Patent ID: 6626887
Filing Date: 2003-09-30
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A method of administering medication to a target tissue through a predetermined thickness of bone or hard tissue and subsequently injecting medication through the bone or hard tissue to the target tissue, said method comprising the steps of:drilling an opening in the tissue with a drilling device, wherein the drilling device includes a hollow drill bit having a sharpened tip and an axial opening at one end thereof and a bore extending therethrough, wherein the hollow drill bit further includes a lateral opening to the bore that is located at a distance from the sharpened tip that is not less than the thickness of the bone or hard tissue to be drilled by the device, wherein the sharpened tip has a beveled surface, wherein the lateral opening is an axially-extending slot extending a distance in the range of from about 0.10 to about 0.125 inch measured from the distal tip of the hollow drill bit to the proximal end of the slot that is open to the bore of the hollow drill bit, and wherein the distance from the distal end of the sharpened tip to a proximal end of the slot is greater than the length of the beveled surface along the axis of the bore such that the lateral opening does not become blocked with bone or hard tissue during drilling; keeping the lateral opening slot free of tissue debris, and before withdrawing the needle from the bone or hard tissue through which it has been drilled, injecting medication through the bore of the hollow needle wherein medication flows out of the lateral opening of the hollow drill bit and into the target tissue.