U.S. Patent 8231042 was awarded to Tyco Healthcare Group LP on 2012-07-31 and describes a “Surgical stapler.” This patent has been cited 240 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 stapler comprising a handle assembly, an elongated body portion extending distally from the handle assembly, and a head portion disposed adjacent a distal portion of the elongated body portion and including an anvil assembly and a shell assembly. The anvil assembly is movable in relation to the shell assembly between spaced and approximated positions. The anvil assembly has an anvil head and a plurality of projections extending proximally of the anvil head, the projections engageable with a portion of the shell assembly. Link: U.S. Patent 8231042

This patent was originally filed on 2009-10-20 which gives it a processing time of 1015 days, compared to an average processing time of 1080 in the field. Tyco Healthcare Group LP has 1168 total patents. The first named inventor is Keith L. Milliman of Bethel, MN. The primary examiner was Brian D Nash.

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