JPH08238251A - Method for caulking suture needle for surgical operation - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a method for caulking a suture needle for surgical operation in a short time and easily and fixing a suture thereon. CONSTITUTION: A method for caulking a suture needle for surgical operation consists of the first caulking process in which a caulking part 4 into which a suture 5 has been inserted is caulked by pressing the first caulking faces 22 and 22 of both caulked means 21a and 21b and the second caulking process in which while the apex of the projected part 24 of each caulking means 21a and 21b is brought into contact with the first caulking face 22 of another side, the caulking part 4 is caulked by pressing it between the second caulking faces 26 and 26 by moving the caulking member 21b in the direction crossing at right angles to the pressing direction of the first caulking process. The second caulking face 26 is a plane crossing at right angles to the first caulking face 22. The second caulking face is a plane with a specified angle to the first caulking face in such a way that the crosssectional shape of the caulking part 4 after caulking becomes approximately a triangle. The projected part 24 can be freely projected with an arbitrary dimension. The second caulking face is such a curved face that makes the crosssectional shape of the caulking part 4 after caulking circular.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a surgical operation in which a suture is inserted into a mounting hole formed in a base end of a surgical suture needle and a caulking portion provided with the mounting hole is swaged. The present invention relates to a method for caulking a suture to a suturing needle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a suture needle with a thread used for a surgical operation, there is known a so-called eyeless needle in which a suture thread is caulked at a proximal end thereof. As shown in FIG. 1 (a), for example, such a surgical suturing needle 1 is provided on a caulking portion 4 provided on a base end side of a body portion 2 formed in a semicircular arc shape. The attachment hole 6 of the suture 5 is formed along the longitudinal direction of the suture. In the surgical suture needle 1, the suture 5 is inserted into the mounting hole 6, and the caulked portion 4 is pressed and caulked, as shown in FIG. It is attached.

As a method for caulking the surgical suture needle 1, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, a surgical operation in which a suture thread 5 is inserted on the curved surface 71 of a fixed lower mold 72 a having a curved surface 71. The caulked portion 4 of the sewing needle 1 is placed on the curved surface portion 71.
A method is known in which the surgical suturing needle 1 is gradually rotated while the upper mold 72b provided with is vertically moved, and the caulking portion 4 is gradually caulked between the curved surface portions 71, 71. But,
In the above method, since the surgical suturing needle 1 has to be rotated, it takes time and labor, and it takes a long time for processing. Further, the curved surface portion 71 must be precisely machined according to the cross-sectional shape of the crimped portion 4 after crimping, and the lower mold 71a in which the curved surface portion 71 has a different size depending on the diameter of the surgical suture needle 1, There is also an inconvenience that many upper molds 71b have to be prepared.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), four molds 82 having a caulking surface 81 having a size smaller than the size of the caulking portion 4 are arranged around the caulking portion 4, and as shown in FIG. 8 (b). Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-57243 discloses a method of simultaneously pressing the caulking portion 4 from four directions as described above.
According to the method described in the above publication, the caulking portion 4 can be operated by one operation.
However, since the diameter of the surgical suture needle 1 is usually as small as 0.3 to 0.4 mm, it is difficult to manufacture the mold 82, and the diameter is 0.15 mm like a commercially available fine needle. In the case where the diameter is 0.05 mm or is used for a special purpose, it becomes more difficult to manufacture the mold 82.

[0005] Also, when caulking, as the diameter of the surgical suture needle 1 becomes smaller as described above, the positioning of the surgical suture needle 1 with respect to the mold 82 becomes more difficult. Otherwise, when the caulking portion 4 is pressed by the caulking surface 81, each of the caulking surfaces 81, 8
A bulge 83 and burrs are formed at the corners between the two, and the piercing resistance increases during use.

