Medtronic, Inc.

Other

Earth Fx, Inc.

Frank M Ordaz

Douglas W Walker

M Terry Olson

Clinton Ober

Jerome D Fournier

A surgical procedure is disclosed utilizing a cordless surgical handpiece powered from a sterile battery pack that contains a battery in condition for immediate use without further charging or sterilization. The battery chemistry is based upon lithium/manganese dioxide, and the battery after a single use may be disposed of into non-hazardous waste. The compact surgical handpiece has a brushless DC motor and a manually operated external trigger for activating and controlling the motor operations. Interengaging sets of contacts on the handpiece and battery are adapted to become lockingly and conductively interengaged upon rotation of the battery pack relative to the handpiece, in a manner that rapidly achieves correct alignment of the parts and also ensures stable mechanical attachment and support during the surgical procedure.

Disposable battery pack for a surgical drill; and method

An improved personal body grounding system includes a grounding pad having two or more ground leads conductively coupled to one or more grounded anchors having multiple ground contact points. A monitor tests the continuity to ground using the circuit created by the multiple ground contact points. The monitor includes multiple safety features in the event of a power surge. The system also includes an electrical meter to measure the personal body voltage of a user and a voltage gauge for measuring continuity to ground.

Personal body grounding system instrumentation and process

Cordless surgical handpiece with disposable battery; and method

A device for rapidly testing a battery includes a conditioning resistor and a depressible momentary type switch interposed in series between the conditioning resistor and the battery terminals, such that the closing of the switch allows current flow through the conditioning resistor in approximately the full amount the battery can generate when fully charged. In parallel with the conditioning resistor are a number of sets of voltage dividers and comparators working in conjunction with each other to compare a divided down battery voltage with a fixed voltage reference. Each comparator has an associated indicator light such that all the indicator lights will light up if the battery is at full capacity, but less than all the indicator lights will light up if the battery is at less than full capacity.

Apparatus and method for testing and indicating battery charge and

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Ventura, CA, United States of America

Frank M Ordaz