Minimally invasive surgical probe for tissue identification and retrieval and method of use
First Claim
1. A hand-holdable instrument for minimally invasive percutaneous introduction within the body of a living being for detecting radiation emanating from radioactively tagged tissue within the being'"'"'s body, said instrument comprising a probe and at least one, thin, elongated extendable member, said probe including a radiation detector arranged to determine the location of the radioactively tagged tissue from within the body of the being to enable the instrument to be moved so that said radiation detector is adjacent to the radioactively tagged tissue, said at least one extendable member being located adjacent said radiation detector and arranged to be extended out of said probe to ensnare the radioactively tagged tissue and to secure it as a unit to said probe, whereupon said instrument may be moved with respect to the being'"'"'s body to remove the radioactively tagged tissue as a unit from the being'"'"'s body so as to cause minimal disruption of the tagged tissue.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A probe for detecting and removing radioactively tagged tissue, e.g., a sentinel lymph node, within the body of a living being. The probe is arranged to be inserted through a small percutaneous portal into the patient'"'"'s body and is movable to various positions adjacent the tagged tissue to detect the presence of radiation therefrom so that the probe can be positioned immediately adjacent that tissue to ensnare or trap it. The probe can then be removed from the being'"'"'s body, carrying the tagged tissue with it. The probe may be constructed to make use of a scintillation crystal, a collimator, adjustable or fixed, and a backshielding lightpipe.
95 Citations
65 Claims
- 1. A hand-holdable instrument for minimally invasive percutaneous introduction within the body of a living being for detecting radiation emanating from radioactively tagged tissue within the being'"'"'s body, said instrument comprising a probe and at least one, thin, elongated extendable member, said probe including a radiation detector arranged to determine the location of the radioactively tagged tissue from within the body of the being to enable the instrument to be moved so that said radiation detector is adjacent to the radioactively tagged tissue, said at least one extendable member being located adjacent said radiation detector and arranged to be extended out of said probe to ensnare the radioactively tagged tissue and to secure it as a unit to said probe, whereupon said instrument may be moved with respect to the being'"'"'s body to remove the radioactively tagged tissue as a unit from the being'"'"'s body so as to cause minimal disruption of the tagged tissue.
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23. A method of removing radioactively tagged tissue within a living being'"'"'s body, the radioactively tagged tissue having radiation emanating therefrom, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a probe device having a radiation detector and at least one, thin elongated extendable member, (b) minimally invasively introducing said probe device within the body of the being for detecting radiation emanating from the radioactively tagged tissue within the being'"'"'s body by said radiation detector, (c) positioning the probe device so that said radiation detector is located adjacent the radioactively tagged tissue, (d) operating said probe device to cause said at least one extendable member to ensnare the radioactively tagged tissue, and (e) removing the probe and the snared tissue as a unit from the being'"'"'s body so as to cause minimal disruption of the tagged tissue. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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- 35. A hand-holdable instrument for minimally invasive percutaneous introduction within the body of a living being for detecting radiation emanating from a lymph node tagged with a radioactive agent and for efficiently removing that lymph node from the body of the being, said instrument comprising a probe and at least one, thin, elongated extendable member, said probe including a radiation detector arranged to determine the location of the radioactively tagged lymph node from within the body of the being to enable the instrument to be moved so that said radiation detector is adjacent to the radioactively tagged lymph node, said at least one extendable member being constructed and arranged to be extended out of said probe to engage into the radioactively tagged lymph node with minimal disturbance of the tissue of the lymph node to ensnare the lymph node, whereupon said instrument may be moved with respect to the being'"'"'s body to efficaciously remove the radioactively tagged lymph node as a unit from the being'"'"'s body so as to cause minimal disruption of the tagged lymph node.
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57. A method of removing a lymph node tagged with a radioactive agent from the body of a living being, the lymph node having radiation emanating therefrom, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a probe device having a radiation detector and at least one, thin elongated extendable member, (b) introducing said device within the body of the being for detecting radiation emanating from said radioactively tagged lymph node by said radiation detector, (c) positioning said probe device so that said radiation detector is located adjacent the radioactively tagged lymph node, (d) operating said probe device to cause said at least one extendable member to ensnare the radioactively tagged lymph node, and (e) removing said probe device and the snared lymph node as a unit from the being'"'"'s body so as to cause minimal disruption of the tagged lymph node. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
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Specification