Patent Publication Number: US-2019178757-A1

Title: Tissue dividing jig

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to a tissue dividing jig. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Biopsies are essential means for accurately diagnosing diseases. Most commonly, biopsies are performed with the use of a biopsy gun. When the biopsy gun is used, one or more needles are moved forward in a target tissue typically under ultrasonic guidance or MRI guidance. Next, a tissue fragment (core) is taken out together with the biopsy needle(s). The tissue fragment is collected from the needle(s), and then immersed in a fixing agent (formalin fixation) or frozen. Subsequently, the tissue fragment is embedded in paraffin, sliced, and subjected to frozen segmentation. The tissue fragment is then placed on a microscope slide, and subjected to coloring, nucleic acid analysis, or other analyses. In many cases, process steps for visual analyses of the tissue fragment (such as a treatment with a fixing agent, paraffin embedding, coloring and the like) are incompatible with process steps for molecular biological analyses of the tissue fragment (in situ PCR, fluorescent in situ hybridization and the like). Accordingly, it is necessary to collect many needle biopsy tissues from a site being examined. 
     For example, in prostate biopsy, tissue fragments are collected by transperineal or transrectal needle biopsy. Thus, elongated columnar fragments are collected. To minimize the risk of bleeding, infection and the like accompanying the prostate biopsy, it is desirable that the number of tissue fragments to be collected is as few as possible. On the other hand, since it is technically impossible to perform sampling twice on the same site, large-scale DNA analysis for prostate cancer utilizing biopsy tissues has not been performed. On this account, there has been proposed a tissue dividing biopsy needle that includes a needle portion and a sheath portion so that it can divide a tissue (see Japanese Translation of PCT International Application Publication No. JP-T-2011-500285, for example). 
     However, when tissue is divided inside a biopsy needle, the tissue may slip inside the biopsy needle or, when taking out tissue fragments from the biopsy needle after dividing the tissue, the tissue fragments may be deformed or compressed, resulting in misalignment of the tissue fragments. Also, it is difficult to control dividing positions of the tissue. To avoid such drawbacks, it is conceivable to divide the biopsy tissue after being collected from the needle and before being processed. However, such division after collecting the biopsy tissue requires fairly expert skill and equipment that is not generally available in clinics where biopsies are performed. Furthermore, even if extreme care is taken to divide the biopsy tissue evenly, it is difficult to perform consistent division over the entire length of the core. 
     With the foregoing in mind, it could be helpful to provide a tissue dividing jig that can easily divide a needle biopsy tissue to be subjected to biopsy into a plurality of fragments, namely, two fragments or three or more fragments over the entire length of the needle biopsy tissue, thereby allowing divided tissues with spatial correspondence to be obtained. 
     SUMMARY 
     We provide a tissue dividing jig for dividing a needle biopsy tissue in a longitudinal direction, including: a tissue dividing base; and a cutting blade set, wherein the tissue dividing base has a tissue placement portion on which the needle biopsy tissue is to be placed, the cutting blade set is provided with a cutting blade member and a guide portion, the tissue dividing base and the cutting blade set have a positioning mechanism that fixes their positions mutually, the cutting blade member is provided with a cutting blade that extends in a longitudinal direction of the tissue placement portion, the guide portion guides the cutting blade member to move the cutting blade member to a fixed position on the tissue dividing base, and when the cutting blade set is disposed at a predetermined position on the tissue dividing base by the positioning mechanism and the cutting blade member is moved using the guide portion, the cutting blade is disposed at a position where the cutting blade divides the needle biopsy tissue placed on the tissue placement portion in the longitudinal direction. 
     We also provides a tissue dividing jig for dividing a needle biopsy tissue in a longitudinal direction, including: a tissue dividing base; and a cutting blade set, wherein the tissue dividing base has a tissue placement portion on which the needle biopsy tissue is to be placed, the cutting blade set is provided with a cutting blade member and a guide portion, the tissue dividing base and the cutting blade set have a positioning mechanism that fixes their positions mutually, the cutting blade member is provided with a cutting blade that extends in a longitudinal direction of the tissue placement portion, the guide portion guides the cutting blade member to move the cutting blade member to a fixed position on the tissue dividing base, and when the cutting blade set is disposed at a predetermined position on the tissue dividing base by the positioning mechanism and the cutting blade member is moved using the guide portion, the cutting blade is disposed at a position where the cutting blade divides the needle biopsy tissue placed on the tissue placement portion into two fragments in the longitudinal direction. 
     It is preferable that a sheet-like member having an affinity for the needle biopsy tissue is further placed on the tissue placement portion. 
     It is preferable that that the sheet-like member can be divided with the cutting blade. 
     It is preferable that the tissue dividing base can be divided at a cutting position of the needle biopsy tissue. 
     The tissue dividing jig preferably further includes a biopsy needle guide that can fix a biopsy needle carrying the needle biopsy tissue collected therewith in a lengthwise direction. 
     We thus provide a tissue dividing jig that can easily divide a needle biopsy tissue to be subjected to a biopsy into a plurality of fragments, namely, two fragments or three or more fragments over the entire length of the needle biopsy tissue, thereby allowing divided tissues with spatial correspondence to be obtained. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view showing a tissue dividing jig  100  according to a first example. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing the state of the tissue dividing jig  100  at the time of dividing a needle biopsy tissue. 
         FIG. 3  is a partially enlarged sectional view of the tissue dividing jig  100  at the time of dividing a needle biopsy tissue. 
         FIGS. 4A to 4D  are schematic explanatory views illustrating a process of dividing a needle biopsy tissue using the tissue dividing jig  100 . 
         FIGS. 5A to 5E  are schematic explanatory views illustrating a process of transferring a needle biopsy tissue S collected with a biopsy needle  120  to a tissue placement portion  102 . 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view showing a tissue dividing jig  200  according to a second example. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing a tissue dividing base  201 A according to a modified example of the tissue dividing jig according to the second example. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing a tissue dividing base  201 B according to another modified example of the tissue dividing jig according to the second example. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view showing a tissue dividing jig  300  according to a third example. 
         FIGS. 10A and 10B  are perspective views showing the state of a tissue dividing jig  300  at the time of dividing a needle biopsy tissue. 
       REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
       
