U.S. Patent 7866527 was awarded to Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. on 2011-01-11 and describes a “Surgical stapling apparatus with interlockable firing system.” This patent has been cited 445 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 stapling apparatus. Various embodiments include a handle assembly that has a movable handle that is movable through actuation strokes relative to a stationary handle housing. An actuation is shaft supported at least in part within the stationary handle housing and is movable in response to manipulation of the movable handle. Various embodiments further include a firing lock out assembly that is configured to selectively prevent longitudinal movement of the actuation shaft in a distal direction. A firing release trigger is supported on the movable handle for travel therewith and is configured to interface with the firing lockout assembly to selectively release the firing lockout assembly to permit the actuation shaft to move longitudinally in the distal direction upon manipulation of the movable handle. Link: U.S. Patent 7866527

This patent was originally filed on 2008-02-14 which gives it a processing time of 1062 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 Jeffrey D. Messerly of Cincinnati, OH. The primary examiner was Scott A. Smith.

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