U.S. Patent 7780054 was awarded to Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. on 2010-08-24 and describes a “Surgical instrument with laterally moved shaft actuator coupled to pivoting articulation joint.” This patent has been cited 490 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 particularly suited to endoscopic use articulates an end effector by including a laterally sliding member in a proximal portion of a shaft that pivots the end effector to a selected side. Differentially opposing actuating forces (e.g., hydraulic, fluidic, mechanical) act against the laterally sliding member without binding by incorporating guidance mechanisms between the laterally sliding member and a frame of the shaft. Link: U.S. Patent 7780054

This patent was originally filed on 2005-07-19 which gives it a processing time of 1862 days, compared to an average processing time of 1244 in the field. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. has 2128 total patents. The first named inventor is Kenneth S. Wales of Mason, OH. The assistant examiner was Lindsay Low.

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/