## 3 Results
### Linear Staplers  
Linear devices are employed mostly in gastrointestinal procedures [26]. Other uses of linear staplers are abdominal surgery, gynecology, vascular surgery, and pediatric surgery. Table 2 summarizes the principal characteristics of linear staplers in commerce by manufacturer. In particular, the commercial name and product code are reported according to the manufacturer. Other features that are reported include the staple line length, with values ranging between 30 mm and 60 mm for all manufacturers, while 45 mm and 90 mm sizes are proposed by everyone except Ethicon. Staple height depends on the cartridge mounted on the stapler: values vary from 2.5 mm proposed by Ethicon and Covidien for vascular applications to 4.8 mm for all the manufacturers for thicker tissues. For applications with a medium thickness, 3.5 mm is the chosen value, with only Sinolinks and Ethicon offering 3.8 mm and 3.85 mm alternatives. The height of the closed staple is quite standardized: 1.5 mm is ensured by all manufacturers, and 2 mm is available in every catalog except from Sinolinks, which offers a 1.8 mm alternative. Several rows placed by the instruments are also standardized--only Covidien and Ethicon propose a version of the stapler specific for vascular applications, which grants a height of 1 mm but requires three rows of staples instead of two. The exceeding row is determined to be useful in providing a secure anastomosis and avoiding blood leakage issues. Several studies in the literature analyzed the effects of linear stapler suturing and handsewn methods [26; 27; 28]. In a review, [PERSON] et al. [27] compare linear stapled versus handsewn methods for ileoconic anastomosis. The authors analyzed different outcome measures like clinical and radiological anastomotic leakage, anastomotic stricture, hemorrhage, and time. Their results showed that stapled functional end-to-end ileocolic anastomosis is associated with fewer anastomotic leaks than handsewn anastomosis and should be considered the gold standard. A meta-analysis of [PERSON] et al. [26] analyzes stapled vs. hand suture closure of loop ileostomy. The authors affirm that stapled loop ileostomy reversal is superior to hand sutures in reducing postoperative small bowel obstruction, operation time, and hospital stay, and therefore, stapled side-to-side anastomosis should be considered the preferred technique. According to the study of [PERSON] et al. [9], in which three linear staplers of different companies were compared, small differences emerged between the devices regarding anastomotic pressure resistance and tensile strength. Many studies have confirmed the advantages of using linear staplers over circular staplers. Regarding a study on 213 patients with gastric cancer who underwent laparoscopic total gastrectomy, although mean operation time in the linear stapler group was longer than the circular stapler group, using linear staplers, anastomosis leakages and costs related to anastomosis were lower, and anastomosis stenosis did not occur. These advantages led scientists to prefer linear staplers in laparoscopic total gastrectomy [6]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline
**Keywords** & Surgical stapler or stapling device or stapling apparatus \\  & or endo stapler or circular stapler or linear stapler or cutting stapler \\ \hline
**Assignee** & Ethicon Endo-Surgery or Covidien or Panther Medical or Sinolinks \\ \hline
**Classification** & A61B-017/068 or A61B-017/072 or A61B-017/115 \\ \hline
**Publication Country** & WO or US or EP \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Patent search queries using OrbitExpress Questel software. Linear Staplers with Bioresolvable Staples  
Among all the manufacturers, only Covidien and CooperSurgical (Trumbull, Connecticut, Stati Uniti) include linear staplers mounting absorbable staples. The device of Covidien, TA Premium Polysorb (see Table 3), has the same design and functioning as traditional linear staplers. The available staple length is declared to be 55 mm.