ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,357,791, issued on July 15, was assigned to Acclarent Inc. (Irvine, Calif.).
"Deflectable guide for medical instrument" was invented by George L. Matlock (Laguna Hills, Calif.), Don Q. Ngo-Chu (Irvine, Calif.), Tuan Pham (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and John H. Thinnes Jr. (Mission Viejo, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An apparatus includes a bod, an actuation assembly, and a guide catheter extending distally from the body. The guide catheter includes an open proximal end, an open distal end, a rigid proximal portion, a bendable distal portion, and a pull wire extending from the bendable distal portion to the rigid proximal portion....