Patent ID: 9014784
Filing Date: 2015-04-21
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. An inner assembly for use with a breast coil in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guided medical procedure on a patient's breast, the inner assembly comprising: a side coil configured to participate in MRI of the breast; a medical instrument guidance assembly configured to contact the breast, the medical instrument guidance assembly being configured to be inserted into and removed from the inner assembly without removing the side coil from the inner assembly, the medical instrument guidance assembly being a biopsy block, the biopsy block being configured to hold a needle positioning block; a brace assembly configured to contact the breast; and a guide configured to movably and lockably position the medical instrument guidance assembly, the side coil, and the brace assembly in both an imaging mode and a biopsy mode, the medical instrument guidance assembly, the side coil, and the brace assembly being movably engaged to the guide, the guide being configured with a connector for removably attaching the medical instrument guidance assembly to the inner assembly, the guide being configured for positioning the medical instrument guidance assembly on a first side of the breast and for positioning the brace assembly on a second, opposing side of the breast to facilitate applying to the breast a force sufficient to hold the breast against the medical instrument guidance assembly in a fixed spatial relationship having a desired tolerance during the MRI-guided medical procedure, the guide being configured to control and allow movement of the side coil from a first position to a second position, where a signal received from the breast by the side coil in the first position during the MRI-guided surgical procedure yields a first signal to noise ratio (SNR), and where a signal received from the breast by the side coil in the second position during the MRI-guided surgical procedure yields a second, higher SNR, the guide being configured with a hinge configured to control and allow movement of the side coil to a third position, where the third position provides access to the medical instrument guidance assembly for a medical instrument configured to be inserted into the breast through the medical instrument guidance assembly, the medical instrument being a needle suitable for performing a needle biopsy, the guide being configured with a rotation point configured to control and allow movement of the brace assembly from a first position used for bilateral imaging to a second position used for unilateral imaging, where the needle positioning block controls, at least in part, a position and direction of travel of the medical instrument during the biopsy mode.