U.S. Patent 8517243 was awarded to Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. on 2013-08-27 and describes a “Surgical instrument with wireless communication between control unit and remote sensor.” This patent has been cited 250 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, such as an endoscopic or laparoscopic instrument. The surgical instrument may comprise an end effector comprising at least one sensor. The surgical instrument may also comprise an electrically conductive shaft having a distal end connected to the end effector wherein the sensor is electrically insulated from the shaft. The surgical instrument may also comprise a handle connected to a proximate end of the shaft. The handle may comprise a control unit electrically coupled to the shaft such that the shaft radiates signals as an antenna from the control unit to the sensor and receives radiated signals from the sensor. Other components electrically coupled to the shaft may also radiate the signals. Link: U.S. Patent 8517243

This patent was originally filed on 2011-02-14 which gives it a processing time of 925 days, compared to an average processing time of 837 in the field. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. has 2128 total patents. The first named inventor is James R. Giordano of Milford Charter Twp, MI. The primary examiner was Brian D Nash.

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