US Patent Issued to Stryker European Operations Holdings on May 6 for "Lateral access bridges, shims and lighting including rod lighting" (New Jersey Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 10 -- United States Patent no. 12,290,252, issued on May 6, was assigned to Stryker European Operations Holdings LLC (Kalamazoo, Mich.).

"Lateral access bridges, shims and lighting including rod lighting" was invented by Charles L. Bush Jr. (Wayne, N.J.), Spencer Popejoy (Ringwood, N.J.) and Steven F. Krause (Oakland, N.J.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "In one embodiment, a system includes a retractor with a plurality of rods that are cylindrical over part of their length, a light source, and a fiber optic cable, where at least one rod includes a body with an opening therein. The opening extends from an upper surface of the rod, through an interior of the rod, and then t...