ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,350,828, issued on July 8, was assigned to Covidien LP (Mansfield, Mass.).
"Surgical robotic systems including surgical instruments with articulation" was invented by Jacob Baril (Norwalk, Conn.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A surgical instrument includes a shaft, an end effector, and an articulation mechanism. The end effector is movable between a first position where the end effector is aligned with a longitudinal axis of the shaft, and a second position where the end effector is disposed at an angled relative to the longitudinal axis. The articulation mechanism includes a proximal gear disposed in mechanical cooperation with the shaft...