As a modification of the method shown in FIG. 7, a method of precisely forming a mold and reducing the number of swaging operations can be considered. In this method, as shown in FIG. 9A, dies 92a and 92b each having a curved surface portion 91 formed according to the diameter of the caulked portion 4 after diameter reduction are used. As shown in FIG. 9 (b), the surgical suture needle 1 is
92b, and the caulked portion 4 is formed by the curved portions 91, 91.
Press and caulk. Then, the caulked portion 4 becomes the curved surface portion 91.
Is crimped along the shape of the curved surface portions 91, and a bulging portion 94 is formed at the boundary between the curved surface portions 91, 91.

Then, next, the molds 92a and 92b are once moved to release the surgical suture needle 1, and then the molds 92a and 92b are rotated 90 ° as shown in FIG. 9 (c). Then, as shown in FIG. 9D, the crimping portion 4 in which the raised portion 94 is formed by the curved surface portions 91, 91 is again pressed and crimped, so that the cross-sectional shape of the crimping portion 4 becomes circular. Can be swaged. In the method shown in FIG.
Although the 2a and 92b are rotated by 90 °, the surgical suture needle 1 on which the raised portion 94 is formed may be rotated by 90 °.

According to the method shown in FIG. 9, the number of times of the caulking operation is reduced as compared with the method shown in FIG. 7, but when the surgical suture needle 1 once caulked is released, the surgical suture needle is used. The position of the first mold 92 with respect to the molds 92a and 92b is easily changed,
It is difficult to precisely hold the surgical suture needle 1 at an appropriate position. In addition, similarly to the method shown in FIG. 7, a mold 92 a in which the size of the curved surface portion 91 is changed according to the diameter of the surgical suture needle 1,
There is a disadvantage that a large number of 92b must be prepared.

[0009]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned inconvenience, and the surgical suture needle in which the suture is inserted can be easily caulked in a short time to attach the suture. The purpose is to provide a caulking method.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a method for caulking a surgical suture needle according to the present invention comprises a trunk formed in a semicircular arc shape and a sharp end provided at the tip of the trunk. A needle tip portion, a caulking portion provided on the base end side of the body portion, and a mounting hole for a suture drilled from the base end portion of the caulking portion along the longitudinal direction of the body portion. In a method of caulking a surgical suture needle for attaching a suture by inserting a suture into the mounting hole of the surgical suture needle and pressing and caulking the caulked portion, the caulked portion is pinched and pressed. A pair of caulking means is provided with a first caulking surface composed of parallel planes facing each other, and a protruding portion having a size smaller than the size of the body portion protruding from the first caulking surface and having side surfaces facing each other. A second caulking on the opposite side of each of said protrusions A surface is provided, and the caulking portion in which the suture is inserted into the mounting hole is sandwiched between the first caulking surfaces of both caulking means, and the tip of the protruding portion of each caulking means is the first caulking member of the other caulking member. A first caulking step of pressing and caulking the caulking portion until the caulking portion comes into contact with the surface, and the caulking while the tip of the protruding portion of each caulking means is in contact with the first caulking surface of the other caulking member. The member is moved in a direction perpendicular to the pressing direction of the first caulking step so as to sandwich the caulking portion between the second caulking surfaces of both caulking members, and the caulking portion is pressed by the second caulking surface. And a second caulking step.

The second caulking surface may be a plane orthogonal to the first caulking surface, and the second caulking surface of the pair of caulking members has a substantially triangular cross-sectional shape. Thus, each may be a plane having a predetermined angle with respect to the first crimping surface. At this time, it is possible to freely protrude from the first caulking surface with an arbitrary size smaller than the size of the caulked portion.

Further, the second caulked surface may be a curved surface such that the cross-sectional shape of the caulked caulked portion is circular.

[0013]

According to the caulking method of the present invention, first, in the first caulking step, the caulked portion of the surgical suture needle having the suture thread inserted into the mounting hole is the first caulked surface of the pair of caulking members. And presses until the tip of the protruding portion of one caulking member contacts the first caulking surface of the other caulking member. Here, since the protruding portion of the caulking member protrudes from the first caulking surface with a size smaller than the size of the body portion, the caulking portion first has a protruding size of the protruding portion in a direction perpendicular to the first caulking surface. According to the above, the size of the body is crimped.

