US Patent Issued to Cilag GmbH International on Feb. 24 for "Implantable sphincter assistance device with interconnected encasement of magnetic elements" (Ohio Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 24 -- United States Patent no. 12,558,098, issued on Feb. 24, was assigned to Cilag GmbH International (Zug, Switzerland).

"Implantable sphincter assistance device with interconnected encasement of magnetic elements" was invented by Frederick E. Shelton IV (Hillsboro, Ohio) and Kevin M. Fiebig (Cincinnati).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An apparatus includes a plurality of beads and a linking assembly joining the beads together. The beads and the linking assembly are arranged in an annular arrangement and sized to form a loop around an anatomical structure in a patient. The loop may move between a contracted and expanded configuration. The loop is magnetically biased towa...