METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTINGUISHING ORGANIC TISSUES FROM EACH OTHER AND SEPARATING THEREOF BY OPERATION

Abstract: Samples are taken from the tissues thereby that certain parts thereof are pyrolysed punctiform and the pyrolysate so obtained is collected and its composition is examined and the results of this examination are compared with reference data. Thereby the character of the tissue is determined, whereafter samples are taken repeatedly and the boundary of the tissues is indicated and the separation is performed along this boundary.

Description: METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISTINGUISHING ORGANIC TISSUES FROM EACH OTHER AND SEPARATING THEREOF BY OPERATION Technical field The invention relates to a method and apparatus for distinguish¬ ing organic tfssues from each other and separating thereof by operat¬ ion. Background art In the therapy and even in. the surgery laser knives of different type are used more and more wide-spread. Laser knives are des¬ cribed in the US-PS Nos . 4 396 285 and 4 408 602. In the US-PS No. 4 316 467 a laser knife apparatus is described where the laser beam is directed to the area to be operated with fibre optic bundle and at the same time the area, which has been already operated, is monitored by an optoreceiver through an other fibre optic bundl , and the intensity of the laser beam is controlled depending on the colour of the area operated. The DE-PS No . 26 20 846 describes a laser therapy apparatus where the laser beam is moved in three directions of the space with the aid of a regulating circuit controlled by a space sensing device . The apparatus is used also for removing carcinomas by operation, and the apparatus corrects the unintentional moving of the patient. The chances for recovery after the removal of malignant tumours by operation is considerably influenced by the circumstance whether the malignant tissues could be removed completely. The operat ion is generally rendered more difficult thereby that the healthy tissues may also be injured which occasionally may cause irredeemable damages . ' The operations performed with laser knives constitute a quality change in the precise removal of malignant tumours , with the known means and methods, however, the diseased and healthy tissues could not be distinguished from each other either. So the result of the operation was not restricted by the precise tracking of the laser knife but by the precise determination of the boundary of the diseased and healthy organ. Recently analitical pyrolysis , which is used wide¬ spread in the analitical chemistry, is applied for the examination of different organic tissues . According to that substances having high molecular mass are decomposed thermally and the pyrolysate so obtained is analysed. The pyrolysis may be carried out suitable by thermal decomposition or pyrolysis performed with laser beam while examining substances of low molecular weight. The organic substance is pyrolysed by a laser beam of well-defined pulse power and so pyrolysis products /gases and /or vapours/ are set free. Several analitical methods are known for the analitical pyrolysis . Such are the pyrolysis gas chromatography /PY-GC/, the pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrography /PY-GC -MS/ and the pyrolysis mass spectrometry /PY-MS /. From among these methods the mass spectrometry is the faster one and has the further advantage that the results of the analysis may be obtained simply also in form of digital information and so are suitable for computer processing. There are also mass spectrometers known, the test results of which are processed by computers . Such apparatus is manufactured by Finnigan MAT GmbH in Germany of the type ITD 700 /Ion Trap Detector/. This equipment produces the mass spectra characterizing for the chemical composition of the substance examined together with an IBM personal computer which is called as "dactylogr in figurative sense since the s pectrum identifies a substance un- ambiguously. Further known equipment is that of Hewlett-Packard of the type of 5970A which is a mass selective detector and is connect¬ ed with a gas chromato graph and a controlling and evaluating micro¬ computer of the type HP 9825B. The dactylogram technique is a method according to which the spectrum of an examined and analysed substance is compared with the spectrum dactylogram of a known substance examined pre¬ viously. In such cases the spectrum itself should not be analysed, only the identity or the difference is determined. The dactylograms of the mass spectrometry pyrolysis /pyrograms/ may be used very well for characterizing complex substances , biopolymers and even cells and tissues . Such examinat¬ ions are described in the Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis /Elsevier, Amsterdam/ byM . Jarman in "DNS -pyrolysis " /Analitical and Applied Pyrolysis , 2 , 217-223 /1980// by S . M. Huff et al. in "Pyrolysis examination of human leukemic and normal leukocytes" /analytical and Applied Pyrolysis , _3, 95-109 and 111-129 /1981//, by . indig et al. in "Pyrolysis examination of frog cells and tissues" /Analitical and Applied Pyrolysis , _5 , 349-362 /1983//, as well as in Biomedical Mass Spectrometry /Heyden et Son, London/ in "Pyrolysis GC /MS examination of different