Surgical apparatus and blade elements for slicing lamellar segments from biological tissue

Abstract

Surgical apparatus and blade elements are provided for performing a tissue cutting process to cleave a tissue portion from a main tissue section. The apparatus comprises a reference member (1) having a cavity (3) for holding a tissue portion subject to the tissue cutting process and a blade guiding surface (2), a blade element (100, 200, 370, 470) adapted for slidable engagement with the reference member, such that the blade moves along the guiding surface of the reference member to perform the cutting process, and a biasing mechanism (80, 82, 91, 92, 102, 202) for moving the blade along the guide surface such that a pressure-relieving space is formed between the blade and the tissue section upon cleavage to avoid deviation of the cutting edge from a desired path. The blade elements can have a contact ridge (107) for guiding the blade element along the predetermined path. In some embodiments, the blade element can include a flexible plate member (101) having first and second opposite sides, a cutting edge (103) formed at a first longitudinal end portion of the plate member, and a manipulating block (102) mounted at a second longitudinal end portion of the plate member (101) for applying a biasing force to the plate member to maintain contact between the blade element and the reference member.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.