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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the field of living specimen bone biopsy and to
the trephine sampling of bone.
Trabecular bone found in the axial skeleton of animal and human test
subjects is especially responsive to conditions of weightlessness,
decreased usage, and physical exercise in anthropoid test subjects. Such
bone is also of special interest in the diagnosis and treatment of certain
disease processes. Since bone is living tissue and is being continuously
remodeled throughout the life of a living specimen, changes in bone usage
or loading are, for example, followed by confirming structural remodeling
of the loaded bone wherein the remodeling follows the direction and
functional stress applied by the loading. According to a generally
accepted theory proposed by J. D. Wolff in Das Gesets der Transformation
der Knochen, Berlin, A. Hirschwald, 1892, pp. 1-152, when the stresses
applied to a weight-bearing living skeleton are changed or removed, such
as through immobilization or gravity changes, directly responsive
structural change or bone remodeling is expected. Since little is known of
the physiology of bone remodeling under conditions of weightlessness and
related mechanical stresses, the continued participation of human and
animal test subjects in space efforts suggest a need for improved
arrangements for studying bone remodeling.
The study and treatment of disease processes including the effects of bone
tuberculosis, metabolic osteoporosis, disuse osteoporosis, (e.g., from
prolonged bed confinement), syphilis, paraplegia, cast confinement, and
other causes, serve also as a stimulus for continued study of bone
remodeling and especially to bone degeneration processes.
Radiology, radiographic densitometry, and photon absorption spectrometry
have been previously used in the analysis of bone with limited degrees of
success--in view of the absence of quantitative information from such
procedures. In sharp contrast of this limitation, however, a variety of
reliable and accurate analytical techniques such as scanning electron
microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, histomorphometry, after
serial bone labeling, histochemistry, biochemistry, and mechanical
strength tests are available for use in analyzing actual bone samples from
a test subject.
The present invention provides an arrangement for obtaining desirable bone
tissue samples from living animal or human test subjects which is both
humane in that it is non-disabling and productive of only minimal and
short duration discomfort for the test subject, and is also cost-efficient
in permitting continued and repeated use of a single test subject for both
prolonged and multiple studies.
Major additional considerations in obtaining axial skeleton bone biopsy
samples include the location of the biopsy site, bones in the leg, for
example, having heretofore been popular for such samples; and the
obtaining of a sufficient quantity of undamaged specimen from an area
representative of the conditions being studied. Trabecular bone, i.e.,
lattice organized crystalline bone, develops along the lines of greatest
stress in the skeleton of an anthropoid and comprises the major weight
bearing structural element in such organisms. A vertebral biopsy,
especially a biopsy of the vertebral centrum portion has been found
especially desirable for trabecular bone study in the case of anthropoids
such as the rhesus monkey (macaca mulatta). Sampling accomplished in the
easily accessible and structurally active spinal lumbar area of such test
specimens is found to be particularly indicative of bone remodeling and
other bone conditions.
The patent art includes several examples of bone sampling, skeletal
measuring, and related procedures, this art includes the patent of R. H.
Romney, U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,548, which described a stereotaxic system
useful in tracing or following a pre-existing contour map in locating a
drill bit precisely with respect to the skull of a test subject. The
Romney apparatus includes a plurality of linear and angular adjustments
capable of locating the drill bit or other cutting tool in most positions
around the rigidily held skull of an anesthesized animal test subject. In
the Romney apparatus the test subject is positioned on a stage 12 while a
mensurative standard or map 45 is provided for use in locating and
recording the positions of the drilling unit or an electrode about the
skull of the test subject.
Other skull positioning instruments are shown in the patents of Z. R.
Mocarski, U.S. Pat. No. 3,073,310, and H. Hainult, U.S. Pat. No.
3,508,552, and provide skull access for x-ray photograph and surgical
purposes, respectively.
