Explore the 5,881 U.S. Patent Applications published on the 10th week of 2013, including 3,956 applications that subsequently received a Patent Grant.
Stapling instrument comprising resettable staple drivers
A surgical stapling instrument can comprise a jaw configured to receive a staple cartridge, a plurality of staple drivers positioned within the jaw configured to eject staples from the staple cartridge, and a firing member configured to engage the staple drivers as the firing member is advanced from an unfired position to a fired position. As the firing member is advanced from its unfired position, the firing member can lift the staple drivers upwardly within a cartridge body of the staple cartridge. When the firing member is returned to its unfired position, the firing member can lower the staple drivers downwardly within the cartridge body thereby resetting the staple drivers prior to a new staple cartridge being positioned within the jaw.
Published: 2013-03-07 Assignee: ETHICON ENDO-SURGERY, INC..
Firing member displacement system for a stapling instrument
A surgical stapling instrument can comprise a jaw configured to receive a staple cartridge, a firing member configured to eject staples from the staple cartridge, and a system for supplying a continuous number of staple cartridges to the jaw. The surgical stapling instrument can further comprise a system for displacing the firing member into a position in which a staple cartridge can be slid relative to the firing member. In at least one such embodiment, the surgical stapling instrument can comprise a shaft and a plurality of staple cartridges positioned within the shaft, wherein the firing member can be dropped downwardly within the shaft such that one or more staple cartridges can be slid by the firing member.
Published: 2013-03-07 Assignee: ETHICON ENDO-SURGERY, INC..
Continuous stapling instrument
A surgical stapling instrument can comprise a jaw configured to receive a staple cartridge, a firing member configured to eject staples from the staple cartridge, and a system for supplying a continuous number of staple cartridges to the jaw.
Published: 2013-03-07 Assignee: ETHICON ENDO-SURGERY, INC..
Stapling instrument comprising a plurality of staple cartridges stored therein
A surgical stapling instrument can comprise an end effector configured to receive a staple cartridge, a shaft including a plurality of staple cartridges positioned therein, and a staple cartridge driver configured to sequentially advance the staple cartridges from the shaft into the end effector. In various embodiments, the staple cartridges can comprise different configurations which can be arranged within the shaft such that they are supplied in a specific predetermined order.
Published: 2013-03-07 Assignee: STRYKER CORPORATION.
Surgical instrument including housing, a cutting accessory that extends from the housing and actuators that establish the position of the cutting accessory relative to the housing
An instrument for treating tissue during a medical procedure includes a hand-held portion and a working portion. The hand-held portion is manually supported and moved by a user and the working portion is movably coupled to the hand-held portion. A tracking device is attached to the hand-held portion for tracking the instrument. The tracking device is in communication with a control system, which is used to keep the working portion within or outside of a boundary. A plurality of actuators are operatively coupled to the working portion. The control system instructs the actuators to move the working portion relative to the hand-held portion during the medical procedure in order to maintain a desired relationship between the working portion and the boundary.
Published: 2013-03-07 Assignee: OSRAM AG.
Circuit arrangement for operating at least one discharge lamp and at least one LED
The invention relates to a circuit arrangement for operating at least one discharge lamp (FL1) and at least one LED (D5, D6, Dn), wherein the connection of the LEDs has so-called SELV insulation.
Published: 2013-03-07 Assignee: RYERSON UNIVERSITY, RYERSON UNIVERSITY.
System and methods for intraoperative guidance feedback
Systems and methods for surgical guidance and image registration are provided, in which three-dimensional image data associated with an object or patient is registered to topological image data obtained using a surface topology imaging device. The surface topology imaging device may be rigidly attached to an optical position measurement system that also tracks fiducial markers on a movable instrument. The instrument may be registered to the topological image data, such that the topological image data and the movable instrument are registered to the three-dimensional image data. The three-dimensional image data may be CT or MRI data associated with a patient. The system may also co-register images pertaining to a surgical plan with the three-dimensional image data. In another aspect, the surface topology imaging device may be configured to directly track fiducial markers on a movable instrument. The fiducial markers may be tracked according to surface texture.
Published: 2013-03-07 Assignee: MASIMO CORPORATION.
OCCLUSIVE NON-INFLATABLE BLOOD PRESSURE DEVICE
A blood pressure device including a compressible material can be placed around a limb of a patient (e.g. a band or cuff). Further, the blood pressure device can include a sleeve that, at least partially, covers the compressible material and is capable of compressing the compressible material to occlude a patient's blood vessel without inflating the sleeve. In some embodiments, the sleeve can compress the compressible material using a motor assembly. This motor assembly can include a motor and any additional mechanical devices that can be used to facilitate compressing the compressible material. For example, the motor assembly may include one or more of the following: a cable, a pulley, and a gear assembly, such as a worm drive or any other gear assembly that can facilitate compressing the compressible material.
Published: 2013-03-07 Assignee: APPLE INC..
System for collecting, analyzing, and transmitting information relevant to transportation networks
When individual persons or vehicles move through a transportation network, they are likely to be both actively and passively creating information that reflects their location and current behavior. In this patent, we propose a system that makes complete use of this information. First, through a broad web of sensors, our system collects and stores the full range of information generated by travelers. Next, through the use of previously-stored data and active computational analysis, our system deduces the identity of individual travelers. Finally, using advanced data-mining technology, our system selects useful information and transmits it back to the individual, as well as to third-party users; in short, it forms the backbone for a variety of useful location-related end-user applications.
Published: 2013-03-07 Assignee: GLT ACQUISITION CORP..
Method for data reduction and calibration of an OCT-based physiological monitor
The present invention relates to a method and system for estimating blood analyte levels using a noninvasive optical coherence tomography (OCT) based physiological monitor. An algorithm correlates OCT-based estimated blood analyte data with actual blood analyte data determined by other methods, such as invasively. OCT-based data is fit to the obtained blood analyte measurements to achieve the best correlation. Once the algorithm has generated sets of estimated blood analyte levels, it may refine the number of sets by applying one or more mathematical filters. The OCT-based physiological monitor can be calibrated using an Intensity Difference plot or the Pearson Product Moment Correlation method.