ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 11 -- United States Patent no. 12,465,435, issued on Nov. 11, was assigned to Medtronic Xomed Inc. (Jacksonville, Fla.).
"System and method for navigating an instrument" was invented by Jeffrey M. Schwamb (Broomfield, Colo.), Phillip Berman (Jacksonville, Fla.), Ali Mowlai-Ashtiani (Jacksonville, Fla.), John R. Prisco (Canton, Ga.) and Alana M. Lacy (Aurora, Colo.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Disclosed is an instrument assembly usable in a procedure. The instrument includes a connection for a working portion and to a tool handle. A tracking device or assembly may be associated with the instrument for determining a position of the instrument."
The patent was filed on A...