Positioning apparatus for other portions of the human anatomy are shown in
the patents of M. F. O'Connor, U.S. Pat. No. 1,571,140, and G. R.
Marshall, U.S. Pat. No. 2,245,350, which concern a chiropractic locating
device and a lower spinal area hypodermic needle anesthetic administering
apparatus, respectively.
While the above-identified patents indicate the use of mechanical aids in
locating precise positions about a test subject to have been practiced for
some time, none of these prior patents teach the use of a simple, reliable
device for achieving fast, safe spinal vertebra trephine biopsy samples.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanical guidance
arrangement for obtaining optimum bone biopsy trephine samples from a
living test subject.
Another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement for safely
securing high-quality trephine samples from the spinal vertebra of a
living test subject.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bone remodeling study
arrangement which is based on the acquisition of plural high-quality bone
trephine samples from a single test subject.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and safe arrangement
for obtaining intersecting trephine samples from a single spinal vertebra.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bone remodeling study
arrangement wherein the test subject can serve as its own control
reference for successive testing.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bone biopsy arrangement
which can be safely and practically used in the obtaining of plural
samples from a test subject at one sample time.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bone biopsy trephine
sampling arrangement capable of acquiring full vertebra diametered
trephine samples.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bone biopsy trephine
sampling arrangement wherein samples of sufficient size as to be undamaged
during sample collection and preparation are obtainable.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bone biopsy arrangement
which poses minimum risk to the living test specimen through the
achievement of precise and accurate trephine guidance during the biopsy
procedure.
Another object of the invention is to provide a trephine guidance apparatus
which affords minimal complexity and clutter in the field of a specimen
radiograph.
Another object of the invention is to provide a trephine biopsy guidance
arrangement which employs easily portable apparatus readily attachable to
a radiographic table or other surgery suite equipment.
Another object of the invention is to provide a trephine biopsy apparatus
capable of implementing a trigonometrically computed trephine access path
that is difficult of achievement with heretofore used apparatus
procedures.
Another object of the invention is to provide a trephine biopsy arrangement
having a compatibility with presently used apparatus such as test subject
cradles and pneumatic drilling devices.
Additional objects and features of the invention will be understood from
the following description and the accompanying drawings.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by a trephine biopsy
apparatus which includes a powered drilling tool having a rotationally
driven chuck member, a horizontally disposed way member rigidly disposable
above and laterally across the spinal axis of an anteriorly reposed test
subject in selected vertical separation therefrom, a selectably
positionable indexing member movably disposed on the way member and
locatable within a vertically oriented plane radial of the test subject
spinal axis with the lower end thereof in physical adjacency to the spinal
process of the test subject, a selectably positionable tool platform
member movably disposed on the way member and locatable at predetermined
distances from the indexing member along the way member, a tool carriage
member pivotally and slidably disposed on the platform member and
pivotally constrainable in an angularly sloping plane radial of the test
subject's spinal axis, the carriage member including receptacle means for
retaining the powered drilling tool captive therein, and sliding means
enabling radial movement of the drilling tool within the sloping radial
plane with respect to the spinal axis, a hollow trephine cutter bit
received in the chuck member, and measuring means disposed adjacent the
movably and slidably disposed members for determining the location and
movement extent of the trephine cutter bit with respect to the spinal axis
.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a trephine guidance apparatus made in
accordance with the invention.
FIG. 2 is a closer, slightly elevated view of the sample obtaining portion
of the FIG. 1 apparatus.
FIG. 3 shows a frontal perspective portion of the FIG. 2 apparatus and a
spinal vertebra mobel in sample accessing relative position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 of the drawings is a perspective view of a sample accessing
apparatus usable in obtaining trabecular bone axial skeleton samples from
the lumbar spinal vertebra centrum of a rhesus monkey or other test
subject. As indicated earlier herein, with the aid of the FIG. 1
apparatus, such spinal vertebra bone samples are obtainable with
negligible discomfort and minimal risk to a loving and valuable test
specimen. With the aid of the FIG. 1 apparatus, a given test specimen can
therefore provide numerous spinal vertebra samples while leading a normal
active life; the samples thereby obtained also being of increased
scientific interest in view of their source from a single living test
specimen and their possible withdrawal over an extended time period.
