U.S. Patent 7644848 was awarded to Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. on 2010-01-12 and describes a “Electronic lockouts and surgical instrument including same.” This patent has been cited 574 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 surgical cutting and stapling instrument is disclosed. The instrument includes an end effector and a handle. The end effector includes a channel, an anvil pivotally attached to the channel, a moveable cutting instrument for cutting an object positioned between the anvil and the channel, and a staple cartridge configured for removable receipt by the channel. The staple cartridge includes a sled that is engaged by the cutting instrument during a cutting stoke. The handle includes a motor for actuating the cutting instrument via a main drive shaft assembly. The instrument further includes a first interlock circuit for enabling initiation of motor operation based upon a position of the staple cartridge. Link: U.S. Patent 7644848

This patent was originally filed on 2006-01-31 which gives it a processing time of 1442 days, compared to an average processing time of 1218 in the field. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. has 2128 total patents. The first named inventor is Eugene L. Timperman of Cincinnati, OH. The primary examiner was Rinaldi I. Rada.

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