U.S. Patent 8371493 was awarded to Covidien LP on 2013-02-12 and describes a “Surgical stapling apparatus.” This patent has been cited 313 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 loading unit for use with a surgical stapling apparatus is provided and includes a tool assembly having a cartridge assembly and an anvil assembly that are movable in relation to one another; a surgical buttress releasably secured to a tissue contacting surface of the anvil assembly and/or the cartridge assembly, wherein each surgical buttress is secured to the anvil assembly and/or the cartridge assembly by at least one anchor; a release assembly associated with the anvil assembly and/or the cartridge assembly; and a drive assembly slidably translatable through the tool assembly between proximal and distal positions, wherein the drive assembly actuates the release assembly to thereby release the anchor to free the surgical buttress from the anvil assembly and/or the cartridge assembly. Link: U.S. Patent 8371493

This patent was originally filed on 2011-08-22 which gives it a processing time of 540 days, compared to an average processing time of 837 in the field. Covidien LP has 3582 total patents. The first named inventor is Ernie Aranyi of Easton, PA. The primary examiner was Lindsay Low.

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