Cannula with proximally mounted camera

A method of accessing a blood mass in the brain of a patient, said method comprising:

• providing a cannula system comprising:
• a cannula comprising a cannula tube with a proximal end and a distal end and a lumen extending from the proximal end to the distal end;
• and
• a camera secured to the proximal end of the cannula, with a portion of the camera overhanging and partially obstructing the lumen;
• an obturator comprising a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, and an obturator tip disposed on the distal end of said shaft, said tip being optically transmissive, and having a proximal surface and a tapered distal surface, said obturator being slidable within the cannula tube, and positionable within the cannula tube such that the proximal end of the shaft extends proximally out of the cannula proximal end while the tapered distal surface extends out of the cannula distal end;
• with the obturator in the cannula such that the tip is disposed in the distal end of the cannula, with the tapered distal surface extending from the distal end of the cannula;
• inserting the cannula obturator into the brain, to advance the cannula distal end and obturator tip toward the blood mass;
• and
• viewing, on a display, an image of the proximal surface of the tip, while advancing the cannula distal end and obturator tip into the brain.