~e cover sheet iB ~dhe~lvely ~ :
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"I 10 ~pplied to the molded ~heet and ~aled around th~
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perlphery o~ the pac~ge and along the edges of th~
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autur~ ~hannel a~d n~le r9c~8s to ~orm a ~l0~0a ~uture :
pa ~gew~y ~nd ne~dle ~ha~ber~
The ~uture pa3sageway i~ ch~racterlzed by .,1 . . . . . . .
1 15 h~vlng gentle curves~and by defining a generally 1 ~pir~l path outw~rd rro~ and around the centræl ~
I , n~dle chamber. In a pre~erred embodiment, the ' :
.¦ ,. suture pa~s~geway i8 char~cterlzed by having~at ~ :-`r~ lea~t one cur~e in ~ dlrection r@verse to tha general .l 20 dirnctlon o~ the s~ir~ The cover sheet i8 adapted to be -;
p~rtlally peeled ~rom the central portlon o~ the molded : she~t to g~in acces~ to the needle chamber and ~n ad~
acent length of ~uture channel. iSuture~ are removed gly or in group~-~rom the opened package by dr~wing th~ ~uturé through the reverse curve ~nd out through the open suture channel. Once removed, the ~uture~ r are ch~r~cterized by having only gentle cur~es and no loop3 or c0118.

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~4~91 According to a broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a package for armed sutures comprising a laminate of a first molded sheet and a second cover sheet.
The molded sheet defines an elongated suture channel termln-ating at one end in an enlarged needle chamber. The channel ~- and the chamber have a bottom and side walls with the bottom being displaced from the normal plane of the molded sheet and -~ the side walls extending from the bottom to the normal plane of the sheet. The channel and the chamber are open to one side of the molded sheet. The cover sheet is flat and sealed to ;~
~;i the molded sheet along the open side of the channel and the `
chamber,to close the channel and the chamber and form ~, a closed suture channel terminating at one end in a closed '~
needle chamber, The improvement in the package comprises i~ locating the needle chamber centrally of the package, extend-ing the suture channel in a path circumscribing the needle chamber, and precutting the cover sheet along a line inter- ;
,3 mediate the needle chamber and adjacent convolutions of the suture channel whereby a portion of the cover sheet is adapted to be opened to provide access to the needle chamber.