The FIG. 1 sample accessing apparatus, 100, is shown in conjunction with a
surgical table 102 and a test specimen surgical cradle 104. The accessing
apparatus includes a pair of upright standard members 106 and 108 which
are fixedly connected by a horizontally disposed lower connecting bar 110
at their lower extremity and by an upper movably disposed connecting bar
112. The upright standards 106 and 108 are mounted on a pair of foot
members 154 and 155 having a recessed clamp area receivable on the table
102. The fixed connecting bar 110 is preferably attached to one side of
the foot members 154 and 155, while the upright standards 106 and 108 are
attached to the opposite side of the foot members. Each of the foot
members 154 and 155 may include a pair of threaded clamping members 153
capable of forceful engagement with the lower side of the table 102.
Received on the upper, movably disposed, connecting bar 112 is a movable
way member 114 which optionally may be supported at its outward end by a
support leg member 148. The movable way member 114 is positionable along
the upper connecting bar 112 and retainable in a selected position by
means of a threaded lead screw member 128 on which is received a pair of
threaded adjustment nuts 129 and 131 that engage with a portion 133 of the
movable way member 114.
Movably mounted on the way member 114 in FIG. 1 is a selectably
positionable tool platform member 122 which is movable in the left and
right direction of FIG. 1 along a pair of slides or guide members 134 and
136. Movement and positioning of the tool platform member 122 along the
way member 114 is controlled by a second threaded lead screw member 130 on
which is received a thread engaging nut located within the tool platform
member 122. Rotational movement of the threaded lead screw member and
movement of the tool platform member 122 can be achieved by manual
movement of the knob 132.
An additional selectably positioned member, the index assembly 116 is also
movably disposed on the way member 114. The index assembly 116 is more
clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, and is retained in any
selected position along the way member 114 and the guide members 134 and
136 by a knob and set screw 156. The index pointer 150 which is mounted on
the index assembly 116 serves as a measurement reference point during use
of the FIG. 1 apparatus, as is explained below.
Supported on the tool platform member 122 is a slidably mounted tool
carriage member 118 which is disposed at a predetermined angle, near
30.degree., with respect to the movement direction of the tool platform
member 122 along the guides 134 and 136. The tool carriage member 118 is
movable along an angularly disposed slide or guide member 140 and is
position controlled by a third threaded lead screw member 138 rotatably
driven by a manually actuatable knob 142. As is more clearly shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawing, the lead screw member 138 passes through and
is engaged by a portion of the tool carriage member 118. The tool carriage
member 118 also includes a cavity receptacle 152 in FIG. 1 for receiving a
powered drilling tool 200 and an elastic member 162 for capturing the
powered drilling tool 200 within the cavity receptacle 152. The cavity
receptacle is best seen in FIG. 1, the powered drilling tool in FIGS. 2
and 3 of the drawings, and the elastic member 162 in FIG. 1. The powered
drilling tool 200 is preferably of the compressed air driven turbine type
available from several suppliers in the surgical instrument and industrial
equipment markets, but can be any type of transducer device, including
vibration, ultrasound and laser devices where suitable. Pressurized air is
supplied to the powered drilling tool 200 by way of a hose member 202 also
shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings.
Returning now to the upper movably disposed connecting bar 112, FIG. 1
indicates the bar 112 to be supported from a pair of sliding blocks 120
and 121 which move along a pair of cylindrical guide members 124 and 125
mounted in upper and lower ends of the upright standards 106 and 108,
i.e., in the foot member 154 at the lower end of the standard 106.
