METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATED BIOPSY AND COLLECTION OF SOFT TISSUE

摘要

A method and device for the automated biopsy and collection of soft tissue h aving a piercing needle with a receiving port to trap tissue prior to cutting. A motor drive directs and positions the tissue rece iving port at a lesion site in arbitrary positions about and along the longitudinal axis of the device. A cutter advances into the receiving ch amber and severs tissue which has prolapsed into the rec eiving port. The severed tissue is then removed from the receiving port without rem oving the piercing needle receiving port from the lesion site, thus allowing for the accurate, rapid removal of an arbitrary number of core samples with only one insertion. A tissue sample casset te provides storage for the samples as well as means for coding and decoding th e location from which the samples were obtained. Togethe r, these features allow for more accurate and complete sampling of large lesion s, for the complete removal of small lesions or removal of other tissue for a variety of reasons.