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:'' ~!1~ '''' "'"' .,, : -- 1!1igure 1 1~ aPlan vlew Or ~ p~ckage according to a prererred embodiment o~ thi~ lnven-tlon, ~riewed ~roDI the channel ~ide. :-~
``1 Flgure 2 1~ a cros~-6ectional ~lew o~ the ~ `, 5 package o~ Figure 1 along line 2-2.
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Flgure 3 i~ aplan v~ew of the paek7,ge o~
Figure 1 vlew2d ~ram the covered ~lde with the cover ;, j :~ ~heet peeled b~ck to ~3XpO8e ~he needle chamber ~d the .. ~.
ad~acent portioll o~ ~uture channel. Flgure 3 additlon- `
ally ~ho~ option0,1 n~edle chamber cover 33 not lnclud~d .1~ in Flgure 1.
.~ Fi~re 4 1~ a view in perspec:tive o~ the '::
opened ~uture pae~age with needles and sutures pre- . :
ented for: ~emo~r 1. .
~ Figure 5 i8 aplan view of a portion; of ~:
the ~utur~ ch~nel showing pro~ectlons into the - : ::
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~' . - , : . . - , ~ ~ ~ ~igure 6 1~ ~plan view Or a portion o~ a .
`¦ ~uture~ cha~nel showlng und~rcuttlng along curv~
0: ~ Pl~ure ~ 1~ a cros~-section~l vlew oi a u~ure channe~ ta~en al~ng line 7-7 Rhowing det~
o~a~pro~e~tion ln the cha~nel.
igure: 8 i8 a cro~-secti~nal v~lew Or a ~ :
sutur~ char~el showing details oP ~ alte~natlve 25~ : ~ ; pro~ctlo d~
Figure 9 is a cro~-se~v~tional view o~ a ..
uture ch~rinel taken along line 9~9 showing det~
o~ undercu~tlng along a curve.
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~,~,,, - , , ~ -: ' ' , .. ~ , . , , . ~ .. , .. . . , . ~ . , ~` h'TH-400 Figure 10 1~ a cro~-seetlonal vlew of a ~uture ch~el undercut on both sid~s.
Figure 11 i8 aplan vlew o~ the needle chamber and chamb~r cover before the cover ~heet ~, 5 î~ applied.
~ lgure 12 i8 a cross-aectional view o~ ~he needle ~hunber ~Lnd eh~rnber cover o~ Flgure 11 ~long ., .
line 12-12.
Figure~ 13 thru 15 are enl~rged cro~s-sectional partlal v1~3w~ of the needl~ chamber ~d çhamber cover of Figure 12 lllustrating the detalls .. ,~ , , . . ~ , o~ varlou~ proJ~ctlo~ desi~ns.
~Figure~ 16 and 17 ~re vlas~a o~ ~he needle ~:
ch~mber showing altern~te needle po~itioxls. Flgure 17 ~ddltlon~l~y æhow~ ~ modi~ied des1gn o~ the needle chamber cover~
i : , ~¦ Figure 18 i~ a representatlon o~ ~ typical , , : .
sutur~ con~igur~tion upon removal ~ram ~ package the in~tant inventlon. : :
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~ ~Re~e~rring to Flgures 1-4 of the drawlngs, th~re i8 ~hown a package accordlng to ~ pr~erred ~mbodiment o~ this lnve~ti~n whlch ccmpr1se~ a . :~
l~in~e o~ a fir~t molded ~heet 20 and a second l ., .
~ovèr ~h~et 21. The n:olded ~hest 20 defines a long -

