ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,383,259, issued on Aug. 12, was assigned to Cilag GmbH International (Zug, Switzerland).
"Method for creating a flexible staple line" was invented by Jason L. Harris (Lebanon, Ohio), Mark S. Zeiner (Mason, Ohio) and Frederick E. Shelton IV (Hillsboro, Ohio).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method for creating a flexible fastener line is disclosed. The fastener line comprises fasteners oriented in directions which are transverse or oblique to a tissue incision created by a cutting member. The fasteners can translate and/or rotate within the tissue when the tissue is stretched thereby creating flexibility within the tissue."
The patent was...