human cells" /Bio¬ medical Mass Spectrometry, 6 , 491-498 /1979//. It has been found that the composition of the pyrolysate /gas and /or vapour/ set free on the effect of the laser knife is un- ambigα .usly characterizing thereof whether the tissue operated is tumourous or healthy. This is based chemically thereon that the healthy and tumourous tissues are of different protein /amino acid/ composition and so its pyrolysis performed under the same conditions results in different pyrolysis products . These pyrolysis products may be distinguished from each other by the dactylogram technique , i, e. according to the mass spectra. Disclosure of Invention The present invention has the aim to elaborate a method and an apparatus for performing said method by which the organic tissues, first of all the healthy and diseased tissues may be distinguished from each other during an operation simultaneously and continuously with the operation and so the removal of the diseased tissues may be perform¬ ed more precisely and reliably. This aim is achieved by the process of the invention thereby that samples are taken from the tissues in such way that certain parts thereof are pyrolysed punctiform and the pyrolysate /gases and/or vapours/ so obtained is collected and its composition is examined and the results of the composition examination are compared with reference data and the character of the tissue is determined, whereafter samples are taken repeatedly and the boundary of the tissues is indicated and the separation of the tissues is performed along this boundary. The punctiform pyrolysis is performed preferably y laser pyrolysis. The separation of the tissues along the boundary indicated is carried out preferably by laser pyrolysis . The apparatus of the invention for performing the process of the invention comprises a laser knife directed to the tissue examined, a pyrolysate /gas /vapour/ collecting and dispatching head, said head being connected with an analyser of same time through a piping, sad analyser is guided to one of the inputs of a comparing and evaluating unit, to the other input of said comparing and evaluating unit a reference data set is connected, and the output of said comparing and evaluating unit is guided to a display, and said laser knife is connected to a control apparatus . According to a preferred embodiment of the above apparatus the display is a video display to which a video system, as well as a vide camera directed to the tissue area examined are connected. The apparatus of the . nvention comprises preferably a computer controlling the operation of any individual units , to the inputs of which the analyser, the comparing and evaluating unit and the video system, to the outputs thereof the video display and the control apparatus of the laser knife are connected. « Sαthat the pyrolysate examined should be analysed always under the same conditions, there are a pressure sensing element and a temperature sensing element in the pyrolysate collecting and dispatchin head, which are connected to the inputs of a computer, as well as said head comprises a pressure and a temperature controlling unit which are connected to the outputs of the computer. The control apparatus of the laser knife comprises preferably a micromanipulator driving the laser knif , the control input of which is connected to a computer or a hand control apparatus . The analyser used in the apparatus of the invention is pre-' ferably a dinamic mass spectrometer. Brief Description of the Drawing The apparatus of the invention is shown in details below through the example as stated in the enclosed Figure . Mode of Carrying out the Invention In the Figure the principled structure of the apparatus of the invention may be seen . According to the Figure laser knife 2 is directed to the examined tissue 15, said laser knife 2 being connected to control ap paratus 12. The pyrolysate collecting and dispatching head 3 is placed in the immediate vicinity of the point irradiated by the laser knife 2. The head 3 is connected preferably through capillary piping 16 to the real time analyser 6. The reference dactylograms, i. e . the mass spectra relating to the known tissue structures are stored in reference data memory 11. The analyser 6 and the data memory 11 are connect- ed to each input of comparing and evaluating unit 14. The output of the comparing and evaluating unit is connected to display 10. « The apparatus of the invention operates in this simplest constitution as follows: The laser knife 2 emits a laser beam to the area determine by the control apparatus 12 and this area of the examined tissue 15 is pyrolysed and vapours and /or gases are set free . The collecting and dispatching head 3 being in the immediate vicinity of the pyrolysed area of the examined tissue 15 absorbs said pyrolysates and dispatches them through the piping 16 into the analyser 6. The analyser 6 which is preferably a dinamic mass spectrometer, analyses the pyrolysates introduced and produces the result in form of digital electric signs . These digital signs get into the comparing and evaluating unit 14. In the comparing and evaluating unit 14 the reference dactylograms, i. e . the mass spectra of the pyrolysates of known tissue pieces stored in the data memory 11 are available also in form of digital signs . On the basis