Hypodermic needle with weeping tip and method of use
First Claim
1. A surgical needle comprising:
- a nonporous hollow needle shaft having a proximal end adapted to mate with a surgical instrument, a porous distal portion in fluid-tight connection to the needle shaft, and a point that is open, closed, or has a solid partial plug, wherein the porous distal portion is adapted to cause a liquid injectate to weep or ooze therefrom multidirectionally under injection pressure while the point and distal portion of the needle are inserted into a body surface.
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Abstract
The invention provides surgical needles with a porous distal portion from which a liquid injectate will weep or ooze multidirectionally under injection pressure while the porous distal portion of the needle is inserted into a body surface. The porous distal portion of the needle can be fabricated from a porous carbon, metal, ceramic or polymer and preferably has a decreasing gradient of impedance to fluid flowing to the point of the needle to compensate for the falling off of injection pressure as fluid moves towards the point, thereby ensuring uniform weeping of the injectate along the injection course. The needle is adapted for attachment to a catheter or syringe. In another embodiment, a surgical assemblage is provided wherein a porous distal portion having similar fluid flow characteristics is located along the distal end of a catheter, and a needle point is attached to the distal end of the catheter (e.g., a steerable catheter) for piercing tissue. A guidance catheter can be used to direct the invention devices to a remote internal injection site. The invention devices and methods can be used to inject fluids (including those containing nucleic acids for gene therapy) into interior body walls or tissue, such as a beating heart, without substantial loss of fluid and without substantial damage to tissue caused by injectate.
130 Citations
55 Claims
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1. A surgical needle comprising:
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a nonporous hollow needle shaft having a proximal end adapted to mate with a surgical instrument, a porous distal portion in fluid-tight connection to the needle shaft, and a point that is open, closed, or has a solid partial plug, wherein the porous distal portion is adapted to cause a liquid injectate to weep or ooze therefrom multidirectionally under injection pressure while the point and distal portion of the needle are inserted into a body surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 50, 55)
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46. A surgical assemblage comprising:
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a hypodermic needle with a sharp distal point that is open, closed, or has a solid partial plug, and a catheter with a porous distal portion attached to the distal end of the needle, wherein the porous distal portion is adapted to cause a liquid injectate to weep or ooze multidirectionally therefrom into surrounding tissue under injection pressure while inserted into a body surface. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49)
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51. A surgical assemblage comprising:
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a nonporous needle with a sharp distal point, said needle being adapted at the proximal end for attachment to the distal end of a catheter, and a catheter comprising a porous distal portion and a distal end that is adapted for attachment to the needle, wherein the porous distal portion is adapted to cause a liquid injectate to weep or ooze multidirectionally therefrom into surrounding tissue under injection pressure while the porous distal portion of the catheter is inserted into a body surface. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54)
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Specification