U.S. Patent 7641093 was awarded to Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. on 2010-01-05 and describes a “Surgical stapling instrument having an electroactive polymer actuated single lockout mechanism for prevention of firing.” This patent has been cited 414 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 instrument includes an E-beam firing bar engages the channel and selectively engages the anvil during distal firing movements, wherein the tissue is severed and stapled driven upward from the staple cartridge to form against the anvil. In particular, a wedge integral to the staple cartridge is driven distally by a middle pin of the firing bar to effect stapling. A single lockout of the staple channel responds to the presence of the wedge sled in its unfired position to allow the firing bar to fire. Otherwise, the single lockout prevents firing when the staple cartridge is missing or spent. Further, some versions include an Electroactive Polymer (EAP) actuator that presents an abutting surface, or acts as a trapdoor to a ramped recess in a staple channel to block the firing bar, as an active approach to preventing firing for one or more conditions. Link: U.S. Patent 7641093

This patent was originally filed on 2006-10-03 which gives it a processing time of 1190 days, compared to an average processing time of 1218 in the field. Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. has 2128 total patents. The first named inventor is Michael Setser of Burlington, WA. The assistant examiner was Gloria R. Weeks.

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/