2~ ~rr~7 ch~nel 22 hav~ng a plurallty o~ curved sectlons ~ :~
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; c1rcumscrlblnæ and t~rminatlng at one end in c~itrally :
located recess ~23. :Ch~l 22 is di~pl~ced i~r~ the : :
~normal plane o~ thé molded ~heet in a U-~h~ped cro~
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s~tion open to one ~ide Or th0 moldad nheet. Receas 23 i8 ln a llke mann~r dlsplaced fr~m the norm~l plane o~ th~ molded sheet and op~n to ~ane æide Or the molded aheet a~ the ~uture ~h~nnel.
Cover she~t 21 1~ a~aled to mold~d sh~et 20 :~ e~ntinuou31y ~long bokh longitudinal ~dBo~ 24 o~ ch~nnel 22 an~ rlm 25 OI rec~ss 23 to ~orm a clos~d auture ch~el pass~way 26 t~nlnating in a clo~d needl~
~hamber 27.:
; 10 ~In a pre~erred embodlment, recess ~3 1~
laolded wlth a central pl~ea~l 28 extending rr~n the .~1 bott~n o~ the rec~s~ to the normal plane o~ the ~olâea ~hc~t. Al~o in ~ pr~erred embodiment, mold~d ~h~t 20 h~ lnger hole 2g provld~ng s.cce~s to cover ~heet 21 at a lo~tlon ~ere cov~r sheet 21 18 cut or p~r~
~or3ted and ad~pted to be peeled e.wa~r rro~ the mol~d .;
~heetA In Flgure l, the line o~ the cut or peri~oration~ ` :
~1 ' ' ~ ' ~ ' -, in cover ~he~t 21 i9 lndlcated by da~hsd line 30. :
¦~ ~urning now to F13ure 3, there i~ ~h~m ~ ~
: 20 vi~ frc~ the coYer she~t ~ide o~ the pa~kage wherein . -.~ eo~er ~he0t 21 ha~ b~erl po01ed b~ck i~ran the opon aide o~ molded ~h~et 20 ~long dashed line 30, ~hereby ~xpo~lng . 1 .
n~dle cha~4er 27 aald a portion o~ ~utur~ ch~l 26 jl ~ whleh contain~ ~utures 31 termln~tinig ~lth ne~dle~ 32.
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1~ 25~l~o illu~tra~ed in Flgur~ 3 1~ needle c~h~mber coY~r ;¦ 33 ~hiLch3 ln a pr~err~d embodlmen~ herelnai~t~r de- .
1 ~ ~crib~d, l~ pla~od o~rer the rleedle ch~mber b~tween , ....................................... .
the mold~d ~he~t 20 and co~rer ~heet 21 and 1~ ~dh~red to ~ald ~over ~heet and remove~ ~ram the needl~ ch~mber .:
1 30 wh~n cover ~heet i~ pe~led a~ y.......................... ~ ~
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Figur~ 4 illu trate~ the opened package o~
Figur~ 3 in~rerted to present noedl~a 32 and a length ~ -of ~uture 31 wh~reby the ~uture ~tr~nds m~y be ind~-~dually gr~3ped and ~ithdrawn ~rom the paekage slnKly .~ 5 or in group~ o~ two or more.
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~urnlng naw to Figure~ 5 th~ 10, there^are illu~trat0d~v~rio~ chann~l detail~ ~hlch ~nadr be eDlployed ., in pre~rred ~bodim~nts o~ the pre~ent lnvention here- :
~` ' ! ' ~ ' ' lne~rter de~cribea. I3~ Flgure 5, ch~ l 22 18 undercut wlth a plurality o~ ~paced proJ~ctlo~ 34 h~uirlg the oro~ ect1o~i a~ sho~n ln Figure 7. In Flgur~ 6?
eh~n01 22 1~ pr~d~d wlth cont1nuou~ ~der~uts 35 , ~l alorlg ins1de curve~ o~ th~ chann~1 h~rîng the cro~
~e~tion ~hown ln Fi~ 9. Fleur~ 8 e~hows ul ~ltern~
~, 15 cro~o~0ct10n ~Bor wndercut~chann~1s whl~h pre~erY~ a cir~ular configura~1~ ln the chann~l. The proJ~ction2 ~:
.. ¦ or un~rcuktlng o~ F1g~res 7~10 pre~er~bly ~xte~d irlto the sutur0 &h~ di~t~nce equal to at leà~t 1j8 and -pr0~erably 1/~ or mor~ o~ th~ width ~ the ch~ iX~
;;. 20 the norm~l pl~n0 ~of th~ mold~d ~h~et. An~ cro~s-~eetion oi~ Flgure~ 7-10 c~ be u~d ~lth the und~rcutt-lng o~
h~r Flgur~ 5 :or 63 and the undercutting Or Flgura . ~:
6 m~r b~ con~ uoub ~long eith~r or~both aldeR Or t}le :.;~:
eu~ure ~hanrlel ~d o~r sub3tantially th~ entire length 25~ o~ th~ suture ~harm~
~Fl~ure~ 12 i1lu~tr~te in detail n~edlo c~mber ha~ing ~ cover 33 ~03itioned ~r~r th~
~ha~nbQr ~d re~traln~d b~w~n pro3~ction~ 36 ~a~d t~au 28. ~ Cover 33 in ca~ inatlon ~ith molded r~t:e88 :1 - - . . :~ -;' 30 23 thsreby-~dei~lne~ n~ed1e chl3~ber 27 prlor to the appli- - -cation o~ ~ov~r ~heet 21. Pro~ecti~ns 36 m~y be o~ any , ' ' '";~ ~ :'.'',, .,' ~ , - ETH~400 4~1~L9~L

