the novel tip forming process of the present invention is useful with any monofilament suture . examples of commercially available monofilament sutures that can be tipped with the process of the present invention include prolene ® suture , pronova ® suture , pds ® suture , nurolon ® suture , surgical gut suture , and stainless steel sutures and the like . the sutures may be made from conventional biocompatible polymeric materials , both synthetic and natural materials such as surgical gut . the sutures may be made from absorbable or non - absorbable polymers , or combinations thereof . the absorbable polymers include conventional biocompatible , polymers such as lactide , polylactic acid , polyglycolic acid , glycolide , polydioxanone , polycaprolactone , copolymers and blends thereof and the like . the nonabsorbable polymers include conventional biocompatible polymers such as , polyolefinspolyamides ( polyhexamethylene adipamide ( nylon 66 ), polyhexamethylene sebacamide ( nylon 610 ), polycapramide ( nylon 6 ), polydodecanamide ( nylon 12 ) and polyhexamethylene isophthalamide ( nylon 61 ) copolymers and blends thereof ), polyesters ( e . g . polyethylene terephthalate , polybutyl terephthalate , copolymers and blends thereof ), fluoropolymers ( e . g . polytetrafluoroethylene and polyvinylidene fluoride ), polyolefins ( e . g ., polypropylene including isotactic and syndiotactic polypropylene and blends thereof , as well as , blends composed predominately of isotactic or syndiotactic polypropylene blended with heterotactic polypropylene ( such as are described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 557 , 264 issued dec . 10 , 1985 assigned to ethicon , inc . hereby incorporated by reference ) and polyethylene including ultra high molecular weight polyethylene and the like and combinations thereof . the sutures may also be made from conventional biocompatible metals and metal alloys including surgical stainless steels , nitinol , etc . the sutures that may be tipped using the novel process of the present invention may have a variety of conventional suture sizes ranging from size 5 to size 10 - 0 the sutures tipped by the novel processes of the present invention are mounted to conventional surgical needles made from conventional biocompatible materials such as metal alloys including surgical stainless steel , tungsten - rhenium alloys , etc . if desired , the surgical needles may be made from other biocompatible materials including ceramics , polymeric materials and composites , etc . the needles will preferably have proximal needle mounting ends having drilled bore holes or channeled features for receiving a distal suture tip and mounting it to the needle . the suture tips may be mounted or secured ( i . e ., attached ) to the proximal suture mounting ends of the surgical needles by conventional attachment techniques including mechanical swaging , gluing , melting , etc . the maximum dimension at the proximal mounting end of the needle after the suture tip has been mounted and secured ( i . e ., attached ) in place will preferably be less than or equal to the maximum diameter of the body of the needle . referring to fig1 , a monofilament suture device 100 is illustrated having a novel tip section 120 that has been produced through a novel process of the present invention is illustrated . the suture 100 is seen to have a filament or body section 110 , distal tip section 120 , and tapered transition section 130 , which in this embodiment has a tapered configuration . the suture 100 has longitudinal axis 105 . the suture filament section 110 is preferably extruded as a substantially cylindrical fiber having a main body diameter 112 . the suture filament section 110 may be extruded to have additional geometries including cross - sections that are oval , elliptical , square , triangular , polygonal , combinations of curved sections and straight sections , etc . in order to attach the suture 100 to a surgical needle of a reduced outer diameter , it is necessary to provide an appropriate tip at the distal end of the suture 100 . the suture 100 is seen to have a proximal tip 120 , the end that will be mounted to the proximal end of a surgical needle . tip 120 has been subjected to the novel process of the present invention in order to reduce the diameter of the main body of the suture and form the tip section 120 . in addition to the reduced and formed proximal tip section 120 , there is a transition region 130 ( tapered as shown although not limited thereto ) that serves to transition from the main body diameter 112 of the suture filament section 110 to the diameter 122 of proximal tip 120 . the transition region 130 serves the purpose of minimizing localized stress effects on the fiber during tensioning . in preferred embodiment , the transition region 130 has a tapered configuration . the novel suture tip 120 of the present invention is further illustrated in fig2 . the proximal tip diameter 122 of tip section 120 has been modified through the forming and trimming process of the present