American Optical Corporation

Ophthalmic Ventures Limited Partnership

Other

Millipore Corporation

Acufex Microsurgical, Inc.

Ophthalmic Ventures

Comfort Auto Industries, Inc.

William D Richards

Bernard Grolman

Ernesto E Blanco

John C Meade

Richard A Clark

David Bruce Miller

Philip R Lichtman

David A Swann

Joseph W Kantorski

Richard Forrest Woodcock

Jing-wen Kuo

Vladimir Pinsky

Donald B Whitney

Ariel Ferdman

Marvel L Richards

Constance E Richards

Manuel A Russo

A system including a footboard and a chock each adapted for secure, yet easily removable attachment at selected locations to the patient support surface of a mattress on an elevating head type bed is provided. The footboard and the chock both include a wedges of resilient material having a substantially planar base surface and a length dimension substantially equal to the width dimension of the patient support surface. The footboard wedge also defines a foot support surface normal to its base surface. The chock defines an upwardly extending curved surface between the forward and rear edges of its base surface. The footboard and the chock further respectively include support members extending along the length of the wedges. Attachment means for affixing the footboard and the chock respectively to the patient support surface extend around the mattress portion of the bed between the opposite side edges of the base surfaces.

Patient positioning and alignment system

A hook and leader storage box for fishermen, in most cases, a container used for holding factory tied fish hooks, hand tied fish hooks, and hand tied fishing leaders, that is buoyant and will float. The hook and leader storage box for fishermen is used in most cases for storage of tied hooks to fishing line. The top and bottom of each side of the hinged folding halves are notched for the loop on the end of the fishing line to secure to. Dowels for holding the loops of a snelled hook are also used. Under each notch is a hole for an elastic loop to be drawn through and fastened over the notch to secure the elastic loop. The elastic loop is pulled down to the fishing hook for attachment of the fishing hook to the elastic loop. When the elastic loop and fishing hook are attached it secures the hook and line within the hook and leader storage box. There are no lines or hooks outside the hook and leader storage box to catch on or be damaged by any other equipment while fishing. The two halves have a locking clasp to keep the hook and leader storage box for fishermen securely closed. The hook and leader storage box for fishermen can be carried in a shirt or pants pocket or most pockets on a persons clothing without being snagged by a fishing hook.

Hook and leader storage box for fishermen

A method of treating a wound site wherein a porous, adhesive backed dressing is utilized. A vacuum and/or heat is applied to the wound site through the dressing so as to draw the tissue adjacent the wound site to the dressing so as to minimize trauma to the wound and increase the adherence of the adhesive.

Method and device for wound closure

An intraocular lens assembly including an adjustable-power lens assembly and an adjustment mechanism coupled between the lens assembly and the ciliary muscle of the eye in which the lens assembly is implanted for adjusting the power of the lens assembly in response to contraction or relaxation of the ciliary muscle.

Accommodating intraocular lens

A surgical suturing system having a probe assembly for positioning tissue to be sutured and a stapling system for suturing tissue. The stapling system includes a stapler having a housing with a staple ejection slot, a magazine of preformed staples received within the housing and a driver for driving the leading staple in the magazine through the ejection slot. The probe assembly includes a holding probe in close proximity to the staple ejection slot, the probe assembly being adapted to connect with a vacuum source. A working end of the holding probe is configured to selectively hold onto and position the edges of the tissue to be sutured in juxtapositional coplanar alignment while the tissue is being sutured by a staple ejected from the stapler.

Surgical suturing system and probe assembly

A microsurgical stapling system for suturing delicate tissue. The system comprises a staple magazine and a stapler. The magazine has a framework to which a plurality of pre-formed staples are integrally attached in parallel, spaced-apart formation. The stapler comprises a housing, a staple support and ram assembly, a driver body and a driver assembly. The magazine is disposed within the housing and is advanced toward the staple support and ram assembly. The staple support and ram assembly comprises a front wall that engages the front edge of the leading staple in the magazine and a rear wall that engages the trailing edge of the leading staple, whereby the leading staple can be captivated between the front and rear walls. The front wall may not be movable; the rear wall is movable so that it can move down to engage the rear side of a staple which has just passed beneath the rear wall. The staple support and ram assembly also comprises a ram plate slidably mounted between the front and rear walls for driving the leading staple downwardly between the front and rear walls. An ejection slot is formed in the housing through which the leading staple is ejected into the tissue to be sutured. The rear wall and ram plate are coupled to and driven by the driver assembly. The driver assembly retracts the rear wall and ram plate from the inserted staple at the same time the assembly advances the staple magazine toward the front wall.

