ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,765,970, issued on Oct. 20.
"Palatal expander and method of use" was invented by Rohit Madan (Saar, Bahrain).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A device for laterally expanding a patient's palate, featuring a longitudinally extending screw with at least one threaded end. A first gear is mounted on the screw, coupled to a second gear that receives torque from a tool. Rotation of the second gear causes the screw to turn, moving front and back nuts in opposite longitudinal directions. These nuts are pivotally connected to left and right linkages, which move laterally when the nuts approach each other. Pads attached to the linkages are configured...