Fiber-based surgical implant and method of manufacture
AssigneeInternational Life Sciences, LLC
InventorsAnders Persson, Eugenio Ferrario
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Abstract
A fiber-based surgical implant stabilized against fraying, includes a thermally crimped flat-knitted fabric of a biocompatible, optionally biodegradable, polymer material having a glass transition temperature or other thermally induced secondary conformational mobility threshold in the temperature range of from 20° C. to +170° C. Also disclosed is a corresponding fabric and methods of producing the implant and the fabric.
Claims13
A method of producing a flat-knitted fabric for use in the manufacture of a surgical implant stabilized against fraying, comprising:
- a. providing at least one biocompatible polymer fiber having either a glass transition temperature or at least one thermally induced conformational mobility threshold that is not a melting threshold within a temperature ranging from 20° C. to 170° C.;
- b. knitting a first flat fabric section from the at least one biocompatible polymer fiber and a second flat fabric section from the at least one biocompatible polymer fiber;
- c. interlacing threads of the first and second ribbon sections over a defined length thereof to form an interlaced section of the first flat fabric section and the second flat fabric section to form an interlaced flat knit fabric;
- and
- d. thermally crimping the interlaced flat knit fabric.
A method of producing a flat-knitted fabric for use in the manufacture of a surgical implant stabilized against fraying, comprising:
- a. providing at least one biocompatible polymer fiber having either a glass transition temperature or at least one thermally induced conformational mobility threshold that is not a melting threshold, within a temperature ranging from 20° C. to 170° C.;
- b. knitting a flat fabric from the at least one biocompatible polymer fiber, further comprising the steps of:
- i. knitting in parallel superimposed planes a first fabric ribbon and a second fabric ribbon to form a first fabric ribbon section and second fabric ribbon section;
- ii. interlacing the threads used in forming said first and second ribbon sections over a selected ribbon length to knit an interlaced ribbon section;
- and
- iii. repeating steps (i) and (ii) for a selected number of times so as to provide an interlaced fabric ribbon comprising a multitude of alternating double ribbon and interlacing ribbon sections;
- and
- c. thermally crimping the flat knit fabric.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.