Surgical stapling system

A keratometer designed to be attached to a conventional ophthalimic surgical microscope for use in measuring the power and angle of orientation of an astigmatism of the cornea of an eye. The keratometer comprises an illuminator assembly for reflecting a portion of the coaxial illumination of the microscope so as to generate an annulus of light have radii of curvature identical to the radii of curvature of the cornea. A comparator assembly is also provided for reflecting and modifying a second portion of the coaxial illumination of the microscope so as to generate at least one spherical second annulus of light. The keratometer is arranged to superimpose the second annulus on the first annulus and to cause said superimposed annuli to pass into the objective lenses of the microscope whereby the radius of curvature of the cornea may be determined. Also included is a protractor ring for use in measuring the angle of orientation of the astigmatism. No optical lenses or light sources ae included in the keratometer.

Comparative surgical keratometer

A stapler system for surgical suturing comprising a novel stapler and novel precurved staples designed for use with the stapler. Staples stored on a magazine are implanted by a ram mounted for reciprocal movement on the body of the stapler. The ram is moved to firing position by a handle pivotally mounted to the stapler body. As the handle is pivoted, a flat spring coupled to the ram is biased. When the ram reaches its firing position, the handle slips from engagement with the ram, thus permitting the biased spring to drive the ram downward so as to implant a staple into the incised tissue. The legs of the staple enter the tissue along a curved path. During implantation the staple is bent around an anvil causing the legs of the staple to penetrate the tissue along a curved path. Insertion of the staple legs along this curved path draws adjacent portions of incised tissue together. Just before the ram reaches the end of its drive stroke, the anvil is automatically withdrawn from between the sutured tissue and the fully implanted staple so as to minimize tissue trauma.

Ophthalmic stapler

An adjustable surgical staple for use in joining together two pieces of human or animal tissue. The staple has a spine and two legs, with the spine being slotted along its length so as to divide the spine into two separate cross members. Bending the cross members towards or away from one another alters the distance between the leg portions of the staple, thereby allowing precise adjustment of the tension of the joinder between the tissues being joined.

Adjustable surgical staple and method of using the same

The driver is disclosed for a surgical micro-suturing stapling system which does not require the use of a staple bending anvil tha must be retracted after the staple is implanted. The surgical microstapler system utilizes a unique stapler head comprising a staple magazine having a series of staples attached to and supported by a surrounding frame, apparatus for advancing the staple magazine so as to position its leading staple in a predetermined dispensing position, and staple driving apparatus for implanting the leading staple into the tissue through the ejection slot. The stapler head is adapted to be connected to the driver which provides the driving force required to cause the staple driving apparatus to separate the leading staple from the magazine and implant it into the tissue to be sutured. The driver offers the advantage that can cause the staple driving apparatus to implant a staple at a velocity in excess of the ability of tissue to respond dynamically under the force of a staple being implanted. The driver also is manually powered, can be operated by one hand of the surgeon, has little or no recoil, is simple in operation, and is readily attached to or detached from the stapler head.

Driver for surgical microstapler

A surgical microstapler is disclosed which does not require the use of a staple bending anvil that must be retracted after the staple is implanted. The surgical microstapler utilizes a stapler head comprising a staple magazine that consists of a series of staples attached to and supported by a plurality of frame members. The stables have a predetermined shape characterized by a spine portion and two opposite legs. The staples and frame members are formed as part of a sheet metal continuum and are joined by a plurality of tabs which coact with the frame members to hold the staples in proper spaced relationship within the magazine. The stapler head also comprises means for advancing the magazine so as to position its leading staple in a predetermined dispensing position in line with an ejection slot through which the staple is ejected and inserted into tissue, and staple driving means for implanting the leading staple. The leading staple is held to the magazine at its spine as it is engaged by the staple driving means. The staple driving means is shaped so as to contact the opposite legs of the staple and to deflect them downward following a curved trajectory with closely resembles the motion of a surgeon's suturing needle. The stapler head is adapted to be connected to a driver which provides the driving force required to cause the staple driving means to separate the leading staple from the magazine and implant it into the tissue.

Surgical microstapler

An improved surgical fastener having at least one head portion and a filament portion arranged in a T configuration, wherein at least one end of the said at least one head portion is sharply pointed, so that when that head portion is implanted in body tissue, the head portion will attach itself securely to the tissue and will remain there despite the application of a substantial pulling force on the filament portion.

Surgical fastener

The invention resides in a compound valve having utility in a sample injector for a liquid chromatograph. The valve has a pair of rotary spool valves (52, 54), each valve has a shaft (60) with an axial bore (64) in one end and a radial bore (66) communicating with the axial bore. A valve seal (70) surrounds the shaft. A pair of radial passageways (77, 78) in the seal are aligned diametrically and lie in a common plane with the radial bore (66) in the valve shaft. A pinion (62) is fixed to each shaft and a common driving gear (68) engages each pinion to rotate both shafts simultaneously through 180.degree. to place the radial bores in the shafts in communication selectively with either radial passageway in the valve seals.

Compound valve

A lock for a vehicle sunroof panel including a handle for effecting rotation of the shaft and parts mounted to the shaft and handle cooperable by positioning of one relative to the other by means of a key-operated lock cylinder to on the one hand enable the handle and on the other hand to disable the handle.

Growing community of inventors

Medway, MA, United States of America

William D Richards