Positioning of the sliding blocks 120 and 121 along the guide members 124
and 125 is controlled by a fourth threaded lead screw member 127 which
engages the sliding block 120 in the manner described for the lead screws
128 and 138 in FIG. 1. A bell crank member 126 is used for rotating the
lead screw 127 and controlling the position of the connecting bar 112
along the upright standards 106 and 108 and the guide members 124 and 125.
A flexible cord, pulley, and counterweight elements 144, 146 and 147,
respectively are shown connected to the block 121 in FIG. 1 to provide
weight balancing of the way member 122 and the associated elements and to
provide for minimum effort movement of the bell crank 126 in changing
elevation of the powered drilling tool 200.
The optional support leg member 148 in FIG. 1 is provided with a captured
ball type of movable foot 158 in order to track movement of the way member
114 along the connecting bar 112. The support leg member 148 is also
provided with height adjustment capability which is locked into a selected
position by means of the threaded screw members 160. The interface of the
way member 114 with the connecting bar 112 is preferably arranged to
employ low friction pads (not shown) of fluorinated hydrocarbon or similar
material in order that lateral movement of the way member be possible with
minimum effort and without damage to the faces of the connecting bar 112.
Since these pads also resist a tendency of the way member 114 and
associated elements to rotate about the bar 112 from their own mass, the
pad members are preferably made large and rigid in nature.
By way of movement along the four described sets of guide members 124-125,
134, and 140, the powered drilling tool, 200, received in the cavity
receptacle 152 can be positioned at substantially any point within a
working field bounded by the upright standards 106 and 108, the table 102,
and the support leg member 148. During such positioning of the powered
drilling tool 200, the angle of disposure of the drilling tool cutter bit
206 can be maintained constant with respect to the plane of the table 102.
In any of the possible positions of the powered drilling tool, axial
movement of the cutter bit 206 is provided by motion along the guide
member 140, and is precisely controllable as to axial position by way of
the threaded lead screw 138. In addition to the aforementioned pads
located at the interface of the members 112 and 114, movement along the
guide members 124-125, 134, and 140 is preferably facilitated through the
use of metal low friction bearings made from, for example, bronze or by
linear ball bearing members disposed between the slide and moveable
members or by other low friction low wear arrangements known in the
mechanical arts.
During use of the FIG. 1 apparatus to access a spinal vertebra bone biopsy
sample, the test subject, which is preferably from the aforementioned
rhesus monkey primate family, but can be any vertebrate animal or human
test subject, is anteriorly reposed, that is, located in a face down
position, across the table 102 with the spinal axis substantially parallel
with the connecting bar 110. Preferably, the test subject is held in a
surgical cradle of the type shown at 104, and is, of course, anesthesized,
sedated, or tranquilized, according to normal surgical art procedures.
Additional details of the FIG. 1 sample accessing apparatus are shown in
FIG. 2 of the drawings. In FIG. 2, several of the elements described in
the FIG. 1 drawings are shown from a different viewing angle, but are
nevertheless designated by the same identification number used above in
the FIG. 1 description. The elements shown in FIG. 2 include the powered
drilling tool 200, the pressurized fluid hose 202, and cutter bit 206
mentioned above in connection with FIG. 1. FIG. 2 elements not completely
described above include the powered drilling tool adjustable chuck 204,
and a measurement scale and pointer 208 and 220, which serve to precisely
define the axial position of the powered drilling tool 200 and the
trephine cutter bit 206. Also shown in FIG. 2 are a second measurement
scale 210 which serves to indicate position of the tool platform member
122 with respect to the way member 114 and the index assembly 116. As
shown in FIG. 2, the sample accessing apparatus also includes a bubble
leveling member 212 for the tool platform member 122, a tool platform
pivot member 214, a tool carriage member locking screw 216, a
ninety-degree stop 215 for the tool carriage member 118 and a set of
multiple position mounting holes 218 for the index pointer 150.
