ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 30 -- United States Patent no. 12,370,351, issued on July 29, was assigned to Acclarent Inc. (Irvine, Calif.).
"Dilation catheter tip removal instrument" was invented by George L. Matlock (Laguna Hills, Calif.), John H. Thinnes Jr. (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Jordan R. Trott (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Karthick Ramyan Mohan (Irvine, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An apparatus includes a base housing, an actuator, and a blade. The base housing defines an upwardly presented support surface. The base housing also defines a distally oriented tip receiving recess. The distally oriented tip receiving recess is sized and configured to receive a bulbous distal tip of a dilat...