Untitled record

Application filed Tebrnary 11,1890. Serial No. 339,964. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, George Beacock, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Brookville, in the Province of Ontario, 5 Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Surgical Splints, of which the following is a specification, reference beinghad therein to the accompanying drawings.

io This invention has relation to surgical splints; and its objects and advantages will be set forth in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the claim. Some of the prin15 cipal advantages result from the particular material of which my splints are made. The material is rawhide prepared in a special manner, whereby it is rendered tough, pliable, and transparent, and at the same time 20 of such a degree of softness as to be readily cut or shaped in its outline at the edges of a splint by the use of ordinary shears or any other desired cutting implement. It also possesses an advantage of being capable of 25 further softening by simply immersing the same in warm or hot water or applying a sponge saturated with hot water, whereby a splint can be made to conform to the natural shape of any member of the body to which 30 it is to be applied, and the splint will retain that form, while at the same time it is not rigidly stiff and uncomfortable to a patient.

In preparing the rawhide the hide is first subjected to the action of lime or sodium to 35 fit it for the process of unhairing it. It is then treated to a very diluted solution of any desirable acid to remove any residuum of lime or sodium which may remain from the unhairing process and to counteract the chem40 ical action of the lime or sodium upon the gelatine Of the hide. The acid also incidentally tends to clarify the albumen of the hide and to produce transparency or translucency in the finished product. The hide is subse45 quently oiled or paraffined.

By my process of treating the hide I produce rawhide which is tough, serviceable, pliable, moldable, and transparent.

Instead of subjecting the hide to any chem icals after the unhairing process which ren- 50 der it hard and stiff and brittle, as well as opaque, I preserve the gelatine remaining in the interstices of the fiber of the hide in a condition more near its natural state than in ordinary rawhide. The transparency of the 55 material has the marked advantage of permitting the inspection of a fractured member without removing a splint, which, in addition to the advantages heretofore mentioned, render the article extremely useful in 60 surgical and similar treatments.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of a leg, ankle, and foot splint. Fig. 2 is a perspective of an arm-splint provided with a wrist and hand rest. Fig. 3 is a 65 forearm and hand splint. Fig. 4 is a perspective of an upper and forearm splint, and Fig. 5 is a sectional view illustrating the adaptability of conforming a splint to a member. 70

Like letters refer to like parts in all the figures.

A represents the body portion of a splint constructed in accordance with my invention, said body portion being shaped to any par- 75 ticular member. In Fig. 1 it is bulged, as at A', to approximately fit the ankle, and is provided with an extension A² for supporting the foot. In Fig. 2 the body of the splint is bulged to fit the elbow and is provided with 80 an extension A² for supporting the hand and wrist. In the first case the extension A² is integral with the body of the splint, as it may be in the second instance, or it may be adj ustably connected with the body portion of 85 the splint in a manner similar to that illustrated in Fig. 2, which comprises a slot A³ in the extension and a securing device A⁴ seated in the body of the splint, whereby the extension may be adj usted to suit the length of 90 the forearm or foot of a patient. In Fig. 3 the body is notched, as at A⁵, for the reception of the base of the thumb, and the splint terminates in a hollow bulb A^c, upon which the fingers may be grasped or rested, thereby 95 contributing to the comfort of the patient. These particular features of conformation may be adopted in splints made of material '2 433,227 other than hereinbefore described—as, for example, sheet metal,which has heretofore been used—and I therefore do not limit my invention in this regard to its construction of any 5 particular material.

By reference to Figs. 4 and 5, A⁷ represents a cross-section of an arm or leg, and the full lines represent· the relative position occupied by a splint which is to be applied to io said arm. By immersing the splint in warm or hot water or otherwise, as heretofore stated, and as preferred, it becomes more pliable to such an extent that it may be molded so as to conform more strictly to the contour of the member to which it is to be applied and to fit 15 the same, as shown by the dotted lines A^x, Fig. 5. The dotted lines A^x, Fig. 4, illustrate the same method of spplication of a side splint to an arm.