TELESCOPING BIOPSY NEEDLE

• US 20160331358A1
• Filed: 12/12/2014
• Published: 11/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Inventors: Gordon, Lucas S.
• Granted Patent: US 10,856,855 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/0233 Pointed or sharp biopsy instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/0283 with vacuum aspiration, e.g. caused by retractable plunger or by connected syringe A61B10/025, A61B10/0266 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/04 Endoscopic instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2010/045 Needles pointed biopsy devices with vacuum aspiration A61B10/0283
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2061 using shape-sensors, e.g. fiber shape sensors with Bragg gratings
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/20 Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis

Abstract

What is described is a minimally invasive system comprising an elongate sheath and an elongate instrument slidably disposed within a lumen of the sheath. The sheath includes a flexible tube portion including a plurality of slots, a sheath element, and a rigid tube section, wherein the flexible tube portion is fixedly coupled to a distal end of the sheath element, and the rigid tube section is fixedly coupled to a distal end of the flexible tube. The lumen extends through the sheath element, the flexible tube portion, and the rigid tube section and defines a longitudinal axis of the sheath. The instrument includes a rigid distal portion adapted to slide between a retracted configuration in which the rigid distal portion is retracted within the rigid tube section and an extended configuration in which the rigid distal portion at least partially extends from the rigid tube section.

Claims

1. A medical device comprising:

an elongate sheath comprising a rigid distal portion and a flexible proximal portion, the elongate sheath defining a first lumen;

an elongate instrument slidably disposed at least partially within the first lumen, the elongate instrument comprising a rigid distal section defining a second lumen; and

a holding mechanism for releasably maintaining the rigid distal section in an extended position from the rigid distal portion.

2. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the rigid distal section is fully retractable into the elongate sheath.

3. The medical device of claim 2, wherein a length of the rigid distal section is less than a length of the rigid distal portion.

4. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the holding mechanism comprises at least one engagement feature between the rigid distal section and the rigid distal portion.

5. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the holding mechanism comprises a manual locking mechanism.

6. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the elongate instrument further comprises a flexible proximal section fixedly coupled to the rigid distal section.

7. The medical device of claim 6:

wherein the flexible proximal portion defines a needle lumen and a sensor lumen;

wherein the needle lumen is in fluid communication with the second lumen; and

the sensor lumen is not in fluid communication with the second lumen.

8. The medical device of claim 7, wherein the sensor lumen is configured to maintain an axial position of a sensor system in substantially parallel alignment with a longitudinal axis of the elongate instrument extending between a proximal end of the elongate instrument and the distal end of the elongate instrument.

9. The medical device of claim 7, further comprising a plug element disposed within the sensor lumen adjacent to the rigid distal section of the elongate instrument, the plug element configured to preclude fluid communication between the second lumen and the sensor lumen.

10. The medical device of claim 1, further comprising a sensor system in substantially parallel alignment with a longitudinal axis of the elongate sheath extending between a proximal end of the elongate sheath and a distal end of the elongate sheath.

11. The medical device of claim 10, wherein the sensor system is configured to measure a shape of the elongate instrument.

12. The medical device of claim 10, wherein the sensor system is configured to measure a position of the elongate instrument.

13. The medical device of claim 1, further comprising a removable sensor stylet including a sensor system and configured to be slidably received within the elongate instrument.

14. The medical device of claim 1, further comprising a second elongate sheath defining a third lumen, wherein the elongate sheath is slidably disposed at least partially within the third lumen.

15. The medical device of claim 1, wherein the rigid distal section includes an outer diameter that closely approximates an inner diameter of the rigid distal portion.

16. A method comprising:

navigating an elongate sheath comprising a rigid distal portion through a tortuous pathway to anatomical tissue of interest;

extending an elongate instrument comprising a rigid distal section from a lumen of the elongate sheath;

maintaining the rigid distal section in an extended position from the rigid distal portion; and

inserting the rigid distal section and the rigid distal portion into the anatomical tissue of interest.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising aspirating a biopsy sample of the anatomical tissue of interest.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein maintaining the rigid distal section in an extended position from the rigid distal portion comprises engaging an engagement feature between the rigid distal section and the rigid distal portion.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein maintaining the rigid distal section in an extended position from the rigid distal portion comprises actuating a manual locking mechanism.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein navigating the elongate sheath comprises receiving information from a shape sensor.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein navigating the elongate sheath comprises receiving information from a position sensor.