U.S. Patent 8357144 was awarded to Covidien LP on 2013-01-22 and describes a “Electro-mechanical surgical device.” This patent has been cited 245 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 electromechanical surgical device includes: a housing; an elongated shaft extending from the housing, a distal end of the elongated shaft being detachably coupleable to a surgical instrument; at least two axially rotatable drive shafts disposed within the elongated shaft, a distal end of each of the drive shafts being configured to couple with the surgical instrument; a steering cable arrangement, the steering cable arrangement being configured to steer the distal end of the elongated shaft; and a motor system disposed within the housing, the motor system being configured to drive the drive shafts and the steering cable arrangement. A control system may be provided for controlling the motor system. A remote control unit may also be provided for controlling the motor system via the control system. Sensors, such as optical or Hall-effect devices, may be provided for determining the position of the elements of the surgical instrument based on the detected rotation of the drive shafts. A memory unit stores a plurality of operating programs or algorithms, each corresponding to a type of surgical instrument attachable to the electro-mechanical surgical device. The control system reads or selects from the plurality of operating programs or algorithms, the operating program or algorithm corresponding to the type of surgical instrument attached to the electromechanical surgical device. Link: U.S. Patent 8357144

This patent was originally filed on 2005-02-01 which gives it a processing time of 2912 days, compared to an average processing time of 1942 in the field. Covidien LP has 3582 total patents. The first named inventor is John E. Burbank, III of Ridgefield, WA. The assistant examiner was Brandy C Scott.

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