US Patent 7234597 Apparatus and method for packaging elongate surgical devices

A package for an elongate surgical device, such as a catheter, includes an elongate tube formed into a coil configuration with a first coil portion disposed adjacent to a second coil portion. A thermal weld bonds the coil portions in a fixed relationship and with a strength sufficient to prevent peeling the first coil portion from the second coil portion. The surgical device can then be loaded into the tube, pouched and sterilized for ultimate distribution. In an associated method, the tube is coiled on a turntable and moved relative to heating stations where the thermal bonds can be formed.