JPS6312630B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Surgical gauze bands are commonly used to absorb patient fluids during surgical procedures, both within the incision and around the surgical site. This type of gauze band is usually made of open mesh absorbent fabric, such as cotton fabric.

It is important that all such gauze strips be removed from the patient's body after the surgery is completed and before the incision is closed. Therefore, it is standard practice for the surgical team to carefully count the gauze strips to reduce the possibility of inadvertently leaving them within the patient.

Despite such safety measures, gauze strips are often lost, especially when unexpected emergencies disrupt the normal procedure of counting, and this is in any case due to human error. When filled with blood, the gauze band is considerably reduced in size and becomes the same color as human tissue, thus making visual detection of the gauze band extremely difficult. As a result of this, it has been common practice to provide gauze bands with flexible inserts that are opaque to X-rays. For counting of suspected or calculated gauze strips in the operating room:
or in case of unexpected or unexplained post-operative pain on the part of the patient, a portable X-ray device will be directed at the patient and the X-ray exposure will indicate the presence or absence of the missing sponge. . The negative paperboard will give the surgeon and his team relief that they have not left the patient with a gauze band. Nevertheless, the patient should be given additional reassurance that there is no gauze band left on his body and whether additional surgery is ultimately needed to remove the missing gauze band. It is desirable that the number of X-ray examinations examined be minimized.

The present invention comprises a sheet of absorbent material and an elongated visually detectable element attached to the sheet and disposed at least partially on the outer surface of the sheet, the element having a color conspicuous to the color of blood. The present invention also provides a surgical gauze band that includes highly reflective, fluorescent, phosphorescent or iridescent materials.

The visually detectable element allows visual detection of the gauze band even when the sheet is full of blood.

Certain embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The surgical gauze band shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a sheet 12 of absorbent material, such as a low count gauze-like or open mesh fabric, such as a cotton fabric or a non-woven material. Sheet 12 is multilayer gauze band 1
facing outer surfaces 14 folded to form 0;
a and 14b, side edges 16a and 16b and edge 18
It has a and 18b. The gauze band 10 includes elongated radiotight fibers 20 disposed between the layers of sheet 12 to prevent migration of the fibers 20 from the gauze band 10 during surgical use. Fibers 20 may be comprised of a thermoplastic polymeric material that includes a radiation-opaque material such as barium sulfate.

The gauze strip 10 also includes an elongated visually detectable element 22 affixed thereto, so that it is at least partially on the outer surface of the gauze strip. Preferably, this element 22 is highly reflective;
It can also be made from a metallic material with a highly reflective surface and color that is noticeable and immiscible to the color of blood, such as gold or silver. A preferred material for element 22 is thread sold by Metlon Corporation of Providence, Rhode Island, USA. As shown in Figure 3, the desired thread is
A central layer 24 of a metal material such as aluminum foil, tin foil or stainless steel, polypropylene or e.g. on both sides of the central layer 24. Ai. DuPont. Do. It has a pair of outer layers 26 of a transparent plastic material, such as Mylar (polyethylene glycol terephthalate film), a registered trademark of Nemours, and a thermoplastic adhesive layer 28 connects the outer layer 26 to the center. Bonds to opposing surfaces of layer 24. If the adhesive in layer 28 were transparent, element 22 would assume the color of metal layer 24, such as a highly reflective silver color. In addition to this, layer 28
The adhesive 28 therein may contain a dye to color the thread a desired color, for example gold, while the highly reflective colored surface due to the metallic central layer 24 disposed below the colored layer 28 given to. In use, the outer layer 26 protects the dye in the adhesive and prevents the element from staining with blood. Of course, any other material can be used for element 22, which provides a highly reflective and colored appearance during use as a gauze strip, and which has a generally flat or rounded configuration. If necessary, a suitable radiation-opaque material such as barium sulfide can be applied to the adhesive layer 2.
8, which makes the element 22 sufficiently radiation-opaque to eliminate the need for a separate radiation-opaque fiber 20. The outer surface of the element may be metal and may be formed by dipping or vacuum plating.

Element 22 is preferably sufficiently flexible and thin to allow it to be sewn into sheet 12 by a sewing machine. As shown in FIG. 2, the elements 22 are sewn with a lock stitch in such a way that the gauze strip 10 has a pair of visually detectable elements 22a and 22b on opposite sides 14a and 14b thereof. be able to. Alternatively, visually detectable threads may be utilized in a chain stitch to provide the gauze band with a section of thread on its opposing surfaces. This element may of course be attached to the outer surface of the gauze strip by any other suitable means, such as by raphes.

The highly reflective element 22 is a sheet of absorbent material 1
2 can be easily seen even when blood is fully sucked, which minimizes the chance of gauze strips being lost during surgery, and that X-ray equipment must be used to detect lost gauze strips. Reduce the number of times you have to In this regard, radiopaque elements commonly used in surgical gauze strips are normally located within the layer of material of the gauze strip and are not normally visible outside the gauze strip. Furthermore, even when placed on the outer surface of the gauze band, such radiation-opaque elements do not have a sufficiently reflective surface to increase the visual identification of the gauze band, especially when heavily laden with blood.