During use of the sample accessing apparatus as shown in the FIG. 2 view
thereof, it is contemplated that the way member 114 will be disposed
across the spinal axis of the test subject, with the index pointer 150
carefully aligned with and directly touching the rearward extending spinal
process of the test subject--that is, just touching the skin tissue of the
test subject exterior of the rearward directed spinal process. Alignment
of the pointer 150 can be aided if desired by using a spinal process flag
marker, e.g., a hypodermic needle, tapped lightly into one of the rearward
process bones prior to positioning the pointer 150 as is shown at 305 in
FIG. 3. Such flag markers are of great assistance if the FIG. 3 access is
attempted by upguided hand techniques but are usually unnecessary with the
FIGS. 1-3 apparatus. With the pointer 150 thusly aligned with the test
subject's rearward process, the tool platform member 122 is positioned
using the measurement scale 102 in accordance with a trigonometric
calculation described below in order to provide the desired 30.degree.
angular access of the trephine cutter bit 206 with the vertebral centrum
portion of a selected vertebra in the test subject spinal column. The
depth of penetration of the trephine cutter bit 206 through the test
subject vertebra is controlled by way of the scale 208 commencing from a
point of first vertebra contact; a penetration depth in the order of 2 cm
is appropriate in the case of the rhesus monkey test subject. The
appropriate penetration depth is established for each test subject by way
of a radiographic process described below.
FIG. 3 in the drawings shows an additional straight-on view of the FIG. 1
and FIG. 2 sample accessing apparatus and includes several details not
visible in the FIGS. 1 and 2 drawings. FIG. 2. also shows the preferred
alignment positions of the pointer 150 and the trephine cutter bit 206
with a model representation of a spinal vertebra 300. Several of the major
elements identified in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings are numbered with the
100 series and 200 series identification numbers in FIG. 3 for consistent
reference purposes. Elements first introduced in FIG. 3 are identified
with 300 series numbers in keeping with the practice used in FIG. 2.
By way of the representative spinal vertebra 300 in FIG. 3, the desired
area of vertebral centrum biopsy sample location can be understood and the
functioning of the FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 apparatus in accessing the vertebra
centrum 312 can be appreciated. The representative spinal vertebra model
300 includes right and left lateral process elements 306 and 307, the
rearward directed process elements 304, and the spinal cord cavity 308.
Since the FIG. 3 vertebra is fabricated from radiographic views of a
living test specimen, only these major details of an actual vertebra are
shown.
In addition to the spinal vertebra detail shown in FIG. 3, the location of
a radial plane lateral to the spinal vertebra 300 is indicated at 310 in
FIG. 3; this plane is located to pass through the centroid of the vertebra
centrum 312 and actually extends toward and away from a viewer from the
plane line 310. This plane is considered to be radial in nature in the
sense that it encompasses radii drawn outward from the centrum centroid.
The intersection of the lateral plane 310 with the centrum centroid 328
may be considered to define the spinal axis of the test subject. In the
FIG. 3 view, of course, the test subject is also presumed to be disposed
horizontally in an anteriorly reposed or prone position with feet above
the plane of FIG. 3 and head below the plane of FIG. 3, for example.
In obtaining a trephine bone biopsy sample from a living test spcecimen, it
is, of course, desirable to avoid injury to the test specimen by obtaining
the bone biopsy sample precisely in the manner indicated in FIG. 3. The
critical portions of the FIG. 3 relationship include having the trephine
cutter bit 206 avoid any entrance into the spinal cord cavity 308, avoid
contact, including root area contact, with the lateral processes 306 and
307, avoid significant emergence from the centroid region 312 on the
right-hand side of the vertebra 300, and of course, avoid contact with the
aorta or venus blood circulation members which are located immediately
below the centrum 312 in FIG. 3 in a living test specimen. The FIG. 3
indicated alignment of the test specimen and sample accessing apparatus
achieve these desired goals.
