U.S. Patent 7886952 was awarded to Tyco Healthcare Group LP on 2011-02-15 and describes a “Surgical stapling apparatus with locking mechanism.” This patent has been cited 257 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:

The present disclosure provides for a surgical stapling apparatus and/or a loading unit for use with and/or supportable on a distal end of a surgical stapling apparatus. The loading unit includes a housing portion including a distal end and a proximal end, a drive assembly slidably supported within the housing portion of the loading unit, and a locking mechanism supported on the housing portion of the loading unit. The locking mechanism has a first position wherein the locking mechanism engages the drive assembly and maintains the position of the drive assembly in a ready-to-load position relative to the housing portion of the loading unit. The locking mechanism is pivotable to a second position wherein the locking mechanism disengages the drive assembly and enables the drive assembly to move relative to the housing portion. Link: U.S. Patent 7886952

This patent was originally filed on 2007-02-07 which gives it a processing time of 1469 days, compared to an average processing time of 1226 in the field. Tyco Healthcare Group LP has 1168 total patents. The first named inventor is Paul A. Scirica of Huntington, NY. The primary examiner was Rinaldi I. Rada.

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/