Technology area: Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering
62 pending office actions • 4 clients • 46 examiners • 13 art units • 0 of 62 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready
Womble (previously Lewis Roca) has 64 pending office actions in Medical Devices & Mechanical Engineering and 35753 career applications. Its resolved allowance rate is 83.86%, with an average of 3.21 office actions per allowance.
The reported application base gives the pending device and mechanical docket a broad historical context. The allowance rate measures resolved outcomes, while the office-action average indicates that allowed matters generally involve several examination exchanges. Practitioners can use the figures to support docket planning and to anticipate sustained attention to structural and functional claim limitations. Individual prosecution strategy still depends on the application’s disclosure, cited art, and procedural posture.
Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 17 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.
Every pending office action with a known statutory deadline, placed on a days-until-due axis. Dots left of Today are overdue; the further right, the more runway. Cases that share a deadline window stack vertically. 17 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.
Difficulty is derived from the rejection statutes on the most recent pending office action. §101-driven and multi-statute cases are graded Hard; §112-only and obviousness-type double-patenting cases are graded Easy; everything else is Medium. "Unknown" means we have not yet parsed a statute for that office action.
| Bucket | Cases |
|---|---|
| §101 only | 1 (2%) |
| §101 + other | 4 (6%) |
| §103 only | 23 (37%) |
| §102 only | 9 (15%) |
| §112 only | 1 (2%) |
| Double-patenting only | 3 (5%) |
| Double-patenting + other | 1 (2%) |
| Multi-statute (no §101) | 20 (32%) |
How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.
Manual office-action response work runs about 10 hours per case. The time-saved bands below show what IP Author's prosecution pipeline typically delivers — a conservative 20% on the low end, 35% in the middle, 50% on the high end.
| Examiner | Apps on this docket | Allow rate | Interview lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 5 | 72.3% | +20.4% |
| CHUKWURAH, NATHANIEL C | 3 | 84.9% | +10.9% |
| CLARK, RYAN T | 3 | 50.4% | +18.2% |
| RUSSELL, SYDNEY REYES | 3 | 51.4% | +56.8% |
| OUYANG, BO | 3 | 60.7% | +8.8% |
| BYRD, BRIGID K | 2 | 71.4% | +46.4% |
| WITTENSCHLAEGER, THOMAS M | 2 | 71.6% | +11.7% |
| VAHDAT, KHADIJEH A | 2 | 79.6% | +20.0% |
| ABBASI, ABDUL HADI | 2 | 0.0% | +0.0% |
| IMAM, TANZIM | 1 | 71.2% | +27.2% |
Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 2 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19478906 | ADAPTER ASSEMBLIES FOR SURGICAL DEVICE | CHUKWURAH, NATHANIEL C | — |
| 19168380 | SURGICAL STAPLING APPARATUS WITH LOCKOUT ASSEMBLIES | CHUKWURAH, NATHANIEL C | — |
Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18192273 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MISSED BREATH DETECTION AND INDICATION | AGAHI, PUYA | 156d overdue |
| 18877132 | REAL-TIME STAPLING TISSUE PERFUSION ASSESSMENT | MATTSON, SEAN D | 15d overdue |
| 18347667 | PHRENIC NERVE INTEGRITY AND RAMPED-UP BURST | TU, AURELIE H | 8d |
| 18247016 | VIDEO LARYNGOSCOPE SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR QUANTITATIVELY ASSESSMENT TRACHEA | MATTHEWS, TESSA M | 14d |
| 19087802 | POWERED SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS OF IDENTIFYING TISSUE TYPES THEREWITH | LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 34d |
| 18356330 | CONCENTRIC BREATHING CIRCUIT WITH BOOST ZONE | SUL, DOUGLAS YOUNG | 41d |
| 19478944 | SURGICAL STAPLING DEVICE WITH ARTICULATING TOOL ASSEMBLY | IMAM, TANZIM | — |
| 19162434 | STAPLE CARTRIDGE WITH MOVABLE KNIFE | CHUKWURAH, NATHANIEL C | — |
Cases in front of an examiner whose interview lift is 10 percentage points or more — i.e. interviewed cases historically resolve more favorably than non-interviewed ones. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.
