U.S. Patent 8403945 was awarded to Covidien LP on 2013-03-26 and describes a “Articulating endoscopic surgical clip applier.” This patent has been cited 241 times by other U.S. patents which places it in the top 500 cited patents since 2010 according to our law firm research, and makes it of the most innovative medical technology patents in the field of instruments. The abstract states:

An apparatus for application of surgical clips to body tissue is provided and includes a handle assembly and a shaft assembly. The handle assembly includes a drive assembly; and a trigger operatively connected to the drive assembly. The shaft assembly extends from the handle assembly and includes an articulating neck assembly; and an end effector assembly supported on a distal end of the articulating neck assembly and being configured to form a surgical clip in place on the body tissue. Link: U.S. Patent 8403945

This patent was originally filed on 2011-01-11 which gives it a processing time of 805 days, compared to an average processing time of 958 in the field. Covidien LP has 3582 total patents. The first named inventor is Csaba L. Rethy of Westport, CA. The primary examiner was Corrine M McDermott.

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