Surgery: splint – brace – or bandage – Orthopedic bandage – Splint or brace
Patent
1991-03-06
1993-10-26
Lesmes, George F.
Surgery: splint, brace, or bandage
Orthopedic bandage
Splint or brace
66169R, 66170, 66195, 66202, 428230, 428231, 428245, 428253, 602 5, A61F 504, A61F 1300
Patent
active
052561348
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a knitted fabric which is suitable for use as a substrate in hardenable orthopaedic splinting bandages. The present invention also relates to an orthopaedic bandage comprising a resin-coated fabric substrate which has improved conformability.
Conventional 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 bandage around the body. Traditionally Plaster of Paris has been used but more recently certain plastics have gained acceptance as replacements for Plaster of Paris. Such new bandages are lighter, waterproof and permeable to X-rays. Substrates for use with these plastics have included glass fibre fabrics such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,502,479, 4,609,578, 4,668,563 and 4,323,061.
One disadvantage of substrates including glass fibres is that the casts formed from them can become brittle and break down during wear and hence need to be replaced before healing is complete. A second disadvantage is that during cast removal irritating glass dust or fibres may be generated. These disadvantages would be mitigated by using a substrate which gave a durable cast and did not give rise to irritating fibres on cast removal. However, heretofore such substrates have lacked the conformability and cast strength found when using glass fibre substrates.
A knitted fabric has now been made containing individual wales knitted from elastic yarn and inelastic yarn and when using this fabric as a substrate a bandage is achieved which has good conformability compared to those employing existing fabric substrates. Even more surprisingly the cast formed using this novel substrate does not slow a loss of strength compared to a cast which employs a glass fibre substrate. A further advantage of this fabric is that it is found to possess surprisingly good dimensional stability that is it has little or no propensity to curl which aids processing such as coating.
Although the presence of wales which are knitted from both elastic and inelastic yarns is most useful in substrates which do not contain glass fibres it is envisaged that the same construction could be used with glass fibres to advantage.
The present invention provides a warp knitted fabric which contains wales which are knitted from both elastic and inelastic yarns.
The warp knitted fabric of the invention is an elastic fabric that is to say that it possesses recoverably extensibility in a direction parallel to the wales which contain the elastic yarn. An elastic yarn is a yarn formed form an elastomer. An elastomer may be defined as a rubber or polymer which has high extensibility together with rapid and substantially complete elastic recovery. Suitable elastic yarns for use in the invention include those which have an elongation at break of greater than 100% and more suitably, greater than 300%.
The warp knitted fabric of the invention is described herein with reference to its use as a substrate in an orthopaedic bandage. It is envisaged that the fabric may be used in other applications where its elastic properties may be employed to advantage, for example in bandages and clothing.
In one favoured aspect therefore the present invention provides a warp knitted fabric suitable for use as a substrate in a resin coated, water hardenable orthopaedic splinting bandage which fabric contains wales which are knitted from both elastic and inelastic yarns.
In a second aspect the present invention provides a conformable hardenable orthopaedic sprinting bandage comprising a warp knitted fabric substrate coated with a curable resin which fabric substrate contains wales knitted from both elastic and inelastic yarns. Most suitably the resin is a water curable resin so that the bandage is one which hardens after being exposed to water.
It is clear from the above that each individual wale is knitted from both elastic and inelastic yarns. The fabric normall
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Textile Institute, Textile Terms and Definitions, p. 101, etc., Eighth Edition, 1986.
Lesmes George F.
Smith & Nephew plc
Withers James D.
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