Next, in the second caulking step, the caulking members are removed from the pair of caulking members in a state where the tips of the protruding portions of the respective caulking members are in contact with the first caulking surface of the other caulking member. In the direction perpendicular to the pressing direction in the first caulking step, the caulking portion is moved so as to be sandwiched between the second caulking surfaces of both caulking members. Then, the caulking portion is sandwiched between the second caulking surfaces of the both caulking members, pressed in a direction parallel to the first caulking surface, and caulked.

At this time, the caulking portion is the first caulking portion.
Since the deformation in the pressing direction in the caulking step is regulated by the first caulking surface, the cross-section is caulked so as to have a shape surrounded by the first and second caulking surfaces of the pair of caulking members. .

In the caulking method of the present invention, when the second caulking surface is a plane orthogonal to the first caulking surface, the caulking portion is caulked so as to have a rectangular cross section. Further, when the second caulking surfaces of the pair of caulking members are planes each having the predetermined angle with respect to the first caulking surface, caulking is performed such that the cross-sectional shape of the caulking portion is substantially triangular. Can be At this time, since the projecting portion can freely project from the first caulking surface with an arbitrary size smaller than the size of the caulking portion, the projecting size of the projecting portion is adjusted according to the diameter of the surgical suture needle. Thereby, any diameter of the surgical suture needle can be swaged.

Further, when the second caulking surface is the curved surface, the caulking portion is caulked so as to have a circular cross section.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The method for caulking a surgical suture needle of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a configuration example of a surgical suture needle, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are explanatory sectional views showing an embodiment of a caulking method of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), for example, a surgical needle 1 is provided with a sharp needle tip 3 at the tip of a torso 2 formed in a semicircular arc shape, and a proximal end of the torso 2 A mounting hole 6 for a suture 5 is formed in the caulking portion 4 provided on the side from the base end along the longitudinal direction of the trunk portion 2 by laser beam irradiation, drill grinding, or the like. The needle tip 3 has a circular needle having a circular cross section as shown in FIG. 1B and only a sharp tip, and an isosceles triangle having a flat cross section as shown in FIG. There is a square needle whose shape has a shape whose base angle is a vertex of the blade 3a.

Further, the cross-sectional shape of the body portion 2 including the caulked portion on the proximal end side is usually circular, but in order to counter the stress applied to the surgical suture needle 1 curved in the semi-circular arc shape at the time of piercing. There is also a vertically elongated rectangle, and in the case of the square needle, it may be a triangle like the needle tip portion 3. When the base 2 has a rectangular or triangular cross section on the base end side, the corners are chamfered. However, in any of the above cases, the cross-sectional shape of the caulked portion 4 is always circular in order to facilitate the drilling of the mounting hole 6.

In the surgical suture needle 1, the suture 5 is inserted into the mounting hole 6 and the caulked portion 4 is pressed,
1D, the cross-sectional shape of the caulked portion 4 is smaller than the cross-sectional shape of the body portion 2.
At this time, by leaving the bottom portion 6a of the mounting hole portion 6 at the diameter before crimping, the suture thread 5 inserted in the bottom portion 6a becomes thicker than the suture thread 5 inserted in the crimped portion, It can be attached by retaining it.

Next, a first embodiment of the swaging method of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the caulking member of this embodiment includes an upper mold 21a and a lower mold 21b.
a and a lower mold 21b each include a first caulking member 23 having a first caulking surface 22 formed of a parallel flat surface facing each other, and a protrusion 24 protruding from the first caulking surface 22 and having side surfaces facing each other. And a second caulking member 25 having A second caulking surface 26 formed of a plane orthogonal to the first caulking surface 22 is formed on the mutually facing side surfaces of the protrusion 24. The second caulking member 25 is provided along the side surface of the first caulking member 23,
It is slidable in a direction perpendicular to the caulking surface 22, and the protrusion 24 projects from the first caulking surface 22 with an arbitrary size smaller than the size of the body 2 of the surgical suture needle 1. ing.

