SURGICAL NEEDLE DISCARD CONTAINER

摘要

A surgical needle discard container (100) that stores used surgical needles. The discard container has separate compartments (120) defined therein by dividers (108) which are fixed to one another in a unitary structure. Each compartment is sized so as to receive a surgical needle therein. A wall (142) on one side of the container has an aperture (144) for providing selective access to one of the compartments while the wall and the container block access to the rest of the compartments. A ratchet mechanism (112, 174) is provided for relative incremental movement between the compartment structure and the wall in only one direction so that the aperture is selectively aligned with each compartment. In addition, the discard container includes a cutting device (150, 162) that severs a portion of the suture from the needle disposed in one of the compartments when the wall and the compartment structure are rotated relative to one another.