Surgery: splint – brace – or bandage – Orthopedic bandage – Splint or brace
Patent
1997-05-21
1999-04-27
Apley, Richard J.
Surgery: splint, brace, or bandage
Orthopedic bandage
Splint or brace
602 8, A61L 1507
Patent
active
058975136
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hardenable material which comprises a substrate carrying a hardenable resin, for example which hardens on contact with water. More specifically, this invention relates to a colored orthopaedic splinting material which carries a hardenable resin.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well established to use water hardenable isocyanate functional resins in orthopaedic splint bandages. Such bandages are disclosed in British Patent No. GB2216533.
For some considerable time now it has been desirable to use colored casting materials which includes for example solid colours, prints and multicolored decorations. Methods of colouring casting materials are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,438. However such casts suffer from the disadvantage that the colored prepolymers will readily stain other material with which they come into contact. Methods of overcoming this disadvantage are disclosed in European Patent Application No. 479269 and PCT Application No. WO93104709. Both applications generally relate to the manufacture of colored orthopaedic casts or multicolored orthopaedic casts by printing one or more pigments onto the surface of a knitted substrate which results in the coating or partial coating of some of the yarns but not the individual filaments. In addition, such printing techniques prove to be expensive in manufacture, inter alia, because of the need to clean machinery when changing production from one color to another. It is also a method which does not lend itself well to continuous production and generally requires a batch process.
A preferred material from which casting substrates can be formed are glass fibre yarns. Glass fibre yarns are conventionally manufactured by drawing molten glass through nozzles to form filaments. The filaments are cooled, sized and gathered to form glass fibre strands. The glass fibre strands are subsequently twisted and plied to form glass fibre yarns.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Glass fibre yarns can be woven or knitted into casting substrates using similar processes as are used in textile operations.
In the electronics industry it has been known for nearly twenty years to coat wires with yarns manufactured from colored fibre glass filaments. Such yarns comprise individual filaments which are completely coated with a dye.
We have now found that such coloured yarns may also be used in the manufacture of colored substrates for use in orthopaedic casting. Thus such colored yarns may be used to produce colored, multicolored or patterned substrates for use in orthopaedic casting.
Thus it is novel to knit such colored yarns into a substrate or fabric which may be suitable for use as an orthopaedic splinting material.
According to the invention we provide a colored knitted or woven substrate comprising glass fibre yarns wherein the glass fibre yarns comprise a plurality of individual colored filaments. Preferably said substrate is a knitted substrate.
According to the invention we further provide a colored orthopaedic splinting material comprising a substrate carrying a hardenable resin wherein said substrate comprises glass fibre yarns characterised in that the glass fibre yarns comprise a plurality of individual colored filaments.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention the colored glass fibre substrate which comprises glass fibre yarns wherein the glass fibre yarns comprise a plurality of individual colored filaments is conformable.
Conformability of the substrate is achieved through knitting or weaving the colored glass fibre yarns, preferably the colored glass fibre yarns are knitted into a conformable, relatively stretchable substrate.
The substrate may be any colored glass fibre fabric which has the properties required for use as an orthopaedic bandage as regards to extensibility and strength. The glass fibre fabrics may be available in two knit-types namely a Raschel knit and a tricot knit.
The substrate is preferably in the form of a bandage but other forms of sheet materials,
REFERENCES:
patent: 3847655 (1974-11-01), Crimmel et al.
patent: 5088484 (1992-02-01), Freeman et al.
Apley Richard J.
Lee Kim M.
Smith & Nephew plc
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