~ultabl~ d~ign e~recgiv~ to r~tr~in cover 33 a8 illu~tr~ted ror e~:ampl~ in Figure~. 13-15 ~hich ~ho .
parti~ ~ls,rged vlow3 0~ th~ coversd n~edle chamber.
P1~P~ 16 ~ad 17~ ~re ~r8 0~ ~h~
el~b~r illu~trat~ng the mann~r ln e~hich rlesdles o~ vaPl~u8 sl~ea ~r b~ ~ccammodated. In Figure . 16, l~rge needl~ $B :IrOr ex~mpl~ clrcl~ ne~dle~
h~vln~ a r~dius o~ 3/4 lnch or l~rg~r are placed ~ith the n-~dle extendl~g ~round the. central pla~eau ~ ' 1~ 28. ~ Sm~ r neeidle~, ~or ~x~ple hal~ cir~le nQ~dl~s ha~lng a i~diu~ o* 1/2 inch or ~mo.ll~r, m~yr b0 po~ltioYIed ~t tho Junctur~ o~ th~ ne~dle chemb~r and the sutur0 :1 1 . ,.
:I channel a~ &h~wn ln Flgur~ 17, or may b~ extended : ~ ~
j. ;, . . . .......... , -rurt~r lnto th~ n~dl~ ~hunb~r lr d~ired. Figur~ 17 ~ddîtlon~lly illustrat~ a ~odl~ied n~-dle ch~bor co~rer .~:
wh~r~ln tho lower port~on o~ th~ cover has b~an rëmoved.
hl~ d~1gn 18 pro~erred rOr use wlth packages c~lnlng o. tublng rluid to pro~nt the ch~ber cover f`ran dlpplng ::
lnto an~ splashingli~heltublng ~luid ~rhen opènlng the p~ck~e.
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The n~edle-suture cosnblnation~ ~ay b~ pla~
~l in~o th~ pa~kagos of the lnstant lnv~ntion mech~i~ally or m~u~lly:u~lng u~y convenient m~ . In one m~thod, the ~old~d ~h~et 20 ~ placed open ~ld~ up a~d on~ or 2~ rero,~ d ~utur~ ar~ me~u~lly pls.ced ln ~he op~n . ~ : ~u~ chann~l and ne~dl~ r~ce~s. It 1B gener~lly mo~t ~onYenlent to po~ltion the n~edles in th~ ne~dle r~ce~ lr~t, thcn l~r th~ autures ~in the suture chann~
tha ~u~ure~ h~ving b~en pr~cut to a ~ength corr~sponding ~o th¢ length: o~ the ~utura channel or shorter if dcsir~d.
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In ~ preferr~d embodim~nt, the needle chamber has a plurallty o~ pro~ectlon~ extendlng fir~m the llp thereo~, a~d a centro,lly located plateau as ~hown ln Flgure~ 11 and 12. After lo~dlne the needl~-suture~
lnto th~ r~ces~ in the molded sheet" ~ ~parate ne~dle cham~er cover 33 18 an~pped into pl~ce to hold ths nQedl~s in position untll the cov~r ~hi~et 1~ appll0d~
Once th~ n~edle-suture canblna~lon~ ~re loaded lnto the molded~ aheet and co~er 33 ls in placa, :cover sheet -~; 10 21 ~8 appl~ed an~ bonded to the molded ahe~t ~y heat : ~ :
~e~llng or o~her adh~s~ve m~sns to,obtaln the laDnln3t~
. . . . ~tructur0 of ~igure~ d ?-101ded sh~ 20 18 prè~er~lg t~o~med ~rom ~ a tran~parent pl~tlc m~t~rial which i8 ~ap~ble Or b~1n6 snold0d by the~aof`o~qn1n~ lnJectlon moldlng or the ~ ~ :
:1 lllce to proride ~ ~h~rply de~ined, r~latively rlgld : ;
~t~ucture such as shown ln Figures ~l and ~. In ~hl~
con8t;ruction, th~ boltt~ o~ ch~nel ~2 and re~es~ 23 ; :: ~aro dl~ple.c~ ~ran th~ no~e,l plule of sheet: 20 ~nd . -ad~ac~nt portiona ~o~ the ch~el are ~opara~ed rr~ : `- :
