U.S. Patent 7950560 was awarded to Tyco Healthcare Group LP on 2011-05-31 and describes a “Powered surgical instrument.” This patent has been cited 415 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 instrument including a housing, an endoscopic portion, a drive gear, a drive motor, a shift motor and an end effector is disclosed. The endoscopic portion extends distally from the housing and defines a longitudinal axis. The drive gear is disposed at least partially within the housing and is rotatable about a drive gear axis which extends therethrough. The drive gear is selectively movable along the drive gear axis. The drive motor is disposed in mechanical cooperation with the drive gear and is configured to rotate the drive gear. The shift motor is disposed in mechanical cooperation with the drive gear and is configured to move the drive gear along the drive gear axis. The end effector is disposed adjacent a distal portion of the endoscopic portion. Link: U.S. Patent 7950560

This patent was originally filed on 2007-04-13 which gives it a processing time of 1509 days, compared to an average processing time of 1226 in the field. Tyco Healthcare Group LP has 1168 total patents. The first named inventor is David C. Racenet of Killingworth, CT. The assistant examiner was Michelle Lopez.

Select Patents monitors top medical technology patents and instruments patents which have been allowed and granted worldwide. If you would like legal advice regarding a patent or would like to file a patent go to https://selectpatents.wpengine.com/contact/