US Patent No: 5,678,748

Number of patents in Portfolio can not be more than 2000

Surgical stapler with improved safety mechanism

2 Status Updates

Stats

ATTORNEY / AGENT: (SPONSORED)
 

Importance

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Abstract

A surgical stapler for use by a surgeon to place one or more rows of surgical staples in organs or tissue. The stapler is of a character having a supporting frame, a replaceable staple cartridge, an anvil, a mechanism for approximating the cartridge relative to the anvil, and a mechanism for firing the device so as to crimp the staples against the anvil. The device, while at all times permitting approximation of the cartridge relative to the anvil, provides a novel safety mechanism that clearly indicates to the surgeon that the staples have been fired from the staple cartridge and simultaneously disables the device until it is manually reset.

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First Claim

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Patent Owner(s)

Patent OwnerAddressTotal Patents
VIR ENGINEERINGGOLETA, CA6

International Classification(s)

  • [Classification Symbol]
  • [Patents Count]

Inventor(s)

Inventor Name Address # of filed Patents Total Citations
Plyley, Alan K Santa Barbara, CA 39 4098
Redmond, Russell J Santa Barbara, CA 117 4147
Vidal, Claude Santa Barbara, CA 81 2174

Cited Art

Patent Info (Count) # Cites Year
 
UNITED STATES SURGICAL CORPORATION (3)
5,071,052 Surgical fastening apparatus with activation lockout 140 1990
5,413,267 Surgical stapler with spent cartridge sensing and lockout means 185 1991
5,445,304 Safety device for a surgical stapler cartridge 150 1994
 
ETHICON, INC. (1)
5,465,894 Surgical stapling instrument with articulated stapling head assembly on rotatable and flexible support shaft 251 1993

Patent Citation Ranking

Forward Cites

Patent Info (Count) # Cites Year
 
ETHICON ENDO-SURGERY, INC. (77)
7,669,746 Staple cartridges for forming staples having differing formed staple heights 40 2005
7,407,078 Surgical stapling instrument having force controlled spacing end effector 104 2005
8,096,459 Surgical stapler with an end effector support 3 2005
7,673,783 Surgical stapling instruments structured for delivery of medical agents 38 2005
7,607,557 Surgical stapling instruments structured for pump-assisted delivery of medical agents 47 2005
7,328,828 Lockout mechanisms and surgical instruments including same 134 2005
7,799,039 Surgical instrument having a hydraulically actuated end effector 25 2005
7,354,447 Disposable loading unit and surgical instruments including same 109 2005
7,670,334 Surgical instrument having an articulating end effector 45 2006
8,186,555 Motor-driven surgical cutting and fastening instrument with mechanical closure system 3 2006
7,845,537 Surgical instrument having recording capabilities 24 2006
7,770,775 Motor-driven surgical cutting and fastening instrument with adaptive user feedback 34 2006
7,766,210 Motor-driven surgical cutting and fastening instrument with user feedback system 26 2006
7,753,904 Endoscopic surgical instrument with a handle that can articulate with respect to the shaft 25 2006
7,644,848 Electronic lockouts and surgical instrument including same 58 2006
7,568,603 Motor-driven surgical cutting and fastening instrument with articulatable end effector 54 2006
7,464,846 Surgical instrument having a removable battery 95 2006
7,464,849 Electro-mechanical surgical instrument with closure system and anvil alignment components 91 2006
7,422,139 Motor-driven surgical cutting fastening instrument with tactile position feedback 90 2006
7,416,101 Motor-driven surgical cutting and fastening instrument with loading force feedback 94 2006
8,236,010 Surgical fastener and cutter with mimicking end effector 0 2006
7,575,144 Surgical fastener and cutter with single cable actuator 88 2006
8,322,455 Manually driven surgical cutting and fastening instrument 0 2006
7,740,159 Pneumatically powered surgical cutting and fastening instrument with a variable control of the actuating rate of firing with mechanical power assist 32 2006
7,448,525 Pneumatically powered surgical cutting and fastening instrument with manually operated retraction apparatus 99 2006
7,441,684 Pneumatically powered surgical cutting and fastening instrument with audible and visual feedback features 94 2006
7,431,189 Pneumatically powered surgical cutting and fastening instrument with mechanical linkage coupling end effector and trigger motion 92 2006
8,365,976 Surgical staples having dissolvable, bioabsorbable or biofragmentable portions and stapling instruments for deploying the same 0 2006
8,360,297 Surgical cutting and stapling instrument with self adjusting anvil 0 2006
8,348,131 Surgical stapling instrument with mechanical indicator to show levels of tissue compression 0 2006
8,220,690 Connected surgical staples and stapling instruments for deploying the same 2 2006
7,794,475 Surgical staples having compressible or crushable members for securing tissue therein and stapling instruments for deploying the same 57 2006
7,665,647 Surgical cutting and stapling device with closure apparatus for limiting maximum tissue compression force 40 2006
7,506,791 Surgical stapling instrument with mechanical mechanism for limiting maximum tissue compression 99 2006
7,467,740 Surgical stapling instruments having flexible channel and anvil features for adjustable staple heights 89 2006
8,317,070 Surgical stapling devices that produce formed staples having different lengths 0 2007
7,673,781 Surgical stapling device with staple driver that supports multiple wire diameter staples 37 2007
7,500,979 Surgical stapling device with multiple stacked actuator wedge cams for driving staple drivers 84 2007
7,721,934 Articulatable drive shaft arrangements for surgical cutting and fastening instruments 29 2007
7,966,799 Method of manufacturing staples 10 2007
7,735,703 Re-loadable surgical stapling instrument 47 2007
7,673,782 Surgical stapling instrument having a releasable buttress material 59 2007
7,669,747 Washer for use with a surgical stapling instrument 74 2007
7,604,151 Surgical stapling systems and staple cartridges for deploying surgical staples with tissue compression features 121 2007
7,438,209 Surgical stapling instruments having a releasable staple-forming pocket 161 2007
7,866,527 Surgical stapling apparatus with interlockable firing system 38 2008
7,861,906 Surgical stapling apparatus with articulatable components 38 2008
7,819,296 Surgical stapling apparatus with retractable firing systems 37 2008
7,819,297 Surgical stapling apparatus with reprocessible handle assembly 37 2008
7,819,298 Surgical stapling apparatus with control features operable with one hand 39 2008
7,793,812 Disposable motor-driven loading unit for use with a surgical cutting and stapling apparatus 42 2008
7,934,630 Staple cartridges for forming staples having differing formed staple heights 20 2008
7,954,686 Surgical stapler with apparatus for adjusting staple height 23 2008
7,905,381 Surgical stapling instrument with cutting member arrangement 26 2008
7,857,186 Surgical stapler having an intermediate closing position 36 2008
7,832,612 Lockout arrangement for a surgical stapler 36 2008
8,161,977 Accessing data stored in a memory of a surgical instrument 6 2008
8,397,971 Sterilizable surgical instrument 0 2009
8,186,560 Surgical stapling systems and staple cartridges for deploying surgical staples with tissue compression features 4 2009
8,414,577 Surgical instruments and components for use in sterile environments 0 2009
8,348,129 Surgical stapler having a closure mechanism 0 2009
8,141,762 Surgical stapler comprising a staple pocket 7 2009
8,267,300 Dampening device for endoscopic surgical stapler 1 2009
8,353,437 Surgical stapling instrument with a geared return mechanism 0 2010
8,408,439 Surgical stapling instrument with an articulatable end effector 0 2010
8,308,040 Surgical stapling instrument with an articulatable end effector 0 2010
8,322,589 Surgical stapling instruments 0 2010
8,196,795 Disposable motor-driven loading unit for use with a surgical cutting and stapling apparatus 3 2010
8,424,740 Surgical instrument having a directional switching mechanism 0 2010
8,167,185 Surgical instrument having recording capabilities 6 2010
8,196,796 Shaft based rotary drive system for surgical instruments 5 2011
8,172,124 Surgical instrument having recording capabilities 7 2011
8,157,153 Surgical instrument with force-feedback capabilities 7 2011
8,113,410 Surgical stapling apparatus with control features 9 2011
8,292,155 Motor-driven surgical cutting and fastening instrument with tactile position feedback 3 2011
8,333,313 Surgical stapling instrument with a firing member return mechanism 1 2011
8,205,781 Surgical stapler with apparatus for adjusting staple height 5 2011
 