he ne~dle rec~ss and ~ran each other by n~Frow portlon~ -`'1 o~ ~ho ~olded ~sh~et ~hlch rem~in ln ~h~ or1g~nal pl~ ~ . ;-Or~ ~h~ hee~
: Cover ~h~et 21 16 pr~rably constructed Or ~-:
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a ~ r3:a~1 o~p~ble ~o~ belng p~lably ~eal~d to the ld0d ~3heet ln i~uch a sray tha~ the ~e~rer she~t ~nd th~ ~ol~od aho~t mag b~ re~dily ~ep~rated. ~h~ c~r :~ -`~ ~heet m~y canprlq~ a barrler l~ger o~ ~a ~ateri~l such : : -:, . . . . .
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a9 a~ nUIII rOil and an inner heat 3~allng layer whlch i~ ~d2pted to ~oln the coYer ~heet to the molded sh~s~t, eLnd Dl~y include an o1lter prot0ctive layer o~ a materi~l s~ch ~8 M; rlar ~llm .
Any cover ~he~t ~hlch is ~d~pted to b~ ~ealed to th~ ~x~o~ed portlonR or the moldl3d ~h~et ~nd rO~ d ~aled unit ma~r be u~d. The materials u~sd and the ~llng t~chlique~ a~pll~d must be ¢ho~en 80 tho,t l;he cover sh~t may be ~tripped or peeled i~rom th~ mol~e~
~h~et along ~ precut line without teo.ring. When lt i~
~, d~lr~d th~ th~ mold~d m~mber and the cov~r ~heet co~
ra~ to ro~ ~ h~etlcally ~ealed p~ck~ ror~a .. . .
~ril~ suturfa, thefy mu~t be seflected rron~ she~t ~ /
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3na~ri~ uch a8 tho~e de~rlbed ~bo~e, which w~ll provi~o the n~ce~eLry barrier~ to the pae~ o~ b~terl~ . :
whi~h arf3 ~Lpable o~ belng. ~terllized ~n a con~r~ntlo~al msmler by efither lrrfadle.tion, ga~e~us dl~usion, h~fat, or th~ lik0 wlthout serlous defkerioration or 1~3811 of d-slred . ~ -"I ~rop~rtle~. T~e p~cXages oi` thi3 inv~ntLon ~re p~'~ f, 0 cularly suitf~d~ ~or ro~mln~ herrnetl~&lly ~e~l~fd unlta ~ ~ .
b~c~u~e th~y ar~ a~apted to b~ d e-~ly ~nd ~Qf-led ~ .- ~-.
r and th~fn to b~ opened by ~peeling- tha co~r~fr ~he rram ~h~ pack~gf~ w1thout d~nger o~ cont~mln~lng lt~
t~rlle f~ont~nts.
a~ ~ Th~ campo~itlan ~nd ~abricatlon or the p~ckag~
~o~ t~o in~t~nt lnYentlon ar~ ln accordan~e ~ith knf~w~
tsff~hnology :a:e dsscr1bed ~or~examp}e in USP 3,338,4O1, -I whlch ~a~f3nt 19 hereby incorporat~dhere~n by r~f~ronce ~ or lt~ tf~a~hlngs ln ~hi~ reg~rd.
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~hile ~ny c~positlon or rabrl~ion o~ needl~-~utur~ cc~blnation~ Dlay be us~d ln the nsvel pack~g~
o~ th~ in~t~Rt inventlon, the p~ckage~ ar~ p~rticularly w~ll adapt~d ~or u~e wlth h~vy mono~ilam2nt auture ~at~rials ~rhl~h t~nd te ta~se a "aet" when ~tored o~er 0xt~nda~ p~rlod~ o~ tlme. In partlcular, collagerl ~uture~, includlng both c~ut and e~ctruded collQeen, - ~d ~ynth~tîc mono~ nt ~utur0~ of polyprop~lane, nyl~n: and poly~t~rs In ~iz~ o~ 4-0 ~nd larger~ p-,rtl- .:
