Surgical Apparatus Including Surgical Buttress

A surgical buttress includes a body portion and a band disposed on each of the distal and proximal ends thereof. The surgical buttress is configured to attach to an end effector of a surgical stapling apparatus. The body portion, having perforations disposed thereon, overlies the working surface of one of the first or second jaws of the end effector. A resilient portion extends transversely beyond the side edges of the first or second jaws. Each band remains attached to the end effector following the firing thereof. The proximal band is removably attachable to a hook feature disposed on one of the first or second jaws of the end effector. The surgical buttress can be made from suitable degradable or non-degradable materials. One embodiment contemplates a detachable and disposable single use loading unit. A method of attaching the surgical buttress to a surgical apparatus is also envisioned.

Surgical Apparatus Including Surgical Buttress

A surgical buttress includes a body portion and a band disposed on each of the distal and proximal ends thereof. The surgical buttress is configured to attach to an end effector of a surgical stapling apparatus. The body portion, having perforations disposed thereon, overlies the working surface of one of the first or second jaws of the end effector. A resilient portion extends transversely beyond the side edges of the first or second jaws. Each band remains attached to the end effector following the firing thereof. The proximal band is removably attachable to a hook feature disposed on one of the first or second jaws of the end effector. The surgical buttress can be made from suitable degradable or non-degradable materials. One embodiment contemplates a detachable and disposable single use loading unit. A method of attaching the surgical buttress to a surgical apparatus is also envisioned.

Circular anastomosis structures

The present disclosure provides annular support structures for use in conjunction with stapling devices. These annular support structures may be suitable for reducing occurrences of leaking, bleeding and/or stricture, as well as anastomotic tension, when anastomosing various body structures.

Sustained release systems of ascorbic acid phosphate

A novel method of preparing a controlled release composition is disclosed. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method of preparing controlled release compositions of ascorbic acid phosphate and absorbable polymers. Also disclosed is a novel controlled release composition of ascorbic acid phosphate made by the method of the present invention.

Near to Eye Display System and Appliance

A near-to-eye display system for forming an image as an illuminated region on a retina of at least one eye of a user is disclosed. The system includes a source of modulated light, a proximal optic positionable adjacent an eye of the user to receive the modulated light. The proximal optic has a plurality of groups of optically redirecting regions. The optically redirecting regions are configured to direct a plurality of beams of the modulated light into a pupil of the eye to form a contiguous illuminated portion of the retina of the eye. A first group of the optically redirecting regions is configured to receive modulated light from the source and redirect beams of the modulated light into the pupil of the eye for illumination of a first portion of the retina. A second group of the optically redirecting regions is configured to receive modulated light from the source and redirect beams of the modulated light into the pupil of the eye for illumination of a second portion of the retina.

Surgical retrieval apparatus

A surgical retrieval apparatus includes an elongate tubular member having a drive rod slidably disposed therein. A support member is operably coupled to a distal end of the drive rod. A pouch is attached to the support member and has a closed end and an open end. The pouch may be releasably coupled to the support member. An end effector is repositionable with respect to a longitudinal axis of the tubular member. The support member may include an expandable member.

Joint-space impedance control for tendon-driven manipulators

A system and method for controlling tendon-driven manipulators that provide a closed-loop control of joint torques or joint impedances without inducing dynamic coupling between joints. The method includes calculating tendon reference positions or motor commands by projecting a torque error into tendon position space using a single linear operation. The method calculates this torque error using sensed tendon tensions and a reference torque and internal tension. The method can be used to control joint impedance by calculating the reference torque based on a joint position error. The method limits minimum and maximum tendon tensions by projecting the torque error into the tendon tension space and then projecting ii back into joint space.

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTERACTING WITH ADVANCED DISPLAYS PROVIDED BY AN INTERACTIVE MEDIA GUIDANCE APPLICATION

An interactive television application is used to provide search results to a user. The user is provided with an opportunity to indicate a desire to search for programs. In response, the interactive television application generates search criteria and searches for programs. The search results that are displayed to the user include mosaic listings associated with programs that match the search criteria. In some embodiments, the interactive television application displays the mosaic listings in a manner that accentuates the different levels of relevance of the search results to the search criteria.

Apparatus for internetworked wireless integrated network sensors (WINS)

The Wireless Integrated Network Sensor Next Generation (WINS NG) nodes provide distributed network and Internet access to sensors, controls, and processors that are deeply embedded in equipment, facilities, and the environment. The WINS NG network is a new monitoring and control capability for applications in transportation, manufacturing, health care, environmental monitoring, and safety and security. The WINS NG nodes combine microsensor technology, low power distributed signal processing, low power computation, and low power, low cost wireless and/or wired networking capability in a compact system. The WINS NG networks provide sensing, local control, remote reconfigurability, and embedded intelligent systems in structures, materials, and environments.

Storage system snapshot assisted by SSD technology

A method and apparatus for taking a snapshot of a storage system employing a solid state disk (SSD). A plurality of mapping tables in the SSD store data needed to create a one or more point in time snapshots and a current view of the SSD. In response to a write command, the SSD executes its normal write process and updates its mapping tables to indicate the current view of the SSD and additionally retains the original data in a table of pointers to the original data, as the snapshot of an earlier state of the SSD. In the preferred embodiment, the innate ability of SSDs to write data to a new location is used to perform a point-in-time copy with little or no loss in performance in performing the snapshot.