invention . the modified tip section 120 has a non - round configuration 200 as seen in the cross - sectional view of fig2 a . the configuration is seen to have opposed arcuate sections 250 joined by flat or linear sections 240 . the diameter 122 is the maximum dimension between the arcuate curved sections 250 passing through the center of the configuration 200 . the transition region 130 of the suture body is illustrated as a tapered section that transitions the suture 100 from the main body diameter 112 of body section 110 to the diameter 122 of the non - round proximal tip region 120 having configuration 200 . the distal end of suture 100 is seen to have opposed lateral trim regions 220 extending from a distal section of the fiber body 110 through the tapered transition section 130 and to tip section 120 . the arced portions of the transition region 130 are formed initially through the application of sufficient pressure that causes excess material to flow laterally from the central region of the suture body 110 while the upper and lower portions of the suture 100 conform to the radial geometry within the upper and lower forming dies as described herein . additionally , during the application of pressure during the initial forming step , heat , produced through simple resistance heaters , radio frequency generators , plasma , laser or ultrasonic equipment , may be utilized to assist in the mobilization of the polymer based structures to improve the forming operation . the lateral trim regions 220 are formed by the trimming process described herein . the lateral trim regions may be produced through the use of dies that are equal to or longer than the length of the forming dies . it can be seen in fig2 that the length of the lateral trim region extends from the tip 120 of the fiber into the main body portion 110 and is extending beyond the terminal edge 290 of the formed tapered region 130 . the use of an extended lateral trim region ensures the production of finished formed fibers are cleanly trimmed and any flash , or excess material , present after forming is removed cleanly from the fiber . in an alternative embodiment , it may be desirable to terminate the lateral trim regions at the terminal edge 290 of the formed surface to provide a more uniform appearance . further , in another embodiment , it may be desirable to terminate the lateral trim region 220 within the formed region thereby leaving a residual lateral extension from each side of the fiber to provide positive features to control the depth of insertion of the fiber tip 120 within the associated needle . as can be seen in the cross - sectional view in fig2 a , the perimeter 271 of the reduced cross - section 270 of section 120 of the fiber 110 is formed as two circular segments 250 connected to at least two non - circular segments 240 that have been created through the application of the trimming process described herein . the curved segments 250 share a common center point while the two non - circular segments 240 are substantially parallel to each other , may be symmetrically located at an equidistant offset dimension relative to the central axis 105 of the main body of the suture , and intersect the circular segments at non - tangential locations . the circumference 260 of the filament body 110 is also seen . the trim regions 220 may optionally be produced as multi - faceted elements or polygonal in nature . the trim regions 220 may be described as body flats or facets , although the segments 240 may be curved or have curved and straight segments or consist of plurality of angulated straight segments connected angularly at vertexes . the trim regions 120 and 130 are formed , for example by die cutting , into fiber 110 by the novel processes of the present invention as described herein . alternatively , if desired , the reduced cross - section 270 may have a perimeter 271 consisting entirely of angulated straight segments to provide a polygonal cross - section , or may have a single curved section connected to at least one angulated straight section . alternatively , the perimeter 271 may consist of two connected curved sections , such that the resulting cross - section 270 may have a curved configuration such as a circle , ellipse , etc . in order to produce the desired tapered tip geometry , the main body or fiber 110 of the suture 100 may be processed through the use of either manual or automated processes . an example of a manual process of the present invention is the following . the process initially involves the use of an alignment frame 300 coupled with the use of a forming press , preferably with thermal capability ; and , in a secondary operation a formed section of the suture filament 110 is subjected to a stamping process during which the trimming of the excess material produced during the forming operation is removed from the suture filament body 110 and tip 120 through the use of a matched die set . it is within the scope of the present invention to form the novel suture tips of the present invention utilizing an automatic