The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 01, 1997
Filed:
Jun. 07, 1995
Alan M Schechter, Long Beach, CA (US);
Joseph P Mark, Indianapolis, IN (US);
Frederick R Stave, St. Joseph, MI (US);
Roger White, Memphis, TN (US);
Danek Medical, Inc., Memphis, TN (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for minimally invasive tissue removal contemplates a system including a tissue cutting tool having a motor driven cutting blade reciprocating within a percutaneously introducable cannula. In accordance with one method of the invention, the frequency of reciprocation of the cutting blade is tuned to a characteristic frequency of the target tissue to be excised, which frequency is a function of certain properties of the target tissue and the surrounding tissue. Cutting at the characteristic frequency of the target tissue not only enhances the speed and efficiency of the tissue excision, but also minimizes the risk of cutting surrounding tissue. Another aspect of the system includes feedback control of both aspiration and irrigation circuits of the system. With the feedback control, coupled with user settable inputs, the surgeon can control the system to 'tease' tissue into the cutting opening to provide more manageable bite sizes of the excised tissue. Controllable valves and pressure transducers allow the operator to set and maintain the aspiration vacuum and irrigation pressure at optimum levels. In other aspects of the invention, other cutting heads, such as a rasp and a tissue morcelator, are disclosed which take advantage of the integrated feedback control system of the invention.