cularly ~iiz~ 0 a~ld larger, are kno~n to t~Xe ~ aet dur~ng sltor~ p~kaees Or th0 in~t~t lnventla protriao ~o~ ~h~ r~latl~ly stralghtii dsll~ery Or ~ueh ~uturo~ tr~ght ~lîveryi' lt i~ not m~nt thalt the d~llYer~ ~uture iL~ perrectly lln~alr ln. ~onn, but r~h-r that the ~uturo 1~1 deliver~d ~frith only g~n~le . bends ~ ~lthout ~ny pronouncèd loopo or c0118 ~whereby , . it l~ ultablQ ror use ~ith little or no straighteni~g. . :-~l It ~ rltic~ a~ure oi~ the l~t~nt lnvenelon that lkh~ n~dl~-cha~nber i8 ~ntrally loc~t~d, ~d tha~ th~ -~uture 1~ clrcum~rentlally around th- needl~-c}ullab~ ln a g~nerally spIr~l p~tteEzl wher~by th~ ; -number and ~verlty o~ cur~ ln th~ suturs ch~
ar~ mlni~iz-d. I~ pr~ferr~d re~ture of tho $n~tant ~ ~ in~r~n~ ho,t ~the suture ch~n~l ha~ at le~st on~ cur~
.1 25 ~ln ~ r~v~rs~ direct~on ~ran tho pri~n~ry d~rect'~ o~
. th~ lr~l. Re~orrln~ to Fi~uro 19 ;th~: ~uture channql d*~ln~a ~ ~p~al h~ring a clockwi~ie ~irection ar~und th~
c~tral no~dla cha~b~r, ~nd r~ r~ ~urvature 1~ prs~ t S; 63LIi polnt~ A und 8 l~ thlA 111I1BtratiOn. : :
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Reverse curvature ln the ~uture channel works to ~tr~9ightlsn the suture ~ lt 1~ pulled thr~ugh tlh~ clarve upon wlthdrawal ~rQ~ the packo.ge9 Rev~r~e curv~ A ~n Figur~ 1 t~nde to ~tr~lghten the ~et im~arted to th0 ~lI;ure ln th~ two ~inal CUrYOE 0~ the ~lr~l, ~h~l~ r~vars~ curve ~ tend~ to str~lghten the ~t $m~part~d to the ~utur~ ov~r th~ entlre longth o~ the epiral botw4~0n polnt B ~ndl ths en~ o~ the fiuture. The rever~e curv~turs ~l~o lmparts ~ ~mall degree Or rev~e ~t ln ~he ~utur~
which tend~ to op~n the ~utur2 ~plr~l upon d~ ery i!ram ~:
.. . .
~he ps~ . With r~f~renco tc~ ~igure lB" th~3re i5 lllllæ-~ , .
tr~tad ~ ~ t~rp1cal 8ia:e~ 0 pol~rprop~len2 m~no~ nt ~uture a~ it yppears u~on dellvery ~rom th~ ~uture , . . . , , i ~ . ~.
~ckag~ o~ F~Lgur~ 1 wlthout th~ a~pli~s~,tion ~o~ ~ny tlffnal ~tr~ight~nlng e~orts. It 18 mo~t elgn1~lcant `', t}~, 4~ i1lustrated ln Figur2 183 there are no loop~ ~
or coils in th~ ~eur~ nor do~s it cross~at ~ny point9 ~;
and a ~uture ha~ng such a low degree o~ curvature l~ .
.. . .
udoable wlth 1ittl~ or no addit10na1 straightening. ~ ;
. The sutur~ paekage o~ the pre~ent in~ntion ; .
~I ha~ seYer~l conYenisnce re~tures herelnbe~or~ de3arlbed ;1 wl~h~r~rerence to th~ Fi~ure~. Sp~clficallyJ the ~uture .1 ohanne1 i~ optiana11y~equlpped with ~ plur~1ity o~ pro~ -j ~e;cti~ns~a~ illustra~ in FigNres 5 ~nd ~:thr~ugh lO.
Pro~tions such ~ those o~ Figuré 7 reduc~ the cro~
.. ; ,, . ~ . , ~.
~' ~e~tl~n~ r~2 0~ th~ ~utura ch~nne1 ~nd, ~h~n located th~ r~varse cur~e~ Or the ~uture chann~1, inarease th~ drag on the suture ~ lt ia dr~wn through th~se :~:! - - . -.
'i cu~Ye~ to e~h~nce th~ ~traig~lt~nln~ e~fect o~ the .~,., ~ . , .: . .~ .