of that the comparing and evaluating unit 14 compares the two mass spectra and dispatches the result, i. e . whethe the pyrolysed piece is healthy or diseased, into the display 10 which indicates the result for the examining physician or operating surgeon. The laser knife 2 may be directed correspondingly through the control apparatus 12 and the examination may be performed on other places . As laser knife 2 one can use an above mentioned known apparatus . The analyser 6 is also known per se . A more complete embodiment of the apparatus of the invent- play 10 which is a video display in this cas . The camera 1 directed to the examined tissue piece 15 projects said tissue piece which will be visible faithfully on the video display 10. By simultaneous " , use of a computer 7 the point, to which the laser knife 2 is directed is indicated - perhaps by a luminous point of different colour - by the video system 13 on the display 10 with the aid of coordinate information obtained from the control appara¬ tus 12. The comparing and evaluating unit 14 connected with the com¬ puter 7 gives the video system 13 the examination result of the point marked and the video system 13 indicates the condition of the examined tis sue piece on display 10 in a colour depending on the result of the examination. These examination points are stored in the video system 13 and so the healthy and diseased areas may be marked - by different colours - on display 10. By using the computer 7 the automatic driving of the laser knife 2 through the control apparatus 12 may be achieved ensuring that the laser knife 2 should turn away from the healthy area and only the diseased should be pyrolysed whereby the diseased tissue piece is removed. In this way it may be ensured optimally that the healthy tissue pieces remain unwounded while the diseased tissue pieces are pyrolysed possible completely or are Separated along the marked boundary * The laser knife 2 may be drived by a micromanipulator known per se or a known three dimensional driver mentioned above . The contro apparatus 12 may be controlled by the computer 7 but also hand control may be applied when the physician decides about the subsequent driving of the laser knife 2 in view of the picture . obtained on display 10.

Claims: Claims 1. A method for distinguishing of organic tissues from each other and separating thereof y operation, characterized in that samples are taken from the tissue thereby that certain parts thereof are pyrolysed punctiform and collecting the pyrolysate /gases and/or vapours/ so obtained and examining its composition, the results of the composition examination are compared with reference data and the character of the tissue is determined, thereafter samples are taken repeatedly and the boundary of the tissues will be indicated, and the tissues will be separated along said boundary. 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the punctiform pyrolysis is carried out by laser pyrolysis . 3. The method as claimed in claim lor2, characteriz¬ ed in that the separating of the tissues along the boundary indicated is carried out hy laser pyrolysis . 4. An apparatus for distinguishing of organic tissues from each other and separating thereof by operating, characterized in that a laser knife /2/ directed to the examined tissue piece /15/, a pyrolysate collecting and dispatching head /3/ placed in the immediate vicinity of said examined tissue piece, said head being connected throug piping /16/ with a real time analyser /6/, said analyser /6/ being connected with one of the inputs of comparing and evaluating unit /14/, to the other input of which a reference data memory fill is connected, the output of said comparing and evaluating unit /14/ being connected to a display /l 0/ and said laser knife /2/ being connected to a control apparatus /12/. 5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 4 . characterized in that the display /10/ is a video display to which a video system /13/ and a video camera /!/ directed to the examined tissue piece /15/ are connected. 6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, characterize / in that a control computer /7/ controls the operation of each unit, to the inputs of which the analyser /6/, the comparing and evaluating unit /14/ and the video system /13/, to the output thereof the video 5 display /10/ and the control apparatus /12/ of the laser knife /2/ are connected. 7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, char acteriz- e d in that the pyrolysate collecting and dispatching head /3/ contain a pressure sensing element /8/ and a temperature sensing element 10 /9/ connected respectively to the inputs of the computer /7/ and having also pressure and temperature controlling units /4 and 5/ which are connected to the outputs of computer /7/. 8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6 or 7 . charac¬ terized in that the control apparatus /12/ contains a micromani- ' 15 pulator driving the laser knife /2 /, the control input of which being connected with the computer /7/ or a hand control apparatus. 9. The apparatus of claim 4, char acterized in that the analyser /6/ is a dinamic mass spectrometer.

Inventors: KOVACS ADAM, KOVACS, ADAM
Applicants: KOVACS ADAM, KOVACS, ADAM
Application year: 1985
Main classification: A61B17
IPC codes: A61B18, A61B19