U.S. Patent 7673780 was awarded to Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. on 2010-03-09 and describes a “Articulation joint with improved moment arm extension for articulating an end effector of a surgical instrument.” This patent has been cited 470 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 articulation joint for use in connection with a surgical instrument that has a portion that must be passed through a trocar or similar structure and then articulated relative to another portion of the instrument received within the trocar. Various embodiments of the articulation joint provide structures for increasing the moment arm between the actuator and the pivot point between the proximal and distal tube segments interconnecting a handle assembly of the surgical instrument to a surgical implement such as an end effector of an endocutter. Link: U.S. Patent 7673780

This patent was originally filed on 2005-11-09 which gives it a processing time of 1581 days, compared to an average processing time of 1244 in the field. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. has 2128 total patents. The first named inventor is Jeffrey S. Swayze of Hamilton, MI. The assistant examiner was Gloria R. Weeks.

Select Patents monitors top medical technology patents and instruments patents which have been allowed and granted worldwide. If you would like legal advice regarding a patent or would like to file a patent go to https://selectpatents.wpengine.com/contact/