In the caulking method of this embodiment, first, FIG.
(A) As shown, the caulking portion 4 of the surgical suturing needle 1 in which the suture thread 5 is inserted is placed on the first caulking surface 22 of the lower mold 21b. In the surgical suturing needle 1 of the present embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the body 2 is a substantially quadrangular shape provided with a detent, and the cross-sectional shape of the caulked portion 4 before caulking is circular. The diameter of the cross-sectional shape of the caulking portion 4 is larger than the length between the rotation stoppers of the body portion 2, and is thinner than the body portion 2 at the portion of the body portion 2 where the rotation stopper is not provided. Further, the protruding portion 24 protrudes from the first caulking surface 22 with a dimension smaller than the dimension of the body 2.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the upper mold 21a is lowered onto the fixed lower mold 21b, and the caulking portion 4 is moved between the first caulking surfaces 22, 22 of the upper and lower molds 21a, 21b. And press until the tips of the protruding portions 24, 24 of the upper and lower dies 21a, 21b abut against the other first caulking surfaces 22, 22. At this time, since the projecting dimension of the projecting portion 24 is smaller than the dimension of the body portion 2 as described above, the crimping portion 4 is crimped to be smaller than the body portion 2 in the direction perpendicular to the first crimping surface 22. To be

Next, as shown in FIG.
The upper die 21a is fixed and the lower die 21b is orthogonal to the pressing direction of the upper die 21a while the tips of the protrusions 24, 24 of 1a, 21b are in contact with the other first caulking surfaces 22, 22, respectively. To the upper mold 21a side, and the caulking portion 4 is moved to the second caulking surfaces 26, 26 of the upper and lower molds 21a, 21b.
Sandwich between and press. As a result, the caulking portion 4 is pressed by the second caulking surface 26 in a direction parallel to the first caulking surface 22, and the first caulking surfaces 22, 22 and the second caulking surfaces 26, 2
6 is crimped into the shape surrounded by

In this embodiment, since the first caulking surface 22 and the second caulking surface 26 are both formed so as to be plane and orthogonal to each other, the cross-sectional shape of the caulking portion 4 is shown in FIGS. ) As shown in the figure, the corner portion having a shape substantially similar to the cross-sectional shape of the body portion 2 is caulked so as to form a chamfered rectangle, and a smooth tapered portion 7 is formed between the body portion 2 and the caulked portion 4. Can be.

Next, a second embodiment of the swaging method of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the caulking member of this embodiment comprises an upper die 41a and a lower die 41b.
The a and lower molds 41b each include a first caulking member 43 having a first caulking surface 42 formed of parallel flat surfaces facing each other, and a protrusion 44 having side surfaces protruding from the first caulking surface 42 and facing each other. Second caulking member 4 provided
It consists of 5. Then, the upper mold 41a and the lower mold 41
In b, on the side surfaces of the protrusions 44 facing each other,
A second caulking surface 46 formed of a plane forming a predetermined angle with the first caulking surface 42 is formed so that the cross-sectional shape of the caulking portion 4 is substantially triangular. The second caulking member 45
Is slidable along the side surface of the caulking member 43 in a direction parallel to the second caulking surface 46, and the protrusion 44 has an arbitrary size smaller than the size of the trunk 2 of the surgical suture needle 1. , Protruding from the first caulking surface 42.

In the caulking method of this embodiment, first, FIG.
(A) The caulking portion 4 of the surgical suture needle 1 into which the suture thread 5 has been inserted is placed on the first caulking surface 42 of the lower die 41b as shown in FIG. In the surgical suture needle 1 of the present embodiment, the needle tip 3 is
(C) With a square needle as shown in the drawing, the cross-sectional shape of the body portion 2 is a chamfered triangle having substantially the same shape as the cross-sectional shape of the needle tip portion 3, and the cross-section of the crimped portion 4 before crimping. The shape is circular. The diameter of the cross-sectional shape of the caulking portion 4 is smaller than the height of the triangle, which is the cross-sectional shape of the body portion 2, but is partially larger than the outer periphery of the triangle. Further, the protruding portion 44 projects from the first crimping surface 42 with a dimension smaller than the dimension of the body portion 2.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the upper die 41a is lowered onto the fixed lower die 41b, so that the swaged portion 4 has the first swaged surface in the same manner as in the first embodiment. 4
It is caulked below the dimensions of the body 2 in a direction perpendicular to the body 2.