| App # | Title | Examiner | Due in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19076558 | HAND-HELD SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS | LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 9d overdue |
| 18856325 | COMPRESSION ANASTOMOSIS RINGS WITH ADJUSTABLE COMPRESSION PROFILE | BYRD, BRIGID K | 28d |
| 19087802 | POWERED SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS OF IDENTIFYING TISSUE TYPES THEREWITH | LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 34d |
| 19213082 | HANDHELD ELECTROMECHANICAL SURGICAL SYSTEM | LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 84d |
| 19478906 | ADAPTER ASSEMBLIES FOR SURGICAL DEVICE | CHUKWURAH, NATHANIEL C | — |
| 19478944 | SURGICAL STAPLING DEVICE WITH ARTICULATING TOOL ASSEMBLY | IMAM, TANZIM | — |
| 19168380 | SURGICAL STAPLING APPARATUS WITH LOCKOUT ASSEMBLIES | CHUKWURAH, NATHANIEL C | — |
| 19162434 | STAPLE CARTRIDGE WITH MOVABLE KNIFE | CHUKWURAH, NATHANIEL C | — |
| Client (Assignee) | Pending OAs |
|---|---|
| Covidien L.P. | 59 |
| WARSAW ORTHOPEDIC, INC. | 1 |
| Trustee Of Dartmouth College | 1 |
| DEPUY SYNTHES PRODUCTS, INC. | 1 |
| Art Unit | Apps |
|---|---|
| 3794 | 19 |
| 3731 | 14 |
| 3771 | 8 |
| 3785 | 6 |
| 3795 | 4 |
| 3791 | 3 |
| 3773 | 2 |
| 3679 | 1 |
| 3798 | 1 |
| 2677 | 1 |
| App # | Title | Client | Examiner | Art Unit | Statutes | Status | Due in | AI | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19478906 | ADAPTER ASSEMBLIES FOR SURGICAL DEVICE | Covidien LP | CHUKWURAH, NATHANIEL C | 3731 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 27, 2025 |
| 19478944 | SURGICAL STAPLING DEVICE WITH ARTICULATING TOOL ASSEMBLY | Covidien LP | IMAM, TANZIM | 3731 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 27, 2025 |
| 19168380 | SURGICAL STAPLING APPARATUS WITH LOCKOUT ASSEMBLIES | Covidien LP | CHUKWURAH, NATHANIEL C | 3731 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 24, 2025 |
| 19162434 | STAPLE CARTRIDGE WITH MOVABLE KNIFE | Covidien LP | CHUKWURAH, NATHANIEL C | 3731 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 05, 2025 |
| 19162428 | STAPLING DEVICE WITH FIRING LOCKOUT ASSEMBLY | Covidien LP | PALMER, LUCAS E A | 3731 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 05, 2025 |
| 19270710 | SURGICAL PLATFORM SYSTEM | Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc. | CONLEY, FREDRICK C | 3679 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 16, 2025 |
| 19270708 | SURGICAL STAPLER WITH UNIVERSAL TIP RELOAD | Covidien LP | LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 3731 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 16, 2025 |
| 19258121 | JAW DRIVE ARM FOR SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS AND SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATING THE SAME | Covidien LP | BYRD, BRIGID K | 3771 | §112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 02, 2025 |
| 19213082 | HANDHELD ELECTROMECHANICAL SURGICAL SYSTEM | Covidien LP | LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 3731 | §103Other | Final Rejection | 84d | Pending | May 20, 2025 |
| 19087802 | POWERED SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS OF IDENTIFYING TISSUE TYPES THEREWITH | Covidien LP | LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 3731 | §103§112 | Final Rejection | 34d | Pending | Mar 24, 2025 |
| 19081488 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING ARCING | Covidien LP | ZIEGLER, ABIGAIL M | 3794 | §102§103§112Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 17, 2025 |
| 19076558 | HAND-HELD SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS | Covidien LP | LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 3731 | DP | Non-Final OA | 9d overdue | Pending | Mar 11, 2025 |
