U.S. Patent 7967180 was awarded to Tyco Healthcare Group LP on 2011-06-28 and describes a “Surgical stapling apparatus with locking mechanism.” This patent has been cited 389 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 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 pivotally supported on the housing portion of the loading unit, the locking mechanism having a first position wherein the locking mechanism engages a portion of the drive assembly and maintains the position, preferably the axial position, of the drive assembly relative to the housing portion of the loading unit, and the locking mechanism having 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 7967180

This patent was originally filed on 2009-12-28 which gives it a processing time of 547 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 Paul A. Scirica of Huntington, NY. The assistant examiner was Michelle Lopez.

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