Breast implant with locatable injection site
OwnerPaul A. Dreschnack, Orterio S. III Villainventors
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Abstract
An implantable breast tissue prosthesis assembly comprising an envelope having a shell defining an inner fluid containable chamber and an outer surface, a valve, formed as part of a wall in the envelope, for facilitating the introduction, containment, or removal of fluid within the chamber, and a backing plate comprising material detectable by ultrasound detection technology and shaped to guide a needle into the valve.
Claims4
An implantable breast tissue prosthesis assembly comprising:
- an envelope which has a shell defining an inner fluid containable chamber and an outer surface;
- a valve formed as a part of a wall in the envelope, the valve facilitating the introduction, containment, or removal of fluid within the chamber of the envelope;
- and
- the valve having a backing plate comprising material imageable by ultrasound imaging and shaped to guide a needle into the valve.
A method for determining whether a nonmetallic valve formed on an implantable breast tissue prosthesis assembly is in proper alignment for needle insertion, the valve having a nonmetallic backing plate that is capable of being detected with ultrasound technology, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) placing a breast tissue prosthesis in proximity to a source of ultrasound energy;
- (b) detecting reflected ultrasound energy;
- and
- (c) determining by the presence and strength of any reflected signal whether the valve is in proper alignment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.