ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 5 -- United States Patent no. 12,239,327, issued on March 4, was assigned to Medtronic Navigation Inc. (Lafayette, Colo.).
"Powered drill assembly" was invented by Brad Jacobsen (Erie, Colo.), Milton F. Barnes (Grand Prairie, Texas), Rowena Vigh (Superior, Colo.) and Steven Hartmann (Superior, Colo.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Disclosed is a system and method for operating an assembly, such as a powered drill assembly. The assembly may be operated to provide feedback to the user regarding a selected position and/or condition of the powered drill system. The powered drill system may be used to power or drive a selected tool, such as a resection or grinding tool."
The...