General Surgical Innovations, Inc.

Other

Towertech Research Group

Satiety, Inc.

Starion Instruments Corporation

Ethicon Endo-surgery, Inc.

General Electric Innovations, Inc.

Roger A De La Torre

James Stephen Scott

Kenneth H Mollenauer

James E Jervis

Thomas A Howell

George D Hermann

Roderick A Young

Matthew P LaConte

David B Willis

Janine C Robinson

Robert T Chang

Neil D Holmgren

Karl Van Dyk

Christopher Eric Thayer

J Stephen Scott

David Shields

Michael J Drews

Roger K Khouri

Thomas H Howell

Jose De La Pena

James E Jerivs

Matthew Allen Adam

A space occupying device for deployment within a patient's stomach and methods of deploying and removing the device. The device includes an expandable member and fasteners, such as sutures, that extend to least partially through the patient's stomach wall, and that anchor the device with the patient's stomach. The device can be deployed and/or removed through transesophageal approaches and/or through a combination of transesophageal and transabdominal approaches.

Method and device for use in minimally invasive placement of intragastric devices

A surgical fastener apparatus is provided with a reinforcement material holder, where the holder positions a sheet of reinforcement material adjacent body tissue that is sutured by a plurality of surgical staples dispensed by the apparatus.

Surgical fastener apparatus and reinforcing material

A method of repairing a patient's ventral hernia involves the steps of joining the patient's left and right rectus sheaths on opposite sides of the hernia, thereby closing the hernia, and cutting through the joined sheaths thereby forming one sheath interior containing the left and right rectus muscles. Next, a piece of surgical mesh is positioned in the joined rectus sheath interior and is sutured over the area of the closed hernia to further reinforce the closure. Additionally, sutures joining the left and right rectus sheaths are reinforced with reinforcing material.

Ventral hernia repair method

An engine drive electric generator apparatus converts the reciprocating movements of a pushrod of an internal combustion engine to electricity. Each generator apparatus has an electric coil surrounding a combustion engine pushrod, and a magnet on the pushrod that reciprocates with the pushrod through the coil. The relative reciprocating movement between the magnet and coil generates an electric current in the coil that is communicated with a battery of the vehicle to charge the battery.

Combustion engine driven electric generator apparatus

An apparatus and its method of operation convert relative movements between a vehicle wheel and a body of the vehicle to electricity that is used to recharge a battery of the vehicle. The apparatus includes a generator provided on the vehicle and a linear motion to rotary motion converter that is connected between a wheel of the vehicle and an armature of the generator. Reciprocating movements of the wheel relative to the vehicle body are converted by the motion converter to rotations of the armature in the generator which produces electricity for recharging the battery of the vehicle.

Apparatus and method for converting movements of a vehicle wheel to electricity for charging a battery of the vehicle

A polypectomy device and method which includes a snare cable, a fixed jaw and a moveable jaw. The snare cable is routed through both the fixed jaw and the moveable jaw. The snare cable forms a hoop for encircling the polyp. Shortening the snare cable positions the jaws about the base of the polyp and further shortening the cable closes the jaws. The fixed jaw includes a heating element which cauterizes the base of the polyp. The closing of the jaws and the heating of the heating element cuts and seals the polyp.

Polypectomy device and method

Method and device for use in minimally invasive placement of space-occupying intragastric devices

A flexible, fluid-tight envelope provides access for a hand and surgical instruments through a body tissue incision while maintaining insufflation pressure or a pneumoperitoneum within the body. The envelope is transparent and has an interior volume with opposite proximal and distal ends. A first opening in the envelope at the proximal end adjoins the incision in the body tissue and is secured and sealed to the body tissue. The second opening at the envelope distal end is provided with a closure member that seals closed the second opening on itself or around the forearm of a surgeon or a surgical instrument inserted into the interior volume of the envelope.

Laparoscopic access port for surgical instruments or the hand

Tissue approximation devices for the minimally invasive approximation of muscle or fascia, such as approximation of the rectus muscles in the abdomen (abdominoplasty), or hernia repair and other such applications using minimally invasive methods to access and perform the procedures thereby reducing or eliminating visible scars.

Method and device for use in minimally invasive approximation of muscle and other tissue

A flexible, fluid-tight envelope provides access for a hand and surgical instruments through a body tissue incision while maintaining insufflation pressure or a pneumoperitoneum within the body. The envelope is transparent and has an interior volume with opposite proximal and distal ends. A first opening in the envelope at the proximal end adjoins the incision in the body tissue and is secured and sealed to the body tissue. The second opening at the envelope distal end is provided with a closure member that seals closed the second opening on itself or around the forearm of a surgeon or a surgical instrument inserted into the interior volume of the envelope. An access port is provided at the first opening in the envelope. The access port comprises a housing containing a valve element that is selectively opened and closed to provide access to the tissue incision while maintaining insufflation pressure in the body cavity.

A skin seal or trocar stabilizer with an inflatable membrane disposed inside, whereby medical instruments may be passed through the skin seal into a endoscopic work space while the inflatable membrane is inflated, thereby allowing the use of normal short conventional open surgery instruments during endoscopic procedures and during insufflation.

Screw-type skin seal with inflatable membrane

Laparascopic access port for surgical instruments or the hand

Growing community of inventors

Lake St. Louis, MO, United States of America

Roger A De La Torre