Orthopedic cast and splint bandages with encapsulated hardening medium and method

Abstract

A medical bandaging product that includes a flexible medical material including an elongate knitted fabric, a reactive system, and microspheres. In certain aspects, a component of the reactive system is homogeneously impregnated into or coated throughout the flexible medical material without being encapsulated in the microspheres such that the reactive system remains stable and non-activated in the absence of an activating agent, and hardens upon activation by exposure to the activating agent to form a rigid, self-supporting structure. In this aspect, the microspheres are homogeneously impregnated into or coated throughout the flexible medical material, the microspheres encapsulate an activating agent and are configured to release the activating agent to form the rigid, self-supporting structure.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A medical bandaging product comprising:
 an elongate knitted fabric homogenously impregnated or coated with a reactive system and including a plurality of micelles or polymeric microspheres having an activating agent encapsulated therein that are impregnated or coated on the elongate knitted fabric, wherein:   the reactive system remains stable in the absence of an activating agent and hardens upon exposure to the activating agent, and wherein the activating agent is encapsulated in the plurality of microspheres.   
     
     
         2 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of microspheres are configured to rupture to release the activating agent. 
     
     
         3 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 1 , wherein the elongate knitted fabric is a knitted fabric including monofilament or multifilament yarns including at least one of fiberglass, polyester, polyolefin, aramid, and polyamide. 
     
     
         4 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 3 , wherein each filament of the monofilament or multifilament yarns has a diameter from 0.3 mm to 2 mm. 
     
     
         5 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 1 , wherein the elongate knitted fabric is surrounded by at least one of a non-woven material, an open cell foam material, or a reticulated foam material. 
     
     
         6 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 1 , wherein the reactive system comprises a polyurethane moisture curing system. 
     
     
         7 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 6 , wherein the reactive system comprises a prepolymer, a polyol, or a combination thereof not encapsulated within the plurality of microspheres. 
     
     
         8 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 7 , wherein the prepolymer is an organic isocyanate selected from the group consisting of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, toluene diisocyanate, hexamethylene diisocyanate, and isophorone diisocyanate. 
     
     
         9 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of microspheres comprise micelles or polymeric microspheres have a diameter from 200 μm to 2000 μm and encapsulate water, a catalyst, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of microspheres encapsulate an organic isocyanate selected from the group consisting of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, toluene diisocyanate, hexamethylene diisocyanate, and isophorone diisocyanate. 
     
     
         11 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of microspheres are polymeric microspheres comprising at least one of a polyoxyethylene, polypropylene oxide, polylactic acid, polyethylene, polystyrene, poly(methyl methacrylate), polyvinyl pyrrolidone, and polycaprolactone. 
     
     
         12 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of microspheres are homogeneous in composition. 
     
     
         13 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of microspheres are heterogeneous in composition. 
     
     
         14 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 1 , further comprising an antimicrobial agent coated on the elongate knitted fabric. 
     
     
         15 . The medical bandaging product of  claim 14 , wherein the antimicrobial agent is in the range from 1 g/m 2  to 10 g/m 2 . 
     
     
         16 . A method of activating a medical bandaging product comprising an elongate knitted fabric homogenously impregnated or coated with a reactive system including a plurality of microspheres, wherein the reactive system remains stable in the absence of an activating agent and hardens upon exposure to the activating agent, and wherein the activating agent is encapsulated in the plurality of microspheres, the method comprising
 physically manipulating the elongate knitted fabric to rupture the plurality of microspheres to release the activating agent.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the elongate knitted fabric includes monofilament or multifilament yarns including at least one of fiberglass, polyester, polyolefin, aramid, and polyamide. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the reactive system comprises a prepolymer, a polyol, or a combination thereof not encapsulated within the plurality of microspheres. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the prepolymer is an organic isocyanate selected from the group consisting of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, toluene diisocyanate, hexamethylene diisocyanate, and isophorone diisocyanate. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of microspheres are polymeric microspheres comprising at least one of a polyoxyethylene, polypropylene oxide, polylactic acid, polyethylene, polystyrene, poly(methyl methacrylate), polyvinyl pyrrolidone, and polycaprolactone.