U.S. Patent 8066167 was awarded to Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. on 2011-11-29 and describes a “Circular surgical stapling instrument with anvil locking system.” This patent has been cited 331 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:

Circular stapling instruments for cutting and applying one or more surgical staples to tissue are disclosed. The instruments include various forms of anvil locking systems designed to selectively prevent the anvil from moving axially relative to the stapling head of the stapling instrument. One embodiment employs an elongated gear rack that is selectively engagable with locking gears to prevent axial motion of the elongated gear rack and an adjustment shaft used to axially position the anvil. Other embodiments employ a gear assembly that cooperates with the elongated gear rack. A locking member is movably supported by a handle assembly that houses the gear assembly and elongated gear rack. The locking member is configured for selective meshing engagement with the gear assembly to ultimately prevent axial movement of the gear rack and adjustment shaft. Link: U.S. Patent 8066167

This patent was originally filed on 2009-03-23 which gives it a processing time of 981 days, compared to an average processing time of 1080 in the field. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. has 2128 total patents. The first named inventor is Barry T. Jamison of Fairfield, OH. The primary examiner was Rinaldi Rada.

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