: -13-.: - .
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~ 4~o 9~ ~ -r~verse curve. In one ~mbodiment Or the pre~ent inventlon, the reverB~ curve has at lea~t two genera~ly ~ :
op~o~ing pPo~ectlorls within the curve as ~hown for ~a~ple in Figur~ 5. Add~ tlonally, pro~ectîon~ uch as tho~e iilustra~ed in Figure~ 7 thru lO which under-c~at the channel opening serve to hold the auture ln th~ channel ~urlng the loading and covering operatlonB~
:
The contin~lou~ undercut~ illu~trated in Figure 6 llke-Wi~12 Yacllitate loadin~s ~nd covering the ~u~ure packag~ .
lb~r re~tra~nirlg the ~uture ~trsnd~ within the channel. : -Wlth :~urlther rererence to Figure 1, finger hole 29 isop~lonallyproYided~ to push the tear end o~
th~ c~ver ~h~et a~ray ~rom the molded ~heet whereby it :
1~ r~adlly gra~ped and the cover ~hæet peeled back f`r~n .
the molded: ~he~t ~long line :3O whlch ia a cut or per~?orated llne in ~he cov~r 3heet. To ~acllit~te openlng of the ;~
pac}c~ge wlthout te~ring the oover ~heet, a n~rrow por~ion :
~: of ~ th~ cover sh~eit along either s1d~ o~ the~ pr~cut lin8pre~erably not sealed to th~ mold~d sh~-et.: Other m~ns to gain~ acce~ to the central needle~ch~iber wlll b2 apparent to those skilled in the p`ackaging Art.
~ ~ . It~ - pre~rred that the cover sheèt be cut or per~orate~ along lines ~ub~ta~tially traverælng th~
.~ : suture pacXage in or~er that when the cover sheet p~led~ ~rom~:th~ molded ~heet~, a substantial l~ngth o~ .
tur~ channe~ unc~v~red along ~lt~ the ~n~edlQ chamb~r :
hown in F~e~ 3 and 4, Opening ~ portion o~ the .:
8utur~ c!~rui~l allows the ne~dle~ to b~ presented wlth a ~ ng~h o~ 3uture ~vallable ~or gra~plng. This 1~ p~rti~
.; 30 cularly i~port~t ~hen th~ p~ckage contain con~roll~d , ~~ . '" -.. ':
14~
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r~leaee ~uture, i.e., needl~-suture ranblnations m~nu-ctured ~o that the needle may be pulled of~ the sutur~ wlth a ~orce o~ ~r~ about 3 to 26 ourlc2s.
~hr~ a nur. ~ o~ ~ur~eon ~tt~lpt to r~ rs such controlled relea~e suture ~rom the paclc~ge by grasplng the n~dl~, the ne~dl~ mlght prematur~ly r~l~e,s~ ~ro~n ~' the ~uture.
,. ~ , Anoth~r ad~ntage to partie.lly openlng the ~ul;ure ch~n~l læ th~ the sut~ge does not h~ve to be dr~wn thr~ugh the~ 41 curv~ture l~dlng to th~ n~odle ; ~ .
~. chunb~r. Thls r~duc~ the tendency o~ ac~e ~utur~ ~
.¦ m~er~al~g. particularly the heaviler den~r mono~ ment ~; ~utur~s to tlght~n u~p in th~ ~uture ~ih~el ~:th~y are b-ing wlthdrawn, a t~ndoncy whSch m~g be d~crlbed as a : --c~pat~ 0rr~ct cau~d by the euture ~rl¢tion~illy eng~ng the wall~ o~ th~ ohann~l. We h~re ~ tA~t~th~re i~ ;
little or ~o c~pet~ ~ ct experlenced when the euture~
r~ ~,rlthdra~ ram th~ ch~mnel~t pOi~lt q in RJgur- 4 a~tQr th~ cov~r ah~t 1~ pe~led back the ~ull length o~
the cut portion.
.l The ln~tlon ha~ been de~crlbed her;~in in ~-~j te~ms Or ~et~ll a~ d wlth pr~rred ~odiments ,~ th~r~o~. ~t wlll b~ r-~dily ~ppar~nt t~'-tho~e ~killed ~ ~
~ln the art th~t lnnu~or~ble ~riatlans, ~pplicatiQns, - : .
:~ 25 n~odi~lca~l~ns an~: ext~n~ion~ o~ the ba~lc prlnclpïes o~bodl~d ln tho inventio~ may be mo.d~ ~lth~ut departing raa~ th~ ~pi~lt ~r scope thereo~. The pac~ag0s r~r, ror il: exa~ple" lnclu~0 ~ fluld chamber ~ cted to the auture : . .
. . pa~sageways a~d ~esn~ ~or introducing a ~luid lnto the ~ .
.1 ~ : ': :- :
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~'H-400 ~ha~b~r sn~ p~l81;ag8'~ 8 when tho su~ure~ o~ the pacl~se ia pr~erably ~tor~d ln ~ tublng rluld. P,~ckages rOr ~m~ller de~ler sutures m~y be equipp~d wlth me~s rOr ~, v~uum loadlng th~ auture~ into the p,~ckage. Tho ~` 5 pack~a~ may a~ditlanally b~ ueed wlth un~rmed k,uture~, ii;' d~lre~. M~y o~ l;h~se and other optional ~tures are described in U8P 3~338,401t and ye,t other v~rlatlon~
wlll be ,~pp~r~nt to those ~kllled in the ~rk.
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Claims (16)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:-

