Automatic machine for attaching sutures to surgical needles

A swaging apparatus for attaching a suture to a surgical needle, comprising:

• a suture guiding assembly comprising:
• a suture gripping member comprising a first grip fixedly attached to a first jaw of a first parallel gripper through a fixed end of the first grip, and a second grip fixedly attached to a second jaw of the first parallel gripper through a fixed end of the second grip, wherein the first and second grips of the first parallel gripper are capable of reciprocating away from and toward each other in response to a reciprocating motion of the first and second jaws of the first parallel gripper in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the suture gripping member, wherein the suture gripping member is configured to securely hold at least a portion of the suture when an inner surface of the first grip of the first parallel gripper engages with an inner surface of the second grip of the suture gripping member;
• a needle management assembly comprising:
• a needle securing module coaxially disposed opposite to the suture gripping member and comprising a second parallel gripper and a clamping member, the second parallel gripper comprising a first jaw fixedly attached, through its front side, to a first clamp of the clamping member, the second parallel gripper further comprising a second jaw fixedly attached, through its front side, to a second clamp of the clamping member, wherein the first and second jaws of the second parallel gripper are capable of reciprocating in an axis perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the needle securing module;
• wherein the first jaw of the second parallel gripper comprises a curved groove transversely extending across a gripping surface thereof, from a top surface of the first jaw of the second parallel gripper to a boundary surface between the clamping member and the second parallel gripper, wherein the curved groove is configured to receive the surgical needle when the gripping surface of the first jaw of the second parallel gripper engages with a gripping surface of the second jaw of the second parallel gripper, wherein the curved groove has a shape and size that conforms with a shape and size of the surgical needle;
• wherein the clamping member further comprises a swage station configured to receive suture-receiving opening of the surgical needle, the swage station comprising a first slot extending from a side wall of the first clamp to a clamping surface of the first clamp, the swage station further comprising a second slot extending from a side wall of the second clamp to a clamping surface of the second clamp, wherein the first and second slots of the clamping member are aligned opposite to each other and both are parallel to the boundary surface between the clamping member and the second parallel gripper, wherein the swage station forms when the clamping surface of the first clamp engages with the clamping surface of second clamp, wherein the swage station is in communication with the curved groove via a first hole formed at a centre of the boundary surface between the clamping member and the second parallel gripper;
• wherein the clamping member of the needle securing module further comprises a funnel-shaped tipping station defined by a first half provided across the clamping surface of the first clamp, and a second half provided across the clamping surface of the second clamp, wherein the funnel-shaped tipping station comprises an open vertex in communication with the swage station of the clamping member through a second hole formed at a centre of a boundary surface between the funnel-shaped tipping station and the swage station, the funnel-shaped tipping station further comprising an open base facing toward a tip of the suture gripping member, the funnel-shaped tipping station configured to receive a tip of the suture through the open base and align the tip of the suture with the suture-receiving opening of the surgical needle;
• and
• a swaging assembly comprising a first slider actuated by a first servo motor and a second slider actuated by a second servo motor, the first and second sliders arranged coaxially on opposite sides of the swage station and opposite to one another, wherein the first and second sliders comprise a first swage die and a second swage die, respectively, the first and second swage dies face one another and are configured to mate each other in the swage station when the first and second sliders linearly reciprocate toward each other, and the first and second swage dies are configured to apply force on a threaded end of a threaded surgical needle in response to a movement created by the first and second servo motors, respectively.