US Patent Issued to NICO on July 1 for "Surgical access device with integrated illumination" (Michigan, Indiana Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 3 -- United States Patent no. 12,342,991, issued on July 1, was assigned to NICO Corp. (Indianapolis).

"Surgical access device with integrated illumination" was invented by Joseph L. Mark (Indianapolis) and Kristin L. Murphy (Novi, Mich.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An outer sheath used with a surgical access assembly is disclosed. The outer sheath includes a proximal end, a distal end and a body portion therebetween. The proximal end defines a first opening. The distal end is disposed opposite the proximal end and defines a second opening. The body portion includes at least one slot formed therein. At least one light source is retained within the slot, adjacent the pr...