Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children now has a patent for a suture anchor that a surgeon can loosen after surgery with a magnet held outside the patient’s body. [Composite illustration: Sources, USPTO Patent #12685525-B2; DI Studio]
Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children won a patent for a suture anchor that a surgeon can loosen after surgery with a magnet held outside the patient’s body. All three listed inventors work in North Texas.
A suture anchor fastens a stitch to bone. In this design, a magnet built into the anchor rests in a first position that keeps the suture under tension. Bringing an external magnet near the patient shifts the internal magnet to a second position, thereby releasing the tension in the suture. The patent covers the anchor itself, the related compositions and the method of moving it. It does not specify which procedures the device is meant for.
The assignee is the Dallas nonprofit pediatric hospital. Brad Anthony Niese of Southlake, Henry Ellis of Frisco and Philip L. Wilson of Pilot Point are the listed inventors.
It was one of 109 North Texas patents issued during the week of July 21. The region ranked No. 10 among the 250 metros tracked. Electricity and physics classifications accounted for 69 of the week’s patents, while human necessities, the category that covers medical devices, drew 11.
The application was filed April 9, 2025, and issued as Patent No. 12685525-B2 after 468 days, one of the faster turnarounds among the patents granted in the region that week.
Beyond Scottish Rite, other organizations with notable patents granted the week of July 21 include:
Texas Instruments (Dallas), which led the region with 21 patents, including a regenerative braking controller that pulls braking torque values from a lookup table as an electric motor slows (No. 12686280-B2) and a projection system that shows two different views of the same digital content by firing light at two angles in alternating time periods (No. 12687737-B2).
Toyota Motor North America (Plano), with a phone-based system (No. 12685468-B2) that screens a driver for intoxication using a battery of cognitive tests covering typing speed and accuracy, slurred speech, reaction time, depth perception and puzzle solving. Most of its 24 listed inventors are based in North Texas.
Halliburton Energy Services (Houston), with six patents drawn largely from its Carrollton engineering team, among them a downhole unit that spins sediment out of oil and water underground (No. 12687098-B2) and a tool that tests whether a downhole device completed its job and reports the result to the surface (No. 12687104-B2).
Caris MPI (Irving), with methods (No. 12687554-B2) for molecular profiling of tumors to identify treatments not initially associated with a given disease. The patent issued in 281 days, among the fastest turnarounds that week.
Frito-Lay North America (Plano), with a touchless automatic dispenser (No. 12688748-B2) for snack products.
Patent information is provided by Joe Chiarella, founder of patent analytics company Patent Index and publisher of The Inventiveness Index. For additional details on the patents granted below, search the USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database.
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