Suture assembly and system

Abstract

A suture assembly configured to load a suture instrument with suture includes a cap attached to an end of the suture, a suture container configured to retain a portion of the suture, and a cap retainer having a wall and a suture channel formed in the wall. The suture channel is configured to receive a length of the suture, and the wall is configured to deny passage of the cap into the suture channel and align the cap with the length of the suture for loading into the suture instrument.

1 . A suture assembly configured to load a suture instrument with suture, the suture assembly comprising:
 a cap attached to an end of the suture;   a suture container configured to retain a portion of the suture; and   a cap retainer comprising a wall and a suture channel formed in the wall, the suture channel configured to receive a length of the suture, and the wall configured to deny passage of the cap into the suture channel and align the cap with the length of the suture for loading into the suture instrument.   
     
     
         2 . The suture assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the suture container comprises:
 a first flange extending from a first reel segment; and   a second flange extending from a second reel segment, the first and second reel segments attached to provide a suture winding surface and the first flange spaced apart from the second flange by a suture gap.   
     
     
         3 . The suture assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the suture defines a suture diameter and the suture gap is less than the suture diameter. 
     
     
         4 . The suture assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the cap retainer is integrally formed as a recess in an exterior surface of the first flange. 
     
     
         5 . The suture assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the recess is a radial recess having a major axis aligned with a center of the first flange. 
     
     
         6 . The suture assembly of  claim 2 , wherein a portion of the first reel segment mates with a portion of the second reel segment to provide a suture winding surface. 
     
     
         7 . The suture assembly of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 an O-ring disposed between the first reel segment and the second reel segment.   
     
     
         8 . The suture assembly of  claim 7 , wherein each of the first and second reel segments define a center hole such that the center hole in the first reel segment aligns with the center hole in the second reel segment, the O-ring exposed within the center holes. 
     
     
         9 . The suture assembly of  claim 2 , comprising a needle attached to an end of the suture opposite the cap, and an exterior surface of the second flange defines a needle groove sized to frictionally retain the needle. 
     
     
         10 . The suture assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the wall separates the cap from the portion of the suture retained by the suture container. 
     
     
         11 . The suture assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a base substrate;   wherein the cap retainer is formed on a first end portion of the base substrate and the suture container is attached to a second end portion of the base substrate opposite of the first end portion.   
     
     
         12 . The suture assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the cap retainer comprises a riser integrally formed on a surface of the base substrate, the wall comprising an end of the riser, and the suture container comprises a circular fence integrally formed on the surface of the base substrate around which the suture is wound. 
     
     
         13 . The suture assembly of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 an opening formed through the base substrate and the suture container, the opening surrounded by the circular fence to define a ring sized to receive a finger/thumb of a user of the suture instrument.   
     
     
         14 . The suture assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the cap retainer comprises a cap reservoir defining an opening sized to contain the cap, and the suture container comprises a reel removably attached to the base substrate and attachable to the suture instrument. 
     
     
         15 . The suture assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the cap reservoir comprises a continuous peripheral wall extending from a surface of the base substrate to surround and define the opening, and the suture channel is formed in the continuous peripheral wall to communicate with the opening at a location nearest to the movable reel. 
     
     
         16 . The suture assembly of  claim 14 , wherein a length of the opening of the cap reservoir is greater than a width of the opening of the cap reservoir and so configured to align the cap for extraction from the cap retainer by a head of the suture instrument. 
     
     
         17 . The suture assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the reel comprises a first flange extending from a first reel segment and a second flange extending from a second reel segment, the first and second reel segments attached to provide a suture winding surface and the first flange spaced apart from the second flange by a suture gap. 
     
     
         18 . The suture assembly of  claim 17 , wherein each of the first and second reel segments defines a central hole sized to be press-fit onto a post formed on a handle of the suture instrument. 
     
     
         19 . The suture assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the wall and the suture channel combine to orient the cap linearly with the length of the suture. 
     
     
         20 - 47 . (canceled) 
     
     
         48 . A suture assembly configured to load a suture instrument with suture including a capsule attached to an end of the suture, the suture assembly comprising:
 a suture container configured to retain a portion of the suture, the suture container comprising a first flange communicating with a second flange via a suture winding surface onto which the suture is wound, at least one of the first and second flanges defining a recess configured to retain the capsule.   
     
     
         49 . The suture assembly of  claim 48 , wherein the suture comprises a suturing needle attached to an end of the suture opposite of the capsule, an exterior surface of the first flange defining the recess configured to retain the capsule and an exterior surface of the second flange defining a needle groove configured to retain the suturing needle. 
     
     
         50 . The suture assembly of  claim 49 , wherein the recess formed in the first flange comprises a wall and a suture channel formed in the wall, the suture channel configured to receive a length of the suture, and the wall configured to deny passage of the capsule into the suture channel and align the cap with the length of the suture for loading into the suture instrument. 
     
     
         51 . The suture assembly of  claim 48 , wherein the first flange is spaced apart from the second flange by a suture gap, the suture gap sized to be approximately equal to a diameter of the suture. 
     
     
         52 . The suture assembly of  claim 48 , wherein the first flange is spaced apart from the second flange by a suture gap, the suture gap less than a diameter of the suture. 
     
     
         53 . The suture assembly of  claim 48 , wherein the first flange, the second flange, and the suture winding surface are formed as a single monolithic unit.