Apparatus and method for cutting costal cartilage
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of California
InventorsBrian J. F. Wong, Cyrus Manuel, Allen Foulad
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Abstract
A double-bladed cutting device providing a practical method for obtaining costal cartilage specimens in both an operating room and research setting. The device reduces the skill and time required to fashion cartilage slices, while increasing the uniformity of the cut specimens. Furthermore, via an adjustable guide, slices can be obtained precisely from the central core of the rib. Although specimen lengths up to 4 cm are preferred, longer lengths can be attained without modification of the device. The cartilage specimen may be held in place within the device via means of compression or tension.
Claims7
An apparatus for cutting a cartilage specimen with a user defined thickness comprising:
- a cutting jig;
- a specimen assembly comprising a base and a slide member capable of being movably coupled to the cutting jig to provide a stabilized guide for relative motion of the cutting jig with respect to the specimen assembly;
- wherein the stabilized guide comprises a slide post coupled to the slide member and a fixed post coupled to the base for securing the cartilage specimen to the specimen assembly, wherein the stabilized guide accommodated the cutting jig to traverse an entire length of the guide while being removably coupled thereto in order to deliver a uniform parallel and longitudinal cut to the cartilage specimen, wherein the fixed post and the slide post are configured to provide a compressive force along the cartilage specimen in order to produce flat uniform slices of cartilage, and wherein the cutting jig receives the slide post and the fixed post.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.