1. In a package for armed sutures comprising a laminate of a first molded sheet and a second cover sheet, said molded sheet defining an elongated suture channel terminating at one end in an enlarged needle chamber, said channel and said chamber having a bottom and side walls, said bottom being dis-placed from the normal plane of the molded sheet and said side walls extending from said bottom to said normal plane of the molded sheet, said channel and said chamber being open to one side of the molded sheet, said cover sheet being flat and sealed to said molded sheet along the open side of said channel and said chamber to close said channel and said chamber and form a closed suture channel terminating at one end in a closed needle chamber, the improvement comprising locating the needle chamber centrally of the package, extending the suture channel in a path circumscribing said needle chamber, and precutting the cover sheet along a line intermediate the needle chamber and adjacent convolutions of the suture channel whereby a portion of the cover sheet is adapted to be opened to provide access to the needle chamber.

2. A package of claim 1 wherein the suture channel defines a spiral circumscribing said needle chamber.

3. A package of claim 2 wherein the suture channel has at least one curve in a reverse direction from the primary direction of said spiral.

4. A package of claim 1 wherein a narrow portion of the cover sheet along either side of said precut line is not sealed to said molded sheet.

5. A package of claim 1 wherein the molded sheet has a hole opposite that portion of the cover sheet adapted to be opened and adjacent said precut line in said cover sheet.

6. A package of claim 1 wherein the needle chamber in-cludes a centrally located plateau extending from the bottom of the chamber to the normal plane of the molded sheet.

7. A package of claim 1 wherein the continuity of the side walls of the suture channel are interrupted by a plurality of projections extending into said channel from the walls thereof.

8. A package of claim 7 wherein said projections extend into said channel for a distance of at least one-eighth the width of said channel in the normal plane of the molded film.

9. A package of claim 7 wherein the suture channel defines a spiral circumscribing said needle chamber and said channel has at least one curve in a reverse direction from the primary direction of said spiral.

10. A package of claim 9 wherein said projections reduce the cross-sectional area of the suture channel in said reverse curve.

11. A package of claim 10 wherein said reverse curve has at least two projections extending from opposite walls of the channel.

12. A package of claim 7 wherein the continuity of the walls of the needle chamber are interrupted by a plurality of projections extending into the chamber from the walls thereof.

13. A package of claim 12 wherein said projections extend into said channel and said chamber for a distance of at least one-eighth the width of said channel in the normal plane of the molded film.

14. A package of claim 13 wherein the needle chamber has a centrally located plateau extending from the bottom of the chamber to the normal plane of the molded sheet, and a chamber cover held in place within the walls of said chamber by engage-ment between said projections and said central plateau.

15. A package of claim 1 wherein the side walls of the suture channel are undercut in the curves to reduce the width of the channel opening in the plane of the molded sheet in said curves.

16. A package of claim 15 wherein the inside curves of said side walls are undercut.