U.S. Patent 8245898 was awarded to Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. on 2012-08-21 and describes a “Surgical stapling and cutting device.” This patent has been cited 334 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 medical device includes a control handle, an end effector, and a passive articulating joint connecting the end effector to the handle. The handle has a stapling actuator, an articulation joint actuator different from the stapling actuator, and a body through which the stapling and articulation joint actuators traverse. The end effector has an anvil, a stapler cartridge with staples, and an anvil-cartridge control device connected thereto and to the stapling actuator and staples when the stapling actuator is actuated. The stapling actuator passes through the articulating joint and flexes correspondingly to articulation of the articulating joint. The articulation joint actuator, when unactuated, holds the articulation joint and, thereby, the end effector, in a substantially fixed articulation position, and, when actuated, releases the articulation joint into its freely articulating state to permit free articulation of the end effector dependent upon external forces acting upon the end effector. Link: U.S. Patent 8245898

This patent was originally filed on 2008-06-13 which gives it a processing time of 1530 days, compared to an average processing time of 1097 in the field. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. has 2128 total patents. The first named inventor is Kevin W. Smith, Jr. of Coral Gables, FL. The assistant examiner was Michelle Lopez.

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/