In the preferred rhesus monkey test specimen the angle 314 between the
trephine cutter bit and the lateral plane 310 is desirably arranged to be
thirty degrees with an acceptable tolerance of plus or minus one degree.
At this angle the cutter bit enters the centrum 312 above the left lateral
processes 306 and emerges or reaches the point of emergence below the
right lateral processes 307. The preferred thirty degree angle is
indicated at 314 in FIG. 3. The angle 315 in FIG. 3 between the cutter bit
206 and the way member 214 is equal to the angle 314 according to the
geometric principle that a diagonal forms equal alternate angles at each
of two parallel planes. The sample accessing apparatus is provided with an
angular measurement scale 316 which may, for example, cover the range
between 25 and 35 degrees of angle measure where interest is confined to
the rhesus monkey and similar test specimens. A circumferentially disposed
slot 318 and set screw received therein are used to hold the tool carriage
member 118 in the selected angular position; these elements are aided by
the previously mentioned locking screw 216.
The trephine cutter bit 206 is preferably selected to provide a centrum
sample which is in the order of three millimeters in diameter. The outer
diameter of the cutter bit 206 is, of course, somewhat larger than this 3
mm, but is nevertheless safely accommodated within the vertebra centrum
312 without injury to the test subject by way of the precise positioning
possible with the disclosed apparatus. Samples smaller in diameter than
this three millimeters are also feasible but are found to be somewhat more
difficult to remove from the interior of the trephine cutter bit without
incurring compression or other physical damage.
Removal of plural samples of the type indicated in FIG. 3 from a single
test subject has been found to be especially useful and to provide no
danger to the test subject. Such plural samples can be removed from
different vertebrae by index movement of the way member 114 along the
connecting bar 112 using a scale (not shown) together with dimensions
obtained by radiographic examination. Plural samples can also be removed
from a single vertebra with caution and due consideration for the
resulting structural weakening of the sampled vertebra.
An especially useful application of the accessing apparatus herein
disclosed involves removal of a sample in the manner indicated in FIG. 3
prior to exposing the test subject to a period of bone changing stress
such as weightlessness, limited activity, or other conditions, then
removing a second sample from the opposite side of the test specimen--a
sample taken along the path indicated at 330 in FIG. 3, following the
stress period and in order to observe the bone regrowth region where the
first and second sample paths intersect. This bone regrowth area which
lies in the first sample path and at the centrum center is of special
technical interest, since the conditions under which this regrowth
occurred can be controlled and vital stain techniques such as tetracycline
bone labeling can be employed to precisely identify different portions
such as layers in the region of intersection of the two sample paths.
For study purposes, it is usually preferable for the vertebra sample to
extend fully through the vertebra centrum 312 in order that full samples
of both the outermost and innermost bone material be achieved.
Notwithstanding this desirability of a full diameter sample, it is also
desirable that the trephine cutter bit 206 not extend into the lateral
processes 307 or disassociated these lateral processes from the centrum
portion 312--the accuracy and precision of the sample attainable with the
presently disclosed apparatus makes such full diameter and desirably
located samples possible.
As indicated above, location of the trephine cutter bit 206 in an angular
plane having an angle 314 of substantially thirty degrees, with the
lateral plane 310 is desirable for achieving spinal centrum bone biopsy
samples in the rhesus monkey test subject. In order to establish this
thirty degree angular approach in the rhesus monkey and to establish
similar angles for other specimen types from the canine, feline, bovine,
or other animal species, for example, it is desirable to use a
radiographic and trigonometric calculation sequence.
Radiographic mapping of the spinal lumbar region of a test subject may be
accomplished using conventional orthogonal radiograph views as represented
by the arrows 320, 321, and 322 in FIG. 3; the representation at 321
indicating the tail end of an arrow directed into the plane of the FIG. 3
drawing. Radiographs of this type may be obtained using x-ray radiation,
nuclear isotope radiation, radioactive tracer and scintillation scanning,
and to a more limited degree, nuclear magnetic resonance scanning,
sonograph and other procedures known in bone mapping.
