The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 11, 1997
Filed:
Apr. 04, 1995
Applicant:
Inventors:
Peter M Bonutti, Effingham, IL (US);
James S Hawkins, Urbana, IL (US);
Assignee:
General Surgical Innovations, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
A61M / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
606192 ; 600207 ;
Abstract
Cannulas for surgical and medical use expand along their entire lengths. The cannulas are inserted through tissue when in an unexpanded condition and with a small diameter. The cannulas are then expanded radially outwardly to give a full-size instrument passage. Expansion of the cannulas occurs against the viscoelastic resistance of the surrounding tissue. The expandable cannulas do not require a full depth incision, or at most require only a needle-size entrance opening.