摘要 |
A winding device (10) for use in the simultaneous formation and attachment of a loop (11) to an apertured implantable device (12), in which the loop is formed from a loosely structured fibre bundle of twisted yarn, and the device (12) has first and second apertures (13, 14) through which the loop can be taken, and comprising: withdrawing a leading end of yarn from a yarn supply (15, 18, 21) and feeding the leading end through the first aperture (13) in one direction, and through the second aperture (14) in an opposite direction; taking the leading end of yarn away from the device (12) and along a guide path formed by rotatable capstans (16) so as to form a basic loop; withdrawing further yarn from the supply simultaneously with applying movement of the basic loop along the guide path so as to apply successive loop turns to the basic loop and therefore form a progressively increasing loop core; and applying relative twists between the loop core and each successive loop turn so as to form a cohesive looped fibre bundle attached to the device. The method is particularly suitable for use in the automated production and attachment of a loop to an implantable device (12) used in the implantation of a prosthetic ligament.
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