Trigonometric calculations have been found desirable for determining
distances to be measured along the scale 210 and thereby locating the tool
platform member 122 and the trephine cutter bit 206 with respect to the
index pointer 150 and the test subject. With the angle 315 having a value
of 30 degrees, knowledge of the distances 324 and 326 in FIG. 3 enables
calculation of distances along the scale 210 by way of the trigonometric
tangent function. One of these distances, the distance 324 between the
centroid of the spinal centrum 312 and the exterior of the skin tissue
covering the spinal processes 304 is measurable from the radiographic
mapping procedure. The measured distance 324 is, however, preferably
corrected for the slight magnification present in most radiographic
techniques. With the distance 324 determined and the distance 326 being
measurable or assignable, according to the length of the index pointer
150, the distance along the measurement scale 210 is found by dividing the
summation of distances 326 and 324 by the tangent (0.577) of the 30 degree
angle 315. Distances along the measurement scale 210 are measured to a
pointer, not shown, which is attached to the tool platform member 122;
this pointer should preferably indicate distances along the scale 210
ending at the intersection of the scale 210 with the axis of the trephine
cutter bit 206. Other locations of a tool platforms pointer can, of
course, be accommodated through appropriate mathematical corrections and
angles other than the rhesus monkey preferred thirty degrees can be
readily accommodated by appropriate mathematical changes. Automatic
calculation means such as an analog or digital computer or appropriate
marking on the scale 210 relating to the distances 324 and 326 could also
be included in the apparatus if desired.
As indicated above, the powered drilling tool 200 is preferably embodied as
a pneumatically operated drill such as the Mini-Driver drill sold by 3M
Company of St. Paul, Minn., or an equivalent device. Electrically powered,
hand powered, hydraulically powered, or other types of drills could of
course, be used in the FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 apparatus. The trigger 332 of the
powered drilling tool 200 can be operated manually or arranged for remote
mechanical operation or permanent retention in the ON position as desired.
The adjustable chuck 204 allows use of different sized or different types
of cutter tools in lieu of the trephine cutter bit 206, as needed or the
substitution of non-cutting tools such as pointers and probing electrodes
in alternate uses of the FIG. 1 through FIG. 3 apparatus. The vertebra 300
in FIG. 3 is shown to be held by a human hand 302 for the purpose of
illustrating the interrelationships described in FIG. 3; in actual use the
vertebra would of course, be within the living test specimen or
alternately, if from a deceased specimen, could be mounted in a vise, a
plaster mold, or other such arrangements as are known in the biological
arts.
The disclosed spinal biopsy trephine sample arrangement provides several
advantages over apparatus and procedures used heretofore in axial skeleton
bone studies. Previously for example, it has been common practice to
extract such samples from the tibia or other limb bones of a test specimen
because of the resulting ease of access, and the limited prospects for
test specimen injury. Since the trabecular bone desired for sampling
develops along the lines of greatest stress in a skeleton, and is well
represented in the spinal vertebra, a spinal vertebra sample is considerd
superior for many purposes over tibia or other peripheral limb bone
samples.
The uncluttered field and simple structural elements of the present
invention also offer desirable practical advantages in the logistics of
bone biopsy. Frequently in obtaining bone samples, for example, there is
need for x-ray equipment, lighting, several participating persons, and
surgical procedure. Bone biopsy apparatus of the complexity shown in the
above referenced U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,548, for example, would clearly
increase the clutter and logistics problems attending such a procedure.
The described biopsy arrangement has also been found to be both rapid and
convenient in application, thereby allowing the attainment of several
samples such as samples from different vertebra of the same test subject
in an optimum manner. Movement of the trephine cutter bit between first,
second, and third sample locations in dif | | |