COVIDIEN LP (31)
6,817,508 Surgical stapling device 176 2000
7,055,730 Surgical fastener applying apparatus 143 2001
7,032,799 Surgical stapling apparatus and method 158 2002
7,334,717 Surgical fastener applying apparatus 48 2003
7,238,195 Wound closure material applicator and stapler 155 2003
7,296,722 Surgical fastener applying apparatus with controlled beam deflection 8 2004
7,140,527 Surgical fastener applying apparatus 172 2005
7,293,685 Surgical fastener applying apparatus 23 2006
7,326,232 Surgical stapling apparatus and method 5 2006
7,188,758 Surgical stapling apparatus and method 131 2006
7,275,674 Surgical stapling device 7 2006
7,407,076 Surgical stapling device 10 2006
7,740,160 Surgical stapling apparatus having a wound closure material applicator assembly 2 2006
7,631,793 Surgical fastener applying apparatus 76 2007
7,419,081 Surgical fastener applying apparatus 4 2007
7,571,845 Surgical stapling apparatus having a wound closure material applicator assembly 11 2007
8,033,439 Surgical stapling device 3 2007
7,543,729 Surgical fastener applying apparatus with controlled beam deflection 12 2007
7,942,300 Surgical fastener applying apparatus 0 2008
7,568,604 Surgical fastener applying apparatus 47 2008
7,631,794 Surgical fastener applying apparatus 9 2008
7,721,933 Surgical fastener applying apparatus 4 2008
7,699,205 Surgical fastener applying apparatus with controlled beam deflection 4 2009
8,074,861 Surgical fastener applying apparatus 1 2009
8,011,552 Surgical fastener applying apparatus with controlled beam deflection 1 2010
8,353,436 Pin locking mechanism for a surgical instrument 0 2010
8,328,064 Pin locking mechanism for a surgical instrument 0 2010
8,286,850 Surgical stapling apparatus having a wound closure material applicator assembly 0 2010
8,091,754 Surgical fastener applying apparatus 0 2010
8,292,149 Surgical fastener applying apparatus with controlled beam deflection 0 2011
8,371,494 Surgical stapling device 0 2011
 
APPLIED MEDICAL RESOURCES CORPORATION (4)
7,552,854 Surgical stapler with firing lock mechanism 42 2007
7,731,073 Surgical stapler with firing lock mechanism 1 2009
7,934,629 Surgical stapler with firing lock mechanism 1 2010
8,281,972 Surgical stapler with firing lock mechanism 0 2011
 
AMS RESEARCH CORPORATION (1)
6,575,984 Medical sling procedures and anchor insertion methods and devices 15 2001
 
Other [Check patent profile for assignment information] (2)
8,459,520 Surgical instrument with wireless communication between control unit and remote sensor 0 2007
8,459,525 Motorized surgical cutting and fastening instrument having a magnetic drive train torque limiting device 0 2008