U.S. Patent 7866525 was awarded to Tyco Healthcare Group LP on 2011-01-11 and describes a “Surgical instrument having a plastic surface.” This patent has been cited 267 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 handle portion, a body portion, a movable handle, a tool assembly, a drive beam and a closure apparatus is disclosed. At least one of the closure apparatus and a contact surface of the tool assembly include a plastic surface. The body portion extends distally from the handle portion. The movable handle is located on the handle portion and is in mechanical cooperation with a drive member. The tool assembly includes an anvil, a cartridge assembly and a contact surface. The drive beam includes a proximal engagement portion and is configured to engage a portion of the drive member. The closure apparatus is configured to engage the contact surface of the tool assembly. At least a partial actuation of the movable handle moves the closure apparatus distally into engagement with the contact surface to approximate the anvil and the cartridge assembly. Link: U.S. Patent 7866525

This patent was originally filed on 2008-08-27 which gives it a processing time of 867 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 Paul A. Scirica of Huntington, NY. The primary examiner was Thanh K Truong.

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/