           
             100 ,  200 ,  300 : Tissue dividing jig 
             101 ,  101 A,  101 B,  201 ,  201 A,  201 B,  301 : Tissue dividing base 
             102 ,  202 ,  302 : Tissue placement portion 
             103 ,  203 ,  303 : Cutting blade set 
             105 ,  205 ,  305 : Cutting blade member 
             106 ,  206 ,  306 : Cutting blade 
             107 : Guide portion 
             108 : Guide hole 
             109 ,  209 ,  309 : Sheet-like member 
             120 : Biopsy needle 
             121 : Notch 
             207 : Guide portion (positioning mechanism) 
             210 : Positioning pin (positioning mechanism) 
             215 ,  315 : Pressing member 
             216 : Positioning hole 
             220 ,  220 A,  221 ,  321 : Biopsy needle guide 
             230 : Biopsy needle stopper portion (biopsy needle stopper wall) 
             307 : Hinge (guide portion, positioning mechanism) 
             316 : Hinge 
             330 : Button 
           S, SA, SB: Needle biopsy tissue 
         
      
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Our tissue dividing jigs will be described with reference to illustrative examples. It is to be noted, however, that this disclosure is not limited to or restricted by the following examples. 
     FIRST EXAMPLE 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show a tissue dividing jig  100  according to a first example.  FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view, and  FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing the state of the tissue dividing jig  100  at the time of dividing a needle biopsy tissue.  FIG. 3  is a partially enlarged sectional view of the tissue dividing jig  100  at the time of dividing a needle biopsy tissue S. The tissue dividing jig  100  has a tissue dividing base  101  and a cutting blade set  103 . The tissue dividing base  101  has a tissue placement portion  102  on which a needle biopsy tissue is to be placed. The cutting blade set  103  is provided with a cutting blade member  105  and a guide portion  107 . 
     The tissue dividing base  101  and the cutting blade set  103  have a positioning mechanism that fixes their positions mutually. The positioning mechanism in this example is such that the tissue dividing base  101  and the guide portion  107  have cross-sectional shapes that