process as well . referring to fig3 , the alignment frame 300 is seen to have two spacer rails 310 with a first and second ends 312 and 314 , respectively . in each of the ends 312 and 314 of the spacer rails 300 , there is at least one alignment pin receiver hole 340 . each first end 312 is coupled to a stationary fiber clamp 320 through the use of the stationary clamp base block 330 . each second end 314 is coupled to a spring loaded fiber clamp 350 . the base block 360 of the spring loaded clamp 350 is mounted in sliding engagement on two parallel guide pins 370 extending from the second end 314 of each of the two parallel spacer rails 310 . the monofilament suture body 110 to be processed is mounted in the frame 300 through compressive engagement with the clamping elements 320 and 350 . elements 320 and 330 , as well as elements 350 and 360 preferably have machined grooves ( not shown ) for receiving the suture body 110 . the grooves are preferably smaller than the suture diameter being formed , but may be the same size or larger . referring to fig4 , the forming press 400 useful in the practice of the present invention is seen to be comprised of a base platen 460 on which is mounted to side 461 a vertical cylinder support plate 465 . two alignment stand - off blocks 490 are mounted to the top surface 462 of platen 460 , and one heater block stand - off plate 480 is also centrally mounted to top surface 462 . the alignment frame 300 containing the mounted suture fiber 110 is placed between the operating platens 430 and 460 of the forming press 400 such that the alignment pin receiver holes 340 are engaged with alignment pins 490 located on the top surfaces 491 of the alignment stand - off blocks 490 . the cylinder support plate 465 provides support for the air cylinder 410 which is attached to the cylinder support plate 465 through the use of the mounting block 467 . additionally , the free end 421 of the air cylinder shaft 420 is attached to the upper platen slide plate 441 through the use of the shaft mounting block 445 . the upper platen slide plate 441 is vertically slidably engaged with the cylinder support plate 465 through the use of two guide rails 440 . the upper platen 430 and the two triangularly - shaped buttress plates 447 are fixedly attached to the upper platen slide plate 441 . the bottoms 448 of the buttress plates 447 are attached to the top surface 431 of upper platen 430 . this configuration enables the upper platen 430 to move vertically relative to the position of the base platen 460 upon activation of the cylinder 410 . the forming die 450 is comprised of two mated halves , the upper die 451 and the lower die 455 . the upper die 450 is mounted to an upper temperature unit 470 , within which are located the conventional heater elements and cooling passages . the lower temperature unit 475 is fixedly attached to the lower die 455 , similarly containing conventional heater elements and cooling passages . the temperature units 470 and 475 may be optionally attached to their respective stand - off blocks 480 through the use of intermediary insulator units 481 . referring to fig5 , the lower forming die 455 is seen to preferably have at least two alignment pins 500 extending from the top surface 456 of die 455 that matingly engage with pin receiver holes ( not shown ) of the upper forming die 450 during the forming operation . the free ends 502 of the pins 500 are preferably tapered , for example bullet - shaped . suture fiber 110 is seen located horizontally above the die 455 in between the pins 500 . a magnified partial view of the lower forming die 455 is seen in fig6 . the lower forming die 455 is produced with an elongated , centrally located raised portion 600 extending up from surface 456 of forming die 455 . raised portion 600 is seen to have a pair of angulated sides 602 having bottoms 604 , top edges 606 and opposed end faces 608 . located within raised portion 600 is the forming channel 620 . channel 620 is seen to be defined by the channel wall 612 . the shape of the channel wall 612 will determine the final geometry imparted to the sections 130 and 120 of the suture 100 by the initial forming step . the channel 620 is produced as a continuous depressed axial feature that has a radial shape and open top 628 . the channel is also bounded by two edge segments 680 that extend up from the tops edges 606 of raised portion 600 . the two edge segments 680 are located at a distance between them that approximates the diameter of the particular suture fiber to be modified . the channel 620 is seen to have first segment 621 corresponding to the full diameter or width of suture filament 110 . in abutment to the two edge segments 680 are tapered segments 610 that serve to transition the channel depth / diameter in channel segment 623 from the full suture diameter between edge segments 680 in channel section 621 to the reduced central region diameter in channel segment 625 . while the channel 620 is illustrated as a radial depression within the elevated die region , other geometries