Tissue discrimination and applications in medical procedures
First Claim
1. A method of identifying a characterized body tissue located adjacent to a conductive element of a probe comprising the steps of:
- a) applying an electrical signal to the conductive element;
b) determining characteristics of the applied signal, including a phase angle; and
c) identifying a type of characterized body tissue located adjacent to the conductive element of a probe based on the phase angle of the applied signal, wherein said characterized body tissue comprises at least one of cortical bone and cancellous bone.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for discriminating tissue types, controlling the level of therapy to tissue, and determining the health or a known tissue by measuring the characteristics an electrical signal applied to conductive element located within or by the tissue. Additionally, the system and method may be used for determining whether the conductive tip of a pedicle probe or pedicle screw is located in one of cortical bone, cancellous bone, and cortical bone near a boundary with soft tissue, whether the conductive tip of a cannula is located adjacent to one of nerve tissue and annulus tissue, and whether the conductive tip of a cathode is located adjacent to one of nerve tissue and prostate gland tissue.
484 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of identifying a characterized body tissue located adjacent to a conductive element of a probe comprising the steps of:
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a) applying an electrical signal to the conductive element; b) determining characteristics of the applied signal, including a phase angle; and c) identifying a type of characterized body tissue located adjacent to the conductive element of a probe based on the phase angle of the applied signal, wherein said characterized body tissue comprises at least one of cortical bone and cancellous bone. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An article of manufacture for use in identifying a characterized body tissue located adjacent to a conductive element of a probe, the article of manufacture comprising computer readable storage media including program logic embedded therein that causes control circuitry to perform the steps of:
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a) applying a signal to the conductive element; b) determining characteristics of the applied signal, including a phase angle; and c) identifying a type of characterized body tissue located adjacent to the conductive element of a probe based on the phase angle of the applied signal, wherein said characterized body tissue comprises at least one of cortical bone and cancellous bone. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus for use in identifying a characterized body tissue located adjacent to a conductive element of a probe, the apparatus including:
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a) means for applying a signal to the conductive element; b) means for determining characteristics of the applied signal, including a phase angle of the signal; and c) means for identifying a type of characterized body tissue located adjacent to the conductive element of a probe based on the phase angle of the applied signal, wherein said characterized body tissue comprises at least one of cortical bone and cancellous bone. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification