ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,667,388, issued on June 30, was assigned to Bard Access Systems Inc. (Salt Lake City).
"Step needle for intraosseous access device" was invented by Eric W. Lindekugel (Salt Lake City), Daniel B. Blanchard (Bountiful, Utah) and Jay A. Muse (Salt Lake City).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An apparatus and method for a stepped needle for an intraosseous device that uses the outer surface of the bone cortex as a reference point. Since the thickness of the bone cortex does not vary significantly between patients, the accuracy of needle placement can be improved. The device includes a needle with a stepped increase in outer diameter disposed alo...