In FIG. 1, element 22 has edges 18a and 1
It can extend over the entire length of the gauze band folded between 8b and 8b. Other suitable forms of element 22 include a number of spaced lines, a generally Z-shaped pattern as shown in FIG. 6, or an X-shaped pattern as shown in FIG.

Alternatively, element 22 may be made of a light-emitting material, such as a fluorescent or phosphorescent material, or may be made of an iridescent material. As is well known, fluorescent materials, such as the films sold by Appleton Papers in Appleton, Wisconsin, emit electromagnetic radiation as a result of a light-like energy flow into a radiator for as long as the excitation continues. However, phosphorescent materials emit cold light after the excitation source stops.

Examples of the fluorescent material include a substance having a chemical structure having a backbone of diaminostilbene, benzimidazole, benzoxazole, coumarin, naphthylimide, etc., mixed with vinyl chloride and made into a film. In addition, phosphorescent materials include, for example, fairly large and uniformly sized crystals of inorganic sulfides, which absorb the energy of incident light and then gradually emit it as uniquely colored light. It is something.

Iridescent materials, such as the films sold by Mearl Corporation in Peekskill, New York, exhibit an iridescent effect as a result of interference in the thin film, or of light reflected from a ribbed surface. Shows diffraction. This iridescent material, for example, is made by depositing metal in multiple layers on a thin plastic film to emit light interference, and exhibits an iridescent or pearlescent metallic luster.
In any case, an element 22 made of such a material significantly increases the visibility of the gauze band when it becomes wet with blood during use.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the visually detectable element 22 comprises a ribbon 30 of radiation-opaque material, such as a barium sulfide-containing thermoplastic material, which is highly reflective. having a sexual external surface or other visually detectable surface as previously described. This surface may be formed in any suitable manner, such as by wrapping thread 34 having the desired sensing surface characteristics around the outer surface 36 of ribbon 30. Thread 34 may be of any suitable type, such as the threads previously described in connection with FIGS. It may be secured to the outer surface of the gauze strip with staples as shown. Thus the element 22 has an internal radiation-tight ribbon 3 which can be used as a gauze band detection by an X-ray device if necessary.
Contains 0. Moreover, this element 22 has a visually detectable outer surface defined by threads 34.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 8, the visually detectable elements 22 are woven into the fabric 12 as yarns, while the remaining yarns 40, e.g. give.

Alternatively, element 22 may be used as a yarn in a knitted fabric.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a surgical gauze band containing visually detectable elements; FIG. 2 is line 2 of FIG.
3 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale of an element suitable as a gauze strip shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 shows a partially formed element; A fragmentary front view of the
A fragmentary plan view showing a surgical gauze band containing elements constructed according to the figures, FIGS. 6 and 7 having different patterns formed by visually detectable elements. FIG. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of a fabric in which the elements are formed as an integral part of the fabric. 10... Surgical gauze band, 12... Sheet, 1
4a, 14b...outer surface, 16a, 16b...side edge, 18a, 18b...edge, 20...fiber,
22...Visually detectable element, 24...Central layer, 26...Outer layer, 28...Adhesive layer, 30...
Ribbon, 34... Thread, 36... Outer surface, 40...
thread.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1 comprising a sheet of absorbent material and an elongated visually detectable element attached to the sheet and disposed at least partially on the outer surface of the sheet;
A surgical gauze band in which said element has a color noticeable to the color of blood and includes a highly reflective, fluorescent, phosphorescent or iridescent material. 2. The gauze band according to claim 1, wherein said element is radiation impermeable. 3. A gauze strip according to claim 1, having, in addition to the visually detectable element, a radiation-opaque element attached to the sheet. 4. The gauze band according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet is made of multilayer absorbent gauze. 5. The gauze band according to claim 1, wherein the element comprises a metallic material. 6. The element according to claim 5, wherein said element comprises a central layer of metallic material, an outer layer of transparent plastic material on either side of the central layer and a thermoplastic adhesive bonding the outer layer to the surface of the central layer. gauze belt. 7 Claim 6 in which the adhesive contains a colored material
Gauze band as described in section. 8. A gauze strip according to claim 5, wherein said element has an external metal coating. 9. The gauze band according to claim 1, wherein the element is a thread sewn into the sheet. 10. The gauze strip of claim 9, wherein the elements form a pattern extending across the surface of the sheet. 11. A gauze strip according to claim 1, wherein the sheet is a woven fabric having a multiplicity of absorbent threads, and said element is an integral part of the structure of the woven fabric. 12. A gauze strip according to claim 11, wherein said elements are woven into a fabric together with absorbable threads. 13. The gauze band according to claim 1, wherein the sheet is a nonwoven fabric. 14. The gauze band of claim 2, wherein said element comprises a ribbon of radiation-opaque material and a thread of visually detectable material wrapped around the ribbon.