US Patent Issued to Stryker on March 17 for "Systems and methods of performing spine surgery and maintaining a volume of fluid at a surgical site" (Michigan Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 17 -- United States Patent no. 12,575,817, issued on March 17, was assigned to Stryker Corp. (Portage, Mich.).

"Systems and methods of performing spine surgery and maintaining a volume of fluid at a surgical site" was invented by James G. Walen (Portage, Mich.) and Steven J. Carusillo (Kalamazoo, Mich.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Systems and methods for performing spine surgery. A retractor may be positioned within a patient to facilitate maintaining a volume of fluid at the surgical site. The retractor includes an opening capable of receiving one or more surgical instruments, for example, a cutting instrument and an endoscope. A cutting member of the cutting instrum...