U.S. Patent 8561873 was awarded to Covidien LP on 2013-10-22 and describes a “Staple line reinforcement for anvil and cartridge.” This patent has been cited 275 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 stapling apparatus including a cartridge assembly defining a first tissue contacting surface, an anvil assembly defining a second tissue contacting surface, and a surgical buttress releasably secured to at least one of the first tissue contacting surface and the second tissue contacting surface is provided. The buttress provides a uniform profile to be used on both the anvil and cartridge of a loading unit. Link: U.S. Patent 8561873

This patent was originally filed on 2012-03-14 which gives it a processing time of 587 days, compared to an average processing time of 575 in the field. Covidien LP has 3582 total patents. The first named inventor is Sachin Shah of Milford, CT. The primary examiner was Scott A. Smith.

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