Ethicon, Gmbh

Robert B Duncan

David D Demarest

William D Rattan

Martin Sobel

Timothy P Lenihan

John F Blanch

Michael G Hodulik

Dennis P Yost

Marvin Alpern

Konstantin K Ivanov

Donald M Golden

Joseph Stanley Siernos

Howard Beroff

Jack Cascio

An automated machine for attaching a suture to a surgical needle having a suture receiving opening formed therein, and for packaging the same in a package tray comprises a first workstation including a device for sorting a plurality of needles and orienting each needle for automatic feeding to a second swaging workstation, a second workstation including a device for automatically cutting an indefinite length of suture material to a definite length and a device for automatically swaging the needle to close the suture receiving opening about a free end of the suture to secure the suture thereto and form a needle-suture assembly, a needle packaging station including a device for sequentially receiving at least one of the needle-suture assemblies in a package tray in synchronism with the second workstation, the needle packaging station having a device for automatically winding the depending suture portion of the needle-suture assembly into the package tray, a first indexing device for sequentially receiving individual oriented needles fed from the first workstation and transferring each of the needles from the first workstation to the second workstation to form the needle-suture assembly thereat, the first indexing device sequentially indexing the needle-suture assemblies from the second workstation to the needle packaging station.

Assembly and packaging method for needle and suture assemblies

A swaging station incorporates a drawing tower that automatically draws, cuts, and inserts an indefinite length strand of suture material within the suture receiving end of a surgical needle for swaging thereof. The suture receiving end of the surgical needle is positioned within a swaging assembly located at the top of the drawing tower that comprises a first fixed swage die and a second movable swage die forming a swage die opening for positively gripping the suture receiving end of the needle positioned therein. A first suture alignment die and a second suture alignment die are precisely registered below and adjacent the respective first and second swage dies to form a lower funnel guide that is axial with the swage die opening for positioning the tip of the suture strand therein. The lower funnel guide has an exit diameter that is larger than the diameter of the suture tip and smaller than the diameter of the suture receiving end of the needle for easy placement of the suture tip therein. Subsequently, the second movable swage die is actuated to swage the suture tip to the needle.

Needle and suture swaging method

Needle and suture swaging station

An automated machine for the high-speed packaging of multiple surgical needles each with an attached suture into a tray and detachable cover structure providing a suture package utilized for the packaging of the needles and attached sutures. Additionally, the automated packaging machine incorporates operative mechanism adapted to wind the sutures into a peripheral channel of the tray and facilitating the attachment of the cover to the tray which contains the needles and attached wound sutures, and from which cover there is concurrently formed a separate product-identifying label as a component of the tray upon removal of the cover to gain access to the contents of the tray. The automated packaging machine also provides for a rotary turret or turntable for the high-speed sequential loading of successive forwardly indexed trays with the needles and attached sutures; the indexed advance of the needle and suture-filled tray to a suitable suture-winding station of the machine, the subsequent conveyance of the trays containing the needles and attached wound sutures to a cover-applying station of the machine to provide the suture packages, and the subsequent automated removal of the completed suture packages from the machine. Furthermore, the present invention is also directed to the provision of a novel method for the automated packaging of multiple surgical needles and attached sutures into trays and the application of covers thereto in sequential production steps through the intermediary of the automated packaging machine facilitating the high-speed output of suture packages containing multiple needles and attached sutures.

Machine for the automated packaging of needles and attached sutures and

Needle-suture assembly and packaging system

An automated machine for attaching a suture to a surgical needle comprises a first apparatus located at a first predetermined location for sorting a plurality of randomly oriented needles and orienting each needle for automatic handling at a first predetermined location, each of the needles having a suture receiving opening formed therein. A second apparatus located at a second predetermined location is provided for automatically cutting an indefinite length of suture material to a definite length suture strand and for automatically inserting an end of the definite length suture strand into the suture receiving opening formed in the needle. Also provided is a third apparatus for swaging the needle to close the suture receiving opening about the suture to secure said suture thereto and form therefrom a needle and suture assembly. An indexing device automatically receives each individual needle in a predetermined orientation at the first predetermined location and conveys the needle for sequential processing from the first to the second locations to form the needle-suture assembly.

Needle threading and swaging system

A suture package is designed to facilitate automated loading of multiple needles and sutures into the package. The package includes a tray, for containing the needles and sutures, and a cover. The sutures are contained in a peripheral channel of the tray and an array of resilient cantilevered fingers prevent the sutures from lifting up out of the channel. Needle parks retain the needles that are attached to the sutures. In another embodiment of the invention, a package for retaining a wound suture and attached needle includes a tray for containing the needle and suture, including cover-latching elements that each have two vertical surfaces. Tabs on the removable cover each contact a surface of a corresponding latching element and have a free element that engages a shoulder of the element.

Multi-strand suture package and cover-latching element

A sterile, hemostatic clip for use in occluding vessels. The clip comprises a pair of leg members resiliently connected at a pivot area disposed between the ends of said leg members. A wedge member is used to cause one portion of the leg members to diverge even more and consequently cause the opposing portions to converge and occlude a vessel placed therebetween.

Non-metallic, bio-compatible hemostatic clips (one piece wedge clip)

Various fasteners are provided to hold together portions of mammalian tissue. The fasteners include fastening members with spaced-apart legs adapted to be passed through the tissue portions. One embodiment of the fastener has a mesh-like receiver around each leg for engaging the legs of another identical fastening member inserted from an opposite side of the tissue portions. In other embodiments, the receiver is a separate element and is applied to a side of the tissue portions opposite the fastening member to engage the legs of the fastening member. The receiver may have a variety of forms. A number of structures are disclosed for effecting engagement of the fastening member legs with the receiver.

Mesh tissue fasteners

A pistol-type surgical instrument for applying ligating clips to blood vessels and other tubular ducts in remote locations which are substantially inaccessible to conventional forceps-type appliers. Tubular jaw assemblies of various lengths may be mounted on the pistol-grip handle of the instrument, and the mounted jaw assembly is fully rotatable to permit orientation of the clip applying jaws. The jaws are preferably at right angles to the axis of the tubular jaw assembly, but may be slanted forward or rearward up to about 20 degrees.

Growing community of inventors

Bridgewater, NJ, United States of America

Robert B Duncan