U.S. Patent 7954687 was awarded to Tyco Healthcare Group LP on 2011-06-07 and describes a “Coated surgical staples and an illuminated staple cartridge for a surgical stapling instrument.” This patent has been cited 292 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:

A coated surgical fastener is provided for an easy visualization within tissue. The coated surgical fastener includes a core and a relatively non-reflective coating applied about the core. There is also disclosed an illuminated staple cartridge for use with a surgical stapling device having a light source. The illuminated staple cartridge includes a transparent insert and a relatively nontransparent U-shaped outer channel at least partially surrounding the transparent insert. Windows formed in sides of the U-shaped outer channel allow defined amounts of light to project from the sides of the illuminated staple cartridge. Link: U.S. Patent 7954687

This patent was originally filed on 2008-10-31 which gives it a processing time of 949 days, compared to an average processing time of 1097 in the field. Tyco Healthcare Group LP has 1168 total patents. The first named inventor is Michael A. Zemlok of Prospect, PA. The primary examiner was Scott A. Smith.

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