such as square , triangular or other polygonal shapes may be utilized for the channel 620 in many of these procedures , in the die face . although not shown , upper die 450 has a similar raised portion 600 with a mirror image forming channel 620 . referring to fig7 and 8 , the suture fiber 110 is seen after it has been subjected to the forming operation between dies 450 and 455 , and the modified suture is seen to have a tipping blank section 700 . the region of the suture blank 700 that has been subjected to forming is expanded laterally to form flattened laterally extending wing regions 710 . wing regions 710 are formed when excess material is forced outwardly from the upper and lower channels 620 as tip sections 120 and tapered section 130 of the suture are formed . the wings are shaped by the flat surfaces 456 and 451 of the dies 450 and 455 . since the forming die 455 is produced with the elevated edge segments 680 along the channel 620 region , the tipping blank section 700 is formed with a “ score ” line 720 along the edge of the core of the modified fiber . during the forming operation , the fiber 110 may be heated through proximity to the heated forming dies 450 and 455 and is then subjected to pressure until the dies 455 and 450 reach the closed position . this is done by actuating cylinder 410 to move the upper platen 430 to which die 450 is mounted downwardly until die 450 contacts suture fiber 110 and lower die 455 . depending upon the process selected for the specific material , the material may be cooled within the die through the application of cooling medium within the channels of temperature unit . the suture fiber will typically be heated to a sufficient temperature to provide sufficiently effective flow . the temperature will depend upon the composition of the suture , specifically the type of copolymer or polymer . for polymeric devices , typically the temperature will be sufficiently effective to provide the desired material flow and will be between ambient room temperature to a temperature near the melting temperature tm of the polymer that has been selected . in general , the temperature will be selected on the basis of the material properties of the device , the final tip configuration , etc . however , for certain materials , heating may not be necessary in order to form the tipping blank sections 700 of the suture fibers 110 . optionally , the edge segments 680 may be formed as cutting edges . referring to fig9 , a partial cut - away view of a punching die set 800 useful in the practice of the present invention is shown . the punching die set 800 is used after the forming step to trim the suture blank 700 . the die set 800 is comprised of an upper die plate 810 , and a lower die plate 860 , die bushings 830 , die posts 870 , and die springs that are not shown . the die set 800 is mounted to the punching press base plate 820 . two alignment stand - off blocks 890 are attached to the base plate 820 . after forming , the tipping blank 700 remains within the alignment frame 300 and the alignment frame 300 is transferred to the punching die set and is located on the tops 891 of the alignment stand - off blocks 890 . the alignment frame 300 is fixed in the proper position within the die set 800 through the presence of the alignment pins 892 located on the tops 891 of the alignment stand - off blocks 890 . the punch set is comprised of an upper punch assembly 850 and the lower receiver assembly 840 . referring to fig1 , an exploded view illustrating the upper punch 850 and lower receiver 840 assemblies is seen . the punch assembly 850 is comprised of three main sub - assemblies . the punch 1030 and punch guide plate 1020 are assembled in abutment with the punch base plate 1010 . the punch 1030 is fitted into a mating slot 1027 within the punch guide plate 1025 . additionally , four stripper springs 1040 are utilized in the assembly . the stripper springs 1040 are placed in between the punch guide plate 1020 and the lower stripper plate 1050 and may be held in place in pockets or bore holes 1042 that have been machined in each abutting plate . additionally , the punch guide plate 1020 and stripper plate 1050 are held together through the use of shoulder bolts ( not shown ) that pass through the stripper springs 1040 . the punch 1030 , punch guide plate 1020 and the base plate 1010 are secured together to prevent relative motion of the components . the stripper plate 1050 is capable of motion relative to the other components that have been secured together . also seen in the stripper plate 1050 is the slot 1055 that generally matches or conforms to the profile of punch 1030 . the receiver assembly 840 is comprised of the receiver base plate 1090 with a receiver slot 1095 machined into the plate 1090 , ejector springs 1080 , the ejector bar 1070 and the die guide bolts 1060 . the ejector springs 1080 are placed within the receiver slot 1095 and the ejector bar 1070 is pressed down on top of the ejector springs 1080 . the ejector bar 1070 is then fixed to the receiver base plate 1090 in