U.S. Patent 8485413 was awarded to Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. on 2013-07-16 and describes a “Surgical stapling instrument comprising an articulation joint.” This patent has been cited 310 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:

In various embodiments, a surgical stapling instrument can comprise a plurality of magnetic elements configured to articulate an end effector of the surgical instrument. The surgical instrument can comprise at least one electromagnet which can be selectively activated, or polarized, to generate a magnetic field sufficient to motivate a second magnetic element, such as a permanent magnet and/or an iron core, for example, mounted to the end effector. In certain embodiments, a surgical stapling instrument can comprise a plurality of magnetic elements configured to open and/or close an end effector of the surgical instrument. In at least one embodiment, a surgical stapling instrument can comprise a plurality of magnetic elements configured to advance and/or retract a firing bar, cutting member, and/or staple sled within the surgical instrument in order to incise and/or staple tissue positioned within an end effector of the surgical instrument. Link: U.S. Patent 8485413

This patent was originally filed on 2009-02-05 which gives it a processing time of 1622 days, compared to an average processing time of 1080 in the field. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. has 2128 total patents. The first named inventor is Steven G. Hall of Cincinnati, OH. The primary examiner was Brian D Nash.

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/