ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,440,312, issued on Oct. 14, was assigned to WEST GARDEN LLC (Omaha, Neb.).
"Palatal expansion device" was invented by Brent M. Ganey (Omaha, Neb.) and Judith A. Scott (Omaha, Neb.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A palatal expansion device is described. The palatal expansion device is used to expand a palate of a patient. The palatal expansion device includes one or more features which enhance the safety, accuracy, and efficiency of palatal expansion. A direction limiter controls the direction of rotation of a jackscrew. The direction limiter prevents incorrect expansion or compression of the palate. A mechanical turn counter counts the nu...