slidable engagement . the ejector bar 1070 is seen to have narrow region 1075 that is matched to the shape and size of the formed suture region . fig1 is an illustration of the cross - sectional views of the assembled punching die set 800 in the open pre - punching position . the die guide bolts 1060 serve to secure the punch assembly 850 to the lower receiver assembly 840 . the return springs 1040 and ejector springs 1080 are not included in the view . the tipping blank 700 is shown in position over the lower receiver die face 1091 / ejector bar 1070 unit in preparation for the trimming operation . the tipping blank 700 is located in close proximity to the plane of the upper surface of the receiver base plate 1090 / upper surface of the ejector bar 1070 . referring to fig1 , the tipping blank 700 is illustrated , in a close up view , above the ejector bar 1070 in the receiver assembly 840 . the punch assembly 850 is not shown . the tipping blank 700 section having the expanded lateral width portion 710 is positioned with the flat planar surface of the modified fiber parallel to the plane of the die surface . referring to fig1 , a cross - sectional view of the assembled punching die set 800 during the maximum downward stroke of the punching press is seen . during the downward stroke , the punch base plate 820 / punch guide plate 1020 / base plate 1090 assembly are compressed against the stripper plate 1050 once the stripper plate 1050 bottoms out against the lower receiver assembly 1090 . the punch 1030 is slidably engaged with the stripper plate 1050 and as the die assemblies 850 are compressed together , the stripper plate 1050 strikes the surface of the receiver die 1090 , the return springs 1040 are compressed against the punch base plate 1020 / punch guide plate 1020 / base plate 1090 assembly and the punch 1030 passes through the lower face 1051 of the stripper plate 1050 and enters into the lower receiver 1090 . as the punch 1030 enters the lower receiver 1090 , the tipping blank 700 / 110 is pressed against the ejector bar 1070 which presses against the ejector springs 1080 located under the ejector bar 1070 and the punch 1030 travels into the lower receiver 1090 . as the tipping blank 700 and ejector bar 1070 travel further into the lower receiver 1090 , the expanded region 710 of the tipping blank 700 strikes the edge 1070 of the lower receiver 1095 and is sheared off from the tipping blank 700 / 110 to form the finished trimmed suture 100 . the trimmed blank section 700 is divided into two tipped sutures 100 . they are cut manually after trimming but a shear section can be built into the trim die 800 for a continuous production version . fig1 is an illustration of the finished trimmed suture 100 in position above the ejector bar 1070 in the receiver assembly . for illustrative purposes , the trimmed lateral waste sections 710 have not been removed from the face of the receiver assembly . although the forming and cutting operations have been described as utilizing a separate forming press and a separate punch press , the forming and cutting operations may be performed with a single press apparatus combining the forming components and the punch or cutting components . in addition , when the edge segments 680 are formed as cutting edges , the use of a separate cutting die may not be required to trim the suture tip and / or transition section . it should be noted that although the apparatus of the present invention as described and illustrated is symmetrical , the apparatus of the present invention may also be designed and constructed to be asymmetrical . in such an asymmetric configuration only a single formed and shaped tip section 120 would be produced on an end of the suture filament 110 to produce the suture 100 having novel tip sections 120 . during the asymmetric forming process , the filament section 110 adjacent to tip 120 would be cut to have a plain cut end with diameter 112 . an alternative embodiment for the production of multiple formed fibers on a manual process is also disclosed . referring to fig1 , the alignment frame 1000 is produced with a series of pins 1004 that serve as a winding fixture for a continuous strand of suture . as can be seen , the suture 110 is wrapped in a serpentine pattern about six pins 1004 . three pins 1004 are located at each end of the winding frame 1000 . it can be seen that through the use of the winding method , the fiber is properly oriented to the axis of the frame 1000 through the proximity to the edges of the two opposed winding pins 1004 . this alignment methodology eliminates that need for machined suture receiving grooves within a clamping surface . an additional feature of the winding style alignment frame 1000 is the incorporation of the clamping wedge elements 1003 . the wedge clamps 1003 are stationary and are produced with a converging slit or “ v ” groove 1008 . the free ends 1007 of the fiber 110 are forcibly pulled into the slits 1008 during the winding operation . subsequent at rest suture motion is prevented due to the fiber wedging