Abstract: A sterilizable pouch comprising a plastic web and a paper web marginally heat sealed around all sides thereof, a slit in one of said webs for receiving the package contents and an adhesive strip adhered to the web; said adhesive strip being positioned to cover and seal both lips of the slit, and along with the web to which it is attached forming an assembly which acts as means for opening the slit for insertion of an article.

Abstract: A heat sealable plastic bag for retaining articles in a sterile atmosphere and which includes gussets and a flap in a remote location such that when the bag is opened by pulling open the flap, the bag opening and its contents are protected by the flap from contaminating contact with the flap exterior and/or the user to insure a continued completely sterile atmosphere for the bag opening and its contents.

Abstract: Surgical sponge material is unwound from a spool and fed onto a horizontal support where it is cut to the proper length, folded once by means of a vertically reciprocable mandrel, and held in an upwardly open cavity between the two tines of a rotatable fork. The fork rolls the sponge in a cylindrical portion of the cavity to form the sponge on the tines of the fork. A pusher strips the sponge from the tines of the fork and moves it into a trough where an ultrasonic welding horn seals the free end of the sponge material to prevent it from unraveling. The sponge material is preferably woven from cotton or the like but includes one or more synthetic threads of thermoplastic material to facilitate the ultrasonic welding step.