US Patent Issued to INTUITIVE SURGICAL OPERATIONS on Feb. 18 for "Simulation model for laparoscopic foregut surgery" (California, North Carolina Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,230,162, issued on Feb. 18, was assigned to INTUITIVE SURGICAL OPERATIONS INC. (Sunnyvale, Calif.).

"Simulation model for laparoscopic foregut surgery" was invented by Samuel D. Drew (Sunnyvale, Calif.), Robert P. Jury (Durham, N.C.) and Richard H. Feins (Sunnyvale, Calif.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A surgeon training apparatus includes a cassette, which includes biological tissue re-purposed into a form consistent with the anatomical configuration of a foregut, affixed into an anatomically correct framework which replicates the abdominal anatomy. The framework positions the cassette in an anatomically correct position within the abd...