Next, as shown in FIG.
The upper die 41a is fixed and the lower die 41b is perpendicular to the pressing direction of the upper die 41a with the tips of the protrusions 44, 44 of 1a, 41b remaining in contact with the other first caulking surfaces 42, 42. In the same manner as in the first embodiment, the caulking portion 4 is moved to the second
The first caulking surface 42 is pressed by the caulking surface 46 in a direction parallel to the first caulking surface 42, and the second caulking surface 46,
It is caulked into a shape surrounded by 46.

In the present embodiment, since the first crimping surface 42 and the second crimping surface 46 are both planes so as to form the predetermined angle, the crimping portion 4 has a sectional shape shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1 (d), the cross section of the body 2 is caulked so as to form a triangular shape in which the corners are substantially similar to the cross-sectional shape, and a smooth taper portion is formed between the body 2 and the caulked section 4. 7 can be formed.

Next, a third embodiment of the caulking method of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the caulking member of this embodiment is composed of an upper die 61a and a lower die 61b.
The a and the lower mold 61b are each formed with a first caulking surface 62 formed of parallel flat surfaces facing each other, and a projecting portion 63 projecting from the first caulking surface 62 and having side surfaces facing each other is formed. A second crimping surface 64, which is a curved surface formed so that the cross-sectional shape of the crimping portion 4 is circular, is formed on the side surfaces of the protruding portion 63 that face each other.

In the caulking method of this embodiment, first, referring to FIG.
(A) As shown, the swaging portion 4 of the surgical suture needle 1 into which the suture thread 5 has been inserted is placed on the first swaging surface 62 of the lower die 61b. In the surgical suture needle 1 of the present embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the body 2 is circular, and the caulked portion 4 before caulking has the same diameter as the body 2. Further, the protruding portion 63 is provided on the first caulking surface 62.
From the body portion 2 with a dimension smaller than that of the body portion 2.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the upper die 61a is lowered onto the fixed lower die 61b so that the swaged portion 4 has the first swaged surface in the same manner as in the first embodiment. 6
It is caulked below the dimensions of the body 2 in a direction perpendicular to the body 2.

Next, as shown in FIG.
The upper mold 61a is fixed and the lower mold 61b is orthogonal to the pressing direction of the upper mold 61a in a state where the tips of the protrusions 63, 63 of 1a, 61b are in contact with the other first crimping surfaces 62, 62. In the same manner as in the first embodiment, the caulking portion 4 is moved to the second direction by moving the upper die 61a side in the direction of
The first caulking surface 62 is pressed by the caulking surface 64 in a direction parallel to the first caulking surface 62, and the second caulking surface 64,
It is crimped into a shape surrounded by 64.

In this embodiment, since the second caulking surface 64 is constituted by the curved surface, the first caulking surface 62 does not substantially contribute to the formation of the cross-sectional shape of the caulking portion 4, and the caulking portion 4 As shown in FIG. 6 (c), the cross-sectional shape is caulked so as to have a circular shape similar to the cross-sectional shape of the body 2, and FIG.
As shown, a smooth tapered portion 7 can be formed between the body portion 2 and the crimp portion 4.

By making the cross-sectional shape of the caulking portion 4 substantially similar to the cross-sectional shape of the body portion 2 as in each of the above-described embodiments and forming the smooth taper portion 7 between the body portion 2 and the caulking portion 4. When the surgical suturing needle 1 is pierced into a tissue, the tissue spread by the body portion 2 is guided by the taper portion 7 and uniformly contracts. Bleeding from the part can be prevented.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the caulking portion 4 is made to be substantially similar to the cross-sectional shape of the body portion 2. However, the surgical suture of the first or second embodiment described above. The cross-sectional shape of the crimped portion 4 may be different from the cross-sectional shape of the body portion 2 so that the crimped portion 4 having a circular cross-sectional shape is formed on the needle 1 by using the method of the third embodiment.

