A surgical sponge comprising, a sheet of an absorbent material, and an elongated visually detectable element at least partially located on an outer surface of the sheet, with the element being non-wettable and of a color which contrasts with the color of blood to significantly increase the visibility...http://www.google.de/patents/US4244369?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US4244369 - Surgical sponge with visually detectable element
