High capacity hair follicle implant instrument including staggered needles and associated methods

A method of making a hair follicle implant instrument for implanting hair follicles into skin, the method comprising:

• providing a needle holding assembly to hold a plurality of needles, including at least three implant needles, in a staggered arrangement;
• slidably coupling a needle guide to the needle holding assembly, the needle guide providing a skin stop surface while guiding the plurality of needles in the staggered arrangement during implantation of hair follicles into the skin;
• sliding a plurality of pistons, comprising at least three pistons, into the respective plurality of needles to hold a corresponding hair follicle in the skin while the plurality of needles is retracted from the skin;
• holding the plurality of pistons with a piston base in a corresponding staggered arrangement, and slidably coupling the piston base to the needle holding assembly so that the plurality of pistons slide within the respective plurality of needles when actuated during implantation of hair follicles into the skin;
• and
• biasing the piston base in a retracted position with a spring carried between the needle holding assembly and the piston base, wherein the spring is offset from a central axis of the piston base;
• wherein the needle holding assembly holds the plurality of needles in the staggered arrangement offset from the central axis of the piston base.

A hair follicle implant instrument comprising:

• a needle holding assembly configured to hold a plurality of needles and comprising:
• a needle base configured to hold the plurality of needles in the staggered arrangement, and
• a needle holder configured to hold the needle base in a fixed position,
• wherein the plurality of needles are implantable into skin, and
• wherein the needle base includes a locking member configured to lock the needle base to the needle holder and prevent relative movement therebetween;
• a needle guide slidably coupled to the needle holding assembly, and configured to provide a skin stop surface, the needle guide comprising at least one guide member, wherein the needle guide includes at least one guide rail configured to interface with the at least one guide member of the needle base and guide relative movement therebetween;
• a plurality of pistons, each configured to slide within a respective one of the plurality of needles, and hold a corresponding hair follicle;
• a piston base slidably coupled to the needle holding assembly and configured to hold the plurality of pistons to slide within the plurality of needles when actuated;
• a spring carried between the needle holding assembly and the piston base, the spring being configured to bias the piston base in a retracted position;
• and
• a needle adjustment device, carried by the piston base and configured to adjustably couple the piston base to the needle guide for simultaneous movement relative to the needle holding assembly;
• wherein the spring is offset from a central axis of the piston base;
• wherein the needle holding assembly holds the plurality of needles offset from the central axis of the piston base;
• wherein the needle guide is slidably actuated relative to the needle holder via the piston base.