1989-10-11
1991-07-02
Green, Randall L.
Surgery
Truss
Perineal
128 85, 128 89, A61F 504
Patent
active
050278045
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to water hardenable orthopaedic splinting bandages comprising a fabric substrate impregnated with a moisture- or water-curable resin and in particular a resin containing isocyanate groups. More particularly the present invention relates to an orthopaedic bandage comprising a fabric substrate which is stretchable in the lengthwise direction and to the substrate itself.
Conventionally orthopaedic splinting bandages for use in the treatment of bone fractures or other conditions requiring immobilization of part of the body are formed from a substrate impregnated with a substance which hardens to a rigid structure after wrapping the strip around the body. Traditionally plaster of Paris was used but more recently certain plastics and reinforced plastics have gained acceptance as replacements for plaster of Paris. Such new bandages are lighter, waterproof and permeable to X-rays. One advantage which may be achieved with the newer form of cast is that the final cast may be strong without requiring as many layers of material making up the cast as with plaster of Paris and so facilitates the evaporation of moisture from the skin underlying the cast. One way in which strength is added to such casts is to use a substrate which not only acts as a carrier for the resin but also provides strength to the final cured bandage, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,421,501 and 3,881,473 describe, in a preferred bandage, an ultraviolet curing resin on a glass fibre fabric. Other glass fibre fabrics are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,882,857, 3,773,688 and 3,787,272. More recently International Application No. 81/00671 has described, in a preferred form, a water curable polyurethane resin impregnated on a glass fibre fabric. U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,061 describes a substrate formed from glass fibres interwoven with a yarn which is a combination of glass fibre and a second fibre. One disadvantage of glass fibre casts is that they may become brittle and break down during wear and hence need to be replaced. This disadvantage may be mitigated by using a substrate which with a suitable resin provides a cast which is more durable than a cast formed using a glass fibre substrate. Aptly these substrates do not contain glass fibres. However, heretofore such substrates lack the conformability found with glass fibre substrates.
Surprisingly we have found that by using a fabric which does not contain glass fibres and which is stretchable in the lengthwise direction to form the substrate a bandage is achieved which has improved conformability compared to existing fabric substrates and which does not show a loss of strength compared to a glass fibre substrate. The substrate will have a degree of stretch in the lengthwise direction provided by using a heat shrinkable fibre in the yarn used in the lengthwise direction of the bandage.
In one aspect therefore the present invention provides a warp knitted fabric substrate suitable for use in a water hardenable orthopaedic splinting bandage characterised in that yarn forming the warp running along the length of the substrate is heat shrinkable and that the substrate has been heat treated whereby it is stretchable in the lengthwise direction.
In a second aspect the present invention provides a water hardenable orthopaedic splinting bandage comprising a warp knitted fabric substrate impregnated with a water curable resin characterised in that yarn forming the warp running along the length of the substrate is heat shrinkable and that the substrate has been heat treated whereby it is stretchable in the lengthwise direction.
The substrate therefore suitably contains at least two different types of yarn. The yarn forming the stitching along the length of the substrate containing a heat shrinkable component and optionally a non-shrinkable component whereby after heat treatment the yarn shrinks and may be stretched to its preshrunk length under tension. This yarn provides a degree of stretch in the length direction along the substrate which improves the conformability of the bandage on app
REFERENCES:
patent: 3885015 (1975-06-01), Ono et al.
patent: 4668563 (1987-05-01), Buese et al.
patent: 4793330 (1988-12-01), Honeycutt et al.
Forsyth Christine H.
Pearce Richard H.
Clarke R.
Green Randall L.
Smith & Nephew plc
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