Patent ID: 6022325
Filing Date: 2000-02-08
Classification: A61B,H04N

Abstract:
An apparatus for performing medical procedures on a breast of a patient, comprising:a compression paddle for compressing the breast of a patient into a mammographic position relative to said predetermined frame of reference;an imaging source and receiver, disposed in predetermined relation to said predetermined frame of reference, for imaging the breast while in the mammographic position, wherein first and second stereotactic images corresponding with two different imaging angles are provided relative to the predetermined frame of reference;a tissue biopsy assembly, selected from a predetermined plurality of tissue biopsy assemblies employable in said apparatus and positionable in predetermined relation relative to said predetermined frame of reference, for obtaining a tissue sample from the breast while maintained in the stationary mammographic position;a user input interface for supplying, in response to input by a user, an input signal corresponding with the tissue biopsy assembly selected by the user from said predetermined plurality of tissue biopsy assemblies;a processor, comprising stored digitized physical information corresponding with each of said predetermined plurality of tissue biopsy assemblies, for using said digitized physical information corresponding with one or more physical attributes of said selected tissue biopsy assembly to automatically compute positioning information for positioning the selected tissue biopsy assembly in at least one position relative to said predetermined frame of reference for obtainment of a tissue sample from a location of interest within the breast as identified by a user using first and second stereotactic images, wherein the positioning information is dependent upon the particular tissue biopsy assembly selected by a user.