Histological facilitation systems and methods

• US 20100081919A1
• Filed: 09/29/2008
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Muriel Y., Wood, Lowell L. JR., Rivet, Dennis J., Hyde, Roderick A., Wood, Victoria Y.H., Leuthardt, Eric C., Olson, Jonathan E.
• Application Number:
  US12/286,529
• Publication Number:
  US 20100081919A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/411
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/015 Control of fluid supply or evacuation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/0096 Casings for storing test samples A61B10/0038 and A61B10/0045 take precedence; preservation of living parts of the human or animal body A01N1/02; containers for retaining a material to be analysed B01L3/50; containers for enzymology or microbiology C12M1/16; swab-sampler being part of enzymology or microbiology container C12M1/30
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/02 Instruments for taking cell samples or for biopsy A61B10/0038 and A61B10/0045 take precedence; needle locating or guiding means A61B17/3403; samplers for enzymology or microbiology C12M1/26; sampling or preparing biological specimens G01N33/48
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/06 Biopsy forceps , e.g. with cup-shaped jaws
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/02 by cooling, e.g. cryogenic techniques devices for cooling specific reflex points of the body within cell-life limits A61H39/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2010/0225 for taking multiple samples
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/0212 using an instrument inserted into a body lumen, e.g. catheter
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/395 with marking agent for marking skin or other tissue

Abstract

Systems, methods, and other modalities are described for generating or otherwise handling images or other data indicating (a) an extraction of chemically treated tissue frozen in vivo, (b) a treatment of a tissue sample in a chamber extended into tissue of an organism, and/or (c) cells to which an optical enhancement material was applied in vivo. Several contexts in which such indications facilitate histological evaluation are likewise described.

Claims

1. A medical or veterinary system comprising:

first means for applying a treatment material to tissue of an organism in vivo;

second means for transmitting light into the tissue of the organism in vivo; and

third means for transmitting a result of at least the light and the treatment material upon the tissue of the organism in vivo.

2. A medical or veterinary system comprising:

a probe having at least a first dispenser configured to apply a first treatment material to tissue of an organism in vivo, a first optical element configured to transmit light into the tissue of the organism in vivo, and a first output module configured to transmit a result of at least the light and the first treatment material upon the tissue of the organism in vivo.

3. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

circuitry for actuating the first dispenser in response to contemporaneous user input.

4. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

circuitry for positioning at least a portion of the first dispenser.

5. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

circuitry for processing data from one or more assay protocols performed upon a portion of the tissue.

6. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

circuitry for processing data from one or more biomarker detection protocols performed upon a portion of the tissue.

7. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

at least one medium bearing an operational setting value usable in laser scanning equipment for analyzing a portion of the tissue.

8. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

at least one medium bearing an operational setting value usable in a mass spectroscope for analyzing a portion of the tissue.

9. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

at least one medium bearing an operational setting value usable in a microscope for analyzing a portion of the tissue.

10. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

laser scanning equipment operable for receiving a portion of the probe configured to contain a sample of the tissue.

11. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, in which the probe further comprises:

an extraction module configured to contain a sample of the tissue.

12. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, in which the first optical element comprises:

an infrared emitter.

13. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, in which the first optical element comprises:

a conduit configured (at least) to bear the light into the tissue of the organism.

14. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, in which the first output module comprises:

a conduit configured (at least) to bear the result.

15. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

imaging equipment operable for receiving an extraction module of the probe.

16. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2 in which the extraction element comprises:

a recessed portion configured to contain a sample of the tissue.

17. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

one or more conduits operably coupling imaging equipment with a portion of the probe configured to contain a portion of the tissue.

20. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2 in which the first treatment material comprises:

a permeabilizing agent.

21. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2 in which the first treatment material comprises:

a fixative.

22. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2 in which the first treatment material comprises:

a stain.

23. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2 in which the first treatment material comprises:

an antibody.

24. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

circuitry for configuring the result to include one or more quantifications derived from an optical field of the tissue.

25. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

a laser microtome configured to section a sample of the tissue.

26. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, in which the output module comprises:

a device configured to observe the tissue in a first cavity and to transmit via a conduit the result of at least the light and the first treatment material upon the tissue of the organism in vivo.

28. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

circuitry for causing a presentation of at least a go/no-go component of the result on one or more physical media.

29. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

an electron microscope configured to observe the tissue and to provide at least some of the result on one or more physical media.

30. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

a fluorescence microscope configured to observe the tissue and to provide at least some of the result on one or more physical media.

31. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

a confocal microscope (at least) configured to observe (at least) a sample of (at least) the tissue and to provide at least some of the result on (at least) a physical medium.

32. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

a spectrometer configured to observe the tissue and to provide at least some of the result on one or more physical media.

33. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

an imaging system configured to observe the tissue and to provide at least some of the result on one or more physical media.

34. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

a nuclear magnetic resonance imaging system configured to observe the tissue and to provide at least some of the result on one or more physical media.

35. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

circuitry for transmitting energy into a sample of the tissue; and

circuitry for capturing an image of the sample of the tissue.

36. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2 in which the surgical probe comprises:

one or more handling control surfaces configured to permit a user to extend an entirety of a first cavity into the organism.

37. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2 in which the surgical probe comprises:

a first separable extraction module containing a cavity and supportable by and separable from a remainder of the probe.

38. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

one or more media bearing an attribute of a macromolecule relating to the tissue of the organism.

39. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

one or more media bearing a morphological category relating to a portion of the tissue of the organism.

40. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

circuitry for causing a sample of the tissue to come into contact with a stain effective for indicating whether the tissue apparently exhibits an attribute of interest.

41. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, in which the first dispenser comprises:

a stain effective for indicating whether the tissue apparently exhibits a chromosomal attribute of interest.

42. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, in which the first dispenser comprises:

a luminescent marking agent of the first treatment material.

43. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, in which the first dispenser comprises:

a stain of the first treatment material.

44. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

a second dispenser configured to apply a second material containing at least a fixative.

45. The medical or veterinary system of claim 2, further comprising:

circuitry for configuring the result to include one or more size-descriptive quantities relating to the tissue.

18-19. -19. (canceled)

27. (canceled)