| 19053802 | METHODS FOR OPEN DISSECTION USING SEALING INSTRUMENT | Covidien LP | SHOULDERS, ANNIE LEE | 3794 | §103DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Feb 14, 2025 |
| 19099105 | GRAPHIC DISPLAY FOR POWERED SURGICAL STAPLERS | Covidien LP | WITTENSCHLAEGER, THOMAS M | 3731 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 28, 2025 |
| 19099111 | Handheld Electromechanical Surgical System With Low Tissue Compression Indiction | Covidien LP | WITTENSCHLAEGER, THOMAS M | 3731 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 28, 2025 |
| 19036684 | UNIVERSAL SURGICAL FOOTSWITCH TOGGLING | Covidien LP | COLLINS, SEAN W | 3794 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 24, 2025 |
| 19025436 | ULTRASONIC SURGICAL INSTRUMENT WITH COOLING SYSTEM | Covidien LP | FISHBACK, ASHLEY LAUREN | 3771 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 16, 2025 |
| 19014837 | INDEPENDENT CONTROL OF DUAL RF ELECTROSURGERY | Covidien LP | GUERRERO ROSARIO, ANA VERUSKA | 3794 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 09, 2025 |
| 18877132 | REAL-TIME STAPLING TISSUE PERFUSION ASSESSMENT | Covidien LP | MATTSON, SEAN D | 3798 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | 15d overdue | Pending | Dec 19, 2024 |
| 18963134 | VIDEO LARYNGOSCOPE INTEGRATION WITH PATIENT ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORD | Covidien LP | COTRONEO, STEVEN J | 3773 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 27, 2024 |
| 18868951 | ELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE TOMOGRAPHY DEVICE AND SYSTEM | Trustee Of Dartmouth College | FERNANDES, PATRICK M | 3791 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 25, 2024 |
| 18947767 | SURGICAL SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR TREATING TISSUE | Covidien LP | CLARK, RYAN T | 3794 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 14, 2024 |
| 18946662 | DRIVE ROD AND KNIFE BLADE FOR AN ARTICULATING SURGICAL INSTRUMENT | Covidien LP | GABR, MOHAMED GAMIL | 3771 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Nov 13, 2024 |
| 18940435 | SLOW SPEED STAPLE AND STAPLE RELAXATION FOR STAPLING OPTIMIZATION | Covidien LP | LONG, ROBERT FRANKLIN | 3731 | §102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 07, 2024 |
| 18929053 | NON-STICK COATED ELECTROSURGICAL INSTRUMENTS AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME | Covidien LP | PEFFLEY, MICHAEL F | 3794 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 28, 2024 |
| 18913410 | ELECTROSURGICAL FORCEPS FOR GRASPING, TREATING, AND/OR DIVIDING TISSUE | Covidien LP | DEMIE, TIGIST S | 3794 | DP | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 11, 2024 |
| 18856325 | COMPRESSION ANASTOMOSIS RINGS WITH ADJUSTABLE COMPRESSION PROFILE | Covidien LP | BYRD, BRIGID K | 3771 | §103 | Final Rejection | 28d | Pending | Oct 11, 2024 |
| 18909766 | ADAPTIVE ANTI-TWITCH ALGORITHM FOR POWERED SURGICAL DEVICES | Covidien LP | HIBBERT, MARY C | 3731 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 08, 2024 |
| 18902152 | VESSEL SEALING INSTRUMENT WITH SEAL PLATES FOR DIRECTING THE FLOW OF ENERGY | Covidien LP | VAHDAT, KHADIJEH A | 3794 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Sep 30, 2024 |
| 18887931 | SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATING ULTRASONIC AND ELECTROSURGICAL FUNCTIONALITY | Covidien LP | VAHDAT, KHADIJEH A | 3794 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Sep 17, 2024 |
| 18775043 | DRIVE AND ARTICULATION MECHANISMS FOR SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS FOR USE IN ROBOTIC SURGICAL SYSTEMS | Covidien LP | LABRANCHE, BROOKE N | 3771 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 17, 2024 |
| 18775319 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING DELIVERY OF ELECTROSURGICAL ENERGY | Covidien LP | CLARK, RYAN T | 3794 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 17, 2024 |
| 18760968 | MACHINE-LEARNING IMAGE RECOGNITION FOR CLASSIFYING CONDITIONS BASED ON VENTILATORY DATA | Covidien LP | RUSH, ERIC | 2677 | §103§112Other | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Jul 01, 2024 |
| 18648615 | CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR ELECTROSURGICAL GENERATOR | Covidien LP | PREMRAJ, CATHERINE C | 3794 | §102§103Other | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 29, 2024 |
| 18630573 | DISPOSABLE ENDOSCOPE DRIVE | Covidien LP | ABBASI, ABDUL HADI | 3795 | §103 | Final Rejection | — | Pending | Apr 09, 2024 |
| 18623424 | LIGHT GUIDE PIPE FOR UNIFORM ENDOSCOPIC ILLUMINATION | Covidien LP | ABBASI, ABDUL HADI | 3795 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 01, 2024 |
| 18600292 | SELF-GUIDING CATHETER WITH PROXIMITY SENSOR | Covidien LP | LALONDE, ALEXANDRA ELIZABETH | 3783 | §102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Mar 08, 2024 |
| 18407601 | HANDHELD ELECTROMECHANICAL SURGICAL SYSTEM | Covidien LP | GERTH, KATIE L | 3731 | §103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jan 09, 2024 |
| 18541299 | DIRECT LARYNGOSCOPE TRAINING MODE FOR VIDEO LARYNGOSCOPE | Covidien LP | ROWLAND, STEVE | 3715 | §103 | Final Rejection | 19d overdue | Pending | Dec 15, 2023 |
| 18558768 | AUXILIARY DEVICES FOR STAPLING APPARATUS | Covidien LP | MCGINNITY, JAMES RYAN | 3771 | §102 | Non-Final OA | 29d | Pending | Nov 03, 2023 |
| 18558632 | BLADE OPTIMIZATION FOR ROBOTIC ASSISTED SEALING INSTRUMENT | Covidien LP | LONG, SARAH A | 3771 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Nov 02, 2023 |
| 18497051 | PATIENT-VENTILATOR ASYNCHRONY DASHBOARD | Covidien LP | RUSSELL, SYDNEY REYES | 3785 | §101§102§103 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Oct 30, 2023 |
| 18227904 | DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR GRASPING, TREATING, AND DIVIDING TISSUE | Covidien LP | GOOD, SAMANTHA M | 3794 | §102§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jul 29, 2023 |
| 18356330 | CONCENTRIC BREATHING CIRCUIT WITH BOOST ZONE | Covidien LP | SUL, DOUGLAS YOUNG | 3785 | §103§112 | Non-Final OA | 41d | Pending | Jul 21, 2023 |
| 18347667 | PHRENIC NERVE INTEGRITY AND RAMPED-UP BURST | Covidien LP | TU, AURELIE H | 3791 | §101§103 | Final Rejection | 8d | Pending | Jul 06, 2023 |
| 18210779 | ELECTROSURGICAL FORCEPS | Covidien LP | CLARK, RYAN T | 3794 | §102 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Jun 16, 2023 |
| 18325407 | STEERABLE ENDOSCOPE WITH MOTION ALIGNMENT | Covidien AG | SHARPLESS, CHRISTEN ALICIA | 3795 | §103 | Non-Final OA | 28d overdue | Pending | May 30, 2023 |
| 18296049 | REPLACEABLE FILTER SYSTEMS FOR MECHANICAL VENTILATION | Covidien LP | SIPPEL, RACHEL T | 3785 | §101§102§103§112 | Non-Final OA | — | Pending | Apr 05, 2023 |
| 18192273 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MISSED BREATH DETECTION AND INDICATION | Covidien LP | AGAHI, PUYA | 3791 | §101Other | Non-Final OA | 156d overdue | Pending | Mar 29, 2023 |
| 18247016 | VIDEO LARYNGOSCOPE SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR QUANTITATIVELY ASSESSMENT TRACHEA | Covidien LP | MATTHEWS, TESSA M | 3773 | §102§103 | Final Rejection | 14d | Pending | Mar 28, 2023 |
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Start Free Trial83.9% of resolved applications prosecuted by Womble (Previously Lewis Roca) were allowed, across 35,753 applications in USPTO records.
3.21 office actions per allowed application on average.
62 pending office actions as of October 2026, for 4 clients, before 46 examiners in 13 art units.
