Steerable sonohysterographic injection catheter for uterine cancer sentinel lymph node mapping

Abstract

A steerable sonohysterographic injection catheter for identifying sentinel lymph nodes in uterine cancer patients includes a tubular shaft housing a needle extendible therefrom. The needle is preferably sized for intrauterine insertion and configured to deliver a fluid such as a contrast media to a tumor location. The catheter preferably includes a sealing device such as a selectively inflatable balloon disposed at a position along the outside of the catheter. The sealing device is configured for placement at an opening of a patient's cervix to prevent the leaking of the contrast media out of the uterus through the cervix. The distal end of the catheter is steerable so as to allow the tip of the needle to be positioned substantially near the tumor location.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.