[0042]

As is apparent from the above, according to the crimping method of the present invention, the crimping portion of the surgical suture needle in which the suture is inserted is first sandwiched between the first crimping surfaces and pressed. Since the caulking is performed by two operations, that is, the caulking member is moved in a direction orthogonal to the pressing direction of the first caulking surface and the caulking portion is pressed between the second caulking surfaces and caulking, The caulking portion can be caulked in a short time, and since the surgical suture needle does not move between the two operations, the caulking portion can be easily positioned with respect to the caulking member.

According to the caulking method of the present invention, the projecting portion can be freely protruded from the first caulking surface with an arbitrary size smaller than the size of the mounting hole, so that the diameter of the surgical suture needle can be reduced. A surgical suture needle of any diameter can be accommodated by simply adjusting the protrusion size of the protrusion of one mold without changing the mold accordingly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing one configuration example of a surgical suture needle.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory sectional view showing one embodiment of a method for caulking a surgical suture needle according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view showing a shape after caulking of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view showing another embodiment of the method for caulking a surgical suture needle according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory sectional view showing a shape after caulking of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory sectional view showing still another embodiment of the method for caulking a surgical suture needle according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory sectional view showing an example of a conventional method for caulking a surgical suture needle.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing another example of the conventional method for caulking a surgical suture needle.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory sectional view showing still another example of the conventional method of caulking a surgical suture needle.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... surgical suture needle, 2 ... trunk, 3 ... needle tip, 4 ...
Caulking portion, 5 ... Suture thread, 6 ... Mounting hole portion, 21a,
21b, 41a, 41b, 61a, 61b ... Caulking member, 22, 42, 62 ... 1st caulking surface, 24, 4
4, 63: Projection, 26, 46, 64: Second caulking surface.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A body part formed in a semi-circular arc shape, a sharp needle tip part provided at a tip of the body part, a caulking part provided at a base end side of the body part, and the caulking part. The suture thread is inserted into the attachment hole portion of the surgical suturing needle consisting of the attachment hole portion of the suture hole formed along the longitudinal direction of the trunk portion from the base end portion, and the caulked portion is pressed. In a method of crimping a surgical suture needle to which a suture is attached by crimping, a pair of crimping means for clamping and pressing the crimp portion,
A first caulking surface formed of parallel planes opposed to each other, and a protrusion having a dimension smaller than the size of the body portion protruding from the first caulking surface, and protruding portions having side surfaces facing each other are provided; A second caulking surface is provided on the side surface facing each other, and the caulking portion in which the suture is inserted into the mounting hole portion is sandwiched between the first caulking surfaces of both caulking means,
The first caulking step of crimping the caulking portion until the tip of the protruding portion of each caulking means contacts the first caulking surface of the other caulking member; and the tip of the protruding portion of each caulking means. While keeping the first crimping surface of the other crimping member in contact with the crimping member in a direction orthogonal to the pressing direction of the first crimping step, the crimping portion is provided between the second crimping surfaces of both crimping members. A second method of crimping, comprising a step of moving so as to pinch and crimping the crimped portion by the second crimping surface. 2. The method for caulking a surgical suture needle according to claim 1, wherein the second caulking surface is a plane orthogonal to the first caulking surface. 3. A second caulking surface of the pair of caulking members,
The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the caulked portions is a plane having a predetermined angle with respect to the first caulking surface so that a cross-sectional shape of the caulked portion is substantially triangular. . 4. The surgical suture needle according to claim 2, wherein said projecting portion is freely projectable from said first caulking surface by an arbitrary size smaller than the size of said caulking portion. Caulking method. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second caulked surface is a curved surface such that the cross-sectional shape of the caulked portion is circular.