ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 15 -- United States Patent no. 12,599,402, issued on April 14, was assigned to Covidien LP (Mansfield, Mass.).
"Deflectable pulmonary access tool" was invented by Evan M. Gustafson (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Nathan J. Knutson (Long Lake, Minn.), Franklin J. Burquest (Crystal, Minn.), Bethany A. Palmer (Coon Rapids, Minn.), Tina M. Berthiaume (Champlin, Minn.), Hannah M. Capek (Minneapolis) and Matthew A. Rootes (Crystal, Minn.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An access tool for piercing an airway wall including a dilating member (308) having a minimally traumatic tip formed on a distal end, a piercing member (302) having a piercing tip on a distal and a handle (304) formed on a...