Ethicon, Gmbh

Other

Timothy P Lenihan

David D Demarest

John F Blanch

Michael G Hodulik

William D Rattan

Martin Sobel

William F Smith

Robert B Duncan

Andres Folch

Dennis P Yost

Yasemar Perez

Demarest D David

Loy William Shreve, Ii

A method of attaching a surgical suture to a needle and testing the attachment includes dispensing a length of suture from a spool by using a first suture gripper, and using a surgical needle gripper for holding a surgical needle stationary. A leading end of the suture is inserted into and attached to a receiving end of the surgical needle. A second suture gripper is located between the first suture gripper and the spool. After the second suture gripper is closed for gripping the suture, the second suture gripper is advanced downstream toward the surgical needle to reduce the tension on the suture. The tension on the suture is reduced by moving the second suture gripper a pre-determined distance. The first suture gripper is opened for releasing the suture and the first suture gripper is moved toward the suture spool for re-grasping the suture at a location between the second gripper and the suture spool. The suture between the downstream side of the re-positioned first suture gripper and upstream side of the second suture gripper is cut. After the suture is cut, the second suture gripper is displaced toward the spool using a tension control system to increase the tension level between the needle and the second suture gripper.

Methods, systems and devices for attaching surgical sutures to surgical needles and testing armed surgical needles

An apparatus for forming armed sutures has a swaging station for receiving, holding and swaging needles that are deposited therein. A linear motor drives a suture insertion gripper, which pulls suture from a supply reel and inserts a cut end thereof into a needle held in the swaging station. A ganged needle transfer assembly with a plurality of spaced needle gripper units carries needles along a line substantially at right angles to the suture line and transfers them to and from the swaging station and other needle processing stations. A precisor orients needles prior to placement in the swaging station and a pull test assembly tests armed sutures in both destructive and non-destructive modes. Both ends of the production line may be automated, e.g., by robots which load and offload needles prior to and after swaging, respectively. The apparatus is capable of forming double armed sutures by using a rotatable mount for the suture insertion gripper and a secondary, loop gripper. A suture transfer gripper extending up to the suture from a multi-tiered stack of slide tables. The suture transfer gripper cooperates with the suture insertion and loop grippers to hold the suture during cutting, insertion and transfer to the pull test apparatus and thereby protects the suture during processing.

Method and apparatus for forming fine gauge and monofilament single and double-armed sutures

A device for singulating surgical needles from a bulk supply of needles includes a vibratory bowl for receiving the supply of needles. The bowl has a floor to receive the needles, a track extending from the floor to a needle discharge point and a selectively vibrating motor to vibrate the surgical needles into a single file along the track. A discharge device has first and second needle receiving pockets, and positions the first and the second needle receiving pockets below the needle discharge point. A controller selectively vibrates the vibratory bowl and selectively positions the first and second needle pockets below the needle discharge point, the controller singulating individual needles from the single file of needles into the first and second needle receiving pockets. A discharger discharges the singulated needles in a spaced relationship on a conveyor for subsequent imaging at an inspection station.

Needle sorting device

A machine, and operating procedures for a machine, for automatically threading, swaging and packaging surgical needles. A first mechanism is used to suture the needles and to pull test the needles to determine if certain maximum and minimum pull test requirements are met. The sutured needles are then transferred to packages on a second mechanism, and that mechanism indexes the packages through a series of stations to complete the packaging of the needles. Various checks are made at the packaging mechanism before that mechanism is operated to index the needle packages; and different items at the station used to pull test the needles, are monitored to determine if they return timely to predetermined positions. Also, check are made at the station at which the needles are transferred to the packages, to be sure that those items are in preferred positions before the packages are moved. A detector unit and procedure are employed to inspect the packages for sutures hanging outside the packages, and another detector unit and procedure are provided to inspect the packages for needles protruding from the packages.

Operating procedures for automated needle sorting, swaging and packaging machines

A device for singulating surgical needles from a bulk supply of needles including a vibratory bowl assembly for receiving said bulk supply of needles. The bowl assembly having a floor to receive the needles, a track extending from the floor to a needle discharge point and a selectively vibrating motor to vibrate the surgical needles into a single file along the track; a discharge device having first and second needle receiving pockets, the device positioning the first and the second needle receiving pockets below said needle discharge point; a controller for selectively vibrating the vibratory bowl and selectively positioning the first and second needle pockets below the needle discharge point, the controller singulating individual needles from the single file of needles into the first and second needle receiving pockets; a discharger for discharging the singulated needles in the first and second needle pockets in a spaced relationship on a conveyor for subsequent imaging at an inspection station.

Apparatus for cutting an indefinite length suture to uniform lengths for subsequent threading and swaging to surgical needles includes a drawing tower having first and second guide members defining a drawing axis parallel thereto. First and second grippers are provided to grip the indefinite length suture and to alternately draw it along the drawing axis, with each gripper being mounted for reciprocal movement along a guide member. Each gripper alternately grips the suture and draws it a distance beyond the location of a cutter assembly while the other gripper reciprocates to a start position before the cutter assembly. A tipping assembly heats a predetermined small length of the suture to stiffen the suture thereat after subsequent cooling, in preparation for cutting the suture and inserting a stiffened lead cut end of the suture into an end of a needle for swaging thereto. The tipping assembly operates by directing a constant flow of heated air to flow either through a heating aperture in which the suture is intermittently stopped during a tipping operation, or through a diverter channel to dump the heated air into the surrounding atmosphere.

