Patent 7468116 was granted and assigned to Fisher & Paykel Healthcare on December, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A thin ribbon spirally wound polymer conduit and method of forming, wherein a helical reinforcing bead is interposed adjacent overlapping layers of ribbon. Further, a method of continuously forming spirally wound conduit wherein a sacrificial layer, preferably having a different base polymer to that of the conduit, is first applied to the former before the conduit is formed overtop.