U.S. Patent 8292888 was awarded to Tyco Healthcare Group LP on 2012-10-23 and describes a “Bipolar or ultrasonic surgical device.” This patent has been cited 299 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 electro-mechanical surgical device, system and/or method may include a housing, at least two opposing jaw, and at least one electrical contact associated with at least one of the jaws. The electrical contact may include at least one of a bipolar electrical contact and an ultrasonic electrical contact. The electrical contact may be a row of electrodes located on one or all of the jaws. A sensor may also be associated with any tissue located between the jaws to sense and report the temperature of that tissue. A piercable ampulla containing fluid may also be placed on at least one of the jaws so that the fluid is releasable when the jaws are in closed position and the electrode(s) pass through the tissue into the piercable ampulla. Link: U.S. Patent 8292888

This patent was originally filed on 2002-04-22 which gives it a processing time of 3837 days, compared to an average processing time of 1402 in the field. Tyco Healthcare Group LP has 1168 total patents. The first named inventor is Michael P. Whitman of New Hope, MN. The primary examiner was Michael Peffley.

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