Layer of material for use with tissue examination device
First Claim
1. Apparatus comprisinga tissue examination device that includes a plurality of pressure sensors that produce signals in response to pressure imposed thereon as the sensors are pressed against tissue, a housing having a distal region defining a maximum dimension, the pressure sensors being disposed on said distal region of the housing, and a processor for processing said signals to detect whether an underlying tissue structure is present in the tissue being examined, and a layer of material comprising a sensor covering portion configured to be disposed over the sensors and to distribute the imposed pressure in a selected manner, and an attachment portion extending the sensor covering portion to define a cavity for receiving the distal region of the housing, said attachment portion being smaller than the maximum dimension defined by the distal region of the housing and being flexible so that the attachment portion can be stretched over the distal region of the housing when the distal region is inserted into the cavity and tends to return to its original size to cause the attachment portion to engage against the housing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A layer of material is provided for covering a plurality of sensors when using those sensors to examine tissue. The layer material is used with a tissue examination device that has a plurality of pressure sensors that produce signals in response to pressure imposed on the sensor as the sensors are pressed against tissue. The device also has a processor for processing those signals to detect whether an underlying tissue structure is present in the tissue being examined. The layer of material is configured to be disposed over the sensors and to distribute the imposed pressure in a selected manner. The processor can also process the signals to generate an image representative of the underlying tissue structure and a display then can display that image.
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Citations
67 Claims
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1. Apparatus comprising
a tissue examination device that includes a plurality of pressure sensors that produce signals in response to pressure imposed thereon as the sensors are pressed against tissue, a housing having a distal region defining a maximum dimension, the pressure sensors being disposed on said distal region of the housing, and a processor for processing said signals to detect whether an underlying tissue structure is present in the tissue being examined, and a layer of material comprising a sensor covering portion configured to be disposed over the sensors and to distribute the imposed pressure in a selected manner, and an attachment portion extending the sensor covering portion to define a cavity for receiving the distal region of the housing, said attachment portion being smaller than the maximum dimension defined by the distal region of the housing and being flexible so that the attachment portion can be stretched over the distal region of the housing when the distal region is inserted into the cavity and tends to return to its original size to cause the attachment portion to engage against the housing.
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15. A layer of material for a tissue examination device that includes a plurality of pressure sensors that produce signals in response to pressure imposed thereon as the sensors are pressed against tissue, a housing having a distal region defining a maximum dimension, the pressure sensors being disposed on said distal region of the housing, and a processor for processing said signals to detect whether an underlying tissue structure is present in the tissue being examined, the layer of material comprising
a sensor covering portion configured to be disposed over the sensors and to distribute the imposed pressure in a selected manner, and an attachment portion extending from the sensor covering portion to define a cavity for receiving the distal region of the housing, said attachment portion being smaller than the maximum dimension defined by the distal region of the housing and being flexible so that the attachment portion can be stretched over the distal region of the housing when the distal region is inserted into the cavity and tends to return to its original size to cause the attachment portion to engage against the housing.
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25. Apparatus comprising
a tissue examination device that includes a plurality of pressure sensors that produce signals in response to pressure imposed thereon as the sensors are pressed against tissue, and a housing having a distal region defining a maximum dimension, the pressure sensors being disposed on said distal region or the housing, and a layer of material comprising a sensor covering portion configured to be disposed over the sensors and to distribute the imposed pressure in a selected manner, and an attachment portion extending from the sensor covering portion to define a cavity for receiving the distal region of the housing, said attachment portion being smaller than the maximum dimension defined by the distal region of the housing and being flexible so that the attachment portion can be stretched over the distal region of the housing when the distal region is inserted into the cavity.
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31. A layer of material for a tissue examination device that includes a plurality of pressure sensors that produce signals in response to pressure imposed thereon as the sensors are pressed against tissue, and a housing having a distal region defining a maximum dimension, the pressure sensors being disposed on said distal region of the housing, the layer of material comprising
a sensor covering portion configured to be disposed over the sensors and to distribute the imposed pressure in a selected manner, and an attachment portion extending from the sensor covering portion to define a cavity for receiving the distal region of the housing, said attachment portion being smaller than the maximum dimension defined by the distal region of the housing, and being flexible so that the attachment portion can be stretched over the distal region of the housing when the distal region is inserted into the cavity and tends to return to its original size to cause the attachment portion to engage against the housing.
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36. A method for examining tissue comprising
providing a tissue examination device that includes a plurality of pressure sensors that produce signals in response to pressure imposed thereon as the sensors are pressed against tissue, and a housing having a distal region defining a maximum dimension, the pressure sensors being disposed on said distal region of the housing, providing a layer of material that comprises a sensor covering portion, and a flexible attachment portion extending from the sensor covering portion to define a cavity for receiving the distal region of the housing, said attachment portion being smaller than the maximum dimension defined by the distal region of the housing, inserting the distal region of the housing into the cavity and stretching the attachment portion over the distal region of the housing so that the attachment portion tends to return to its original size to cause the attachment portion to engage against the housing with the sensor covering portion being disposed over the sensors to distribute the imposed pressure in a selected manner, and pressing the sensors against the tissue to examine the tissue.
Specification