against the edge of the slit 1008 . this method of suture securement provides a rapid means for the loading of the alignment frame 1000 . it can be seen that when utilizing the winding style alignment frame that the subsequent forming and trimming operations require modification . both the forming die and the trimming die are produced with multiple parallel forming and trimming features that will form and trim each length of fiber within the alignment frame . while the process of the present invention has been illustrated and described as a manual process whereby the fiber is held in a fixed position within a clamping frame , it is anticipated that the process would be automated utilizing a spool feed type continuous process . in the spool feed process , the suture fiber to be tipped is fed from a payout spool into the tipping forming unit . the leading end of the fiber is positioned within an indexing head . the indexing head draws the fiber into a heating / forming station . the heating forming station may be configured with a set of forming dies similar to the ones previously disclosed . the dies may be mounted for vertical travel and may optionally be heated . alternatively , the die may be run only in a cooled configuration . the heating of the fiber may be achieved through the use of a heating source that is located at the same axial position as the forming die station along the length of the suture . the heating source is positioned in a plane that is rotated 90 degrees relative to the plane of the forming station , for example , if the forming station traverses vertically , then the heating station is mounted in the horizontal position to provide heating of the fiber while the fiber is positioned within the forming station . heating sources include but are not limited to conventional infrared heaters , heated convection mediums such as air streams , or other conductive sources such as heated dies , and the like and equivalents thereof . the operation of the forming station for some polymeric materials involves the application of heat to the fiber and then the subsequent application of the forming die contact and pressure . the forming die , which may be operating at a lower temperature than the heating source , imparts the reshaping of the fiber while the die contact serves to cool the fiber during the forming step . alternatively , for materials that have a t g that is lower than room temperature , the heating of the material may not be necessitated and the forming operation may be conducted at ambient room temperature . upon completion of the forming step , the formed fiber is advanced to the trimming station whereby the punch and receiver dies are engaged to trim the excess material from the formed fiber . the trimming die may be configured to cut the fiber near and within the reduced cross sectional region of the tipping blank to provide a finished length of fiber from the previously advanced and tipped fiber . the fiber is not exposed to elevated tension during the heating / forming operations . the fiber feeding mechanism only advances the indexed amount of fiber through both the payout and take - up mechanism maintaining the same relative motion of the fiber . the use of the trim form process of the present invention ensures that the tipped sutures are always dimensionally consistent providing an improved degree of precision not capable with bulk processing such as extrusion or roll forming . this dimensional consistency enables repeatable attachment strengths when surgical needles are swaged onto the trimmed tips . additionally , other features , such as indents , corrugations , opposing partial spirals or raised features , may be formed on the fiber tip geometry . the incorporation of these features may improve the needle attachment strength . additionally , fiber fibrillation due to over drawing of the fibers is avoided and the rigidity of the tipped fiber is not increased relative to the main body of the suture . although this invention has been shown and described with respect to detailed embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention .
the present invention discloses methods for producing a surgical suture having a reduced cross - sectional area portion from monofilaments fibers of various polymeric and metallic materials . also disclosed are novel sutures having novel tips . novel suture tipping apparatuses are also disclosed . the monofilament is subjected to the application of thermal treatment coupled with application of mechanical shaping of the fiber element to produce a deformed cross sectional portion of the suture body . the deformed suture body region is subsequently subjected to a trimming operation within a punching / stamping die . the reduced section of the suture body region and is severed to form a suture having a reduced - cross sectional area end portion . preferably , each reduced region is severed approximately in the center of the trimmed reduced cross sectional area portion to form a suture having both ends of a reduced cross - sectional area .