Method of and apparatus for manufacturing eyeless suture needle

Apparatus for manufacturing an eyeless suture needle comprising:

• (a) emitting means for emitting a pulsed laser beam of parallel rays;
• (b) support means for supporting a needle material in such a manner that the axis of said needle material is in alignment with the optical axis of said laser beam;
• (c) condenser means for condensing said laser beam, said condenser means being disposed in the vicinity of a proximal end face of said needle material, supported by said support means, in such a manner that an axis of said condenser means is in alignment with the optical axis of said laser beam;
• (d) smoothing means for smoothing said pulsed laser beam, said smoothing means being spaced from the optical axis of said laser beam;
• (e) switching means disposed between said emitting means and said condenser means so as to switch a path of travel of said laser beam between a first light path and a second light path, said switching means first selecting said first light path and then selecting said second light path;
• when said laser beam from said emitting means travels along said first light path, said laser beam passing past said switching means to reach said condenser means, so that said laser beam condensed by said condenser means is applied to the center of the proximal end face of said needle material to thereby form a mounting hole in said proximal end face, a gut being adapted to be inserted into and fixed to said mounting hole;
• and when said laser beam from said emitting means travels along said second light path, said laser beam passing through said smoothing means to be smoothed and further passing through said condenser means to be applied to the proximal end face of said needle material to thereby anneal said needle material.

Apparatus for manufacturing an eyeless suture needle comprising:

• (a) emitting means for emitting a pulsed laser beam of parallel rays;
• (b) support means for supporting a needle material in such a manner that the axis of said needle material is in alignment with the optical axis of said laser beam;
• (c) condenser means for condensing said laser beam, said condenser means being disposed in the vicinity of a proximal end face of said needle material, supported by said support means, in such a manner that an axis of said condenser means is in alignment with the optical axis of said laser beam;
• and
• (d) moving means for moving said support means along the axis of said needle material between a first position and a second position, said support means being first disposed in said first position, and then being disposed in said second position;
• in said first position, said laser beam from said emitting means being condensed by said condenser means to be applied to the center of the proximal end face of said needle material to thereby form a mounting hole in said proximal end face, a gut being adapted to be inserted into and fixed to said mounting hole, and the proximal end face of said needle material being remoter from the focus of said condenser means in said second position than in said first position, so that said laser beams from said condenser means is spreaded over the proximal end face of said needle material to thereby anneal a proximal end portion of said needle material.