Puncture indicating gloves
AssigneeRegent Medical Limited
InventorsHelena Venables, Simon Pickard, Gareth Hilton, James Doran
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A surgical glove has inner and outer surfaces. At least one of the surfaces is treated with a treatment consisting of a non-ionic hydrocarbon solution with a carbon chain in the range of 8-16 and containing a hydrophilic functionality with a pH within the range 4.5-6.5. After treatment, the treated surface or surfaces are dried, the glove packaged and then irradiated. The treatment controls the initial contact angle of the surface to be less than 70 degrees, so that liquid material will spread quickly across the treated surface or surfaces, thereby ensuring that the presence of the liquid, indicative of the glove having been compromised, is visible to the wearer or other observer as quickly as possible.
Claims46
A surgical glove having an inner surface and an outer surface, one of said inner and outer surfaces treated to provide a rapid spreading of aqueous material upon contact, such that a drop of aqueous material on the treated surface of the surgical glove has a contact angle on the treated surface of less than 70 degrees within 0.5 seconds and a contact angle of less than 40 degrees within 10 seconds.
A puncture indicating glove comprising a bilayer formed by an under glove layer and an outer glove layer, the under glove layer having an outer surface which faces an inner surface of the outer glove layer, at least one of the inner surface of the outer glove and the outer surface of the under glove treated to provide a rapid spreading of aqueous material upon contact, such that a drop of aqueous material on either the inner surface or the outer surface has a contact angle of less than 70 degrees within 0.5 seconds.
A surgical glove having an inner surface and an outer surface, one of said inner and outer surfaces treated to provide a rapid spreading of aqueous material upon contact, such that a drop of aqueous material on the treated surface of the surgical glove has a contact angle on the treated surface of less than 50 degrees within 0.5 seconds.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.