Suture cutting system

A semi-automated machine for preparing double-armed sutures, i.e., a suture with a surgical needle at either end of the suture, from a bulk supply of surgical needles and an indefinite length of suture material is described. Each of the surgical needles has a suture receiving opening formed therein for receiving a suture. The machine includes a needle singulation station, a precise positioning station, a suture feeding and cutting station, a swage station, a pull-test station and an off-load station. A universal gripper mounted on a rotary indexing device automatically receives each individual needle in a predetermined orientation and conveys the needle for sequential processing from station to station to form the needle-suture assembly. A suture drawing and cutting station automatically inserts an end of the indefinite length of suture into the first of the pair of needles that form the double-armed suture. A swage station is provided for swaging the needle to close the suture receiving opening about the suture to secure said suture thereto. The suture drawing and cutting station then cuts the indefinite length, and inverts the cut end for insertion into the second of the pair of needles. The swage station then swages the second needle to close the suture receiving opening about the suture to secure said suture thereto and thereby form the double-armed suture.

Method and apparatus for forming double-armed sutures

An apparatus for cutting an indefinite length suture strand to uniform lengths for subsequent threading and swaging to a surgical needle includes a drawing tower having at least one guide member defining a drawing axis parallel thereto. First and second gripping devices are provided to grip the indefinite length suture strand and draw it along the drawing axis; each gripping device mounted for reciprocal movement on at least one guide member. A retractable cutter for cutting the indefinite length suture strand is also provided for cutting the strand at a start position along the drawing axis. The indefinite length suture strand is fed to the drawing axis and drawn a predetermined distance beyond the location of the retractable cutter for positioning within a suture receiving opening formed in the surgical needle, while the second gripping device reciprocates to a start position along the drawing axis. The indefinite length suture strand is then inserted within the suture receiving opening of the needle and cut to a predetermined length by the retractable cutter after the second gripping means has gripped the indefinite length suture strand at the start position.

Methods and systems for packaging surgical needles. In this system, a plurality of packages are indexed, by means of a package carrier, through a plurality of work stations, at which various operations are performed on the packages. In particular, at each work station, an operating device is moved from a home position to an operating position to perform an operation on the package: and after finishing the operation, the operating device is returned to the home positions. With all of the operating devices in their respective home positions, the package carrier can then be moved to index the packages forward. Each of the work stations generates a respective return home signal when the operating device of the work station returns to its home position. A determination is made as to whether return home signals have been generated indicating that all of the operating devices have returned to their respective home position; and, if such return home signals have all been generated, the package carrier is moved to move each package thereon to another one of the work stations.

Operating procedures for automated needle sorting, swaging and packaging

Suture cutting method

A needle sorting device including an infeed device which first singulates a bulk supply of surgical needles into single file with an intermittently driven vibratory feed bowl assembly, and then individually separates and deposits the needles on a first conveyor for transmission to a processing station with a linear slide discharge mechanism. The first conveyor is translucent and during transit, one or more cameras obtain an image of the individual deposited needles. The image is digitized and the digital signals are transmitted to a control system computer which evaluates the position and orientation for needles and processes the information to obtain data for communication to one or more robot assemblies having grippers. Utilizing the position and orientation data, the robot assembly grippers removes selected needles from the first conveyor and transfers each needle to an engagement device located upon a second precision conveyor. This second precision conveyor is provided with additional devices to further orient the needle transferred thereto. A moveable hard stop is provided at the end of the precision conveyor to provide precise positioning of the needle to an accuracy of 0.001 inch at needle hand-off. Each oriented and precisely positioned needle is conveyed by the second conveyor to an automatic swaging station where sutures are automatically attached.

A needle sorting device includes an infeed device which first singulates a bulk supply of surgical needles into single file with an intermittently driven vibratory feed bowl assembly, and then individually separates and deposits the needles on a first conveyor for transmission to a processing station with a linear slide discharge mechanism. The first conveyor is translucent and during transit, one or more cameras obtain an image of the individual deposited needles. The image is digitized and the digital signals are transmitted to a control system computer which evaluates the position and orientation for needles and processes the information to obtain data for communication to one or more robot assemblies having grippers. Utilizing the position and orientation data, the robot assembly grippers removes selected needles from the first conveyor and transfers each needle to an engagement device located upon a second precision conveyor. This second precision conveyor is provided with additional devices to further orient the needle transferred thereto. A moveable hard stop is provided at the end of the precision conveyor to provide precise positioning of the needle to an accuracy of 0.001 inch at needle hand-off. Each oriented and precisely positioned needle is conveyed by the second conveyor to an automatic swaging station where sutures are automatically attached.

Needle transfer device

Apparatus for cutting an indefinite length suture to uniform lengths for subsequent threading and swaging to surgical needles includes a drawing tower having first and second guide members defining a drawing axis parallel thereto. First and second grippers are provided to grip the indefinite length suture and to alternately draw it along the drawing axis, with each gripper being mounted for reciprocal movement along a guide member. Each gripper alternately grips the suture and draws it a distance beyond the location of a cutter assembly while the other gripper reciprocates to a start position before the cutter assembly. A tipping assembly heats a predetermined small length of the suture to stiffen the suture thereat after subsequent cooling, in preparation for cutting the suture thereat and inserting a stiffened lead cut end of the suture into an end of a needle for swaging thereto. Both the tipping assembly and the cutter assembly are variably positioned in the apparatus to accommodate different cut lengths of suture. An improved cutter assembly is provided which positions and then clamps the suture between a pair of retractable locator arms, and then translates a knife blade across the clamped suture.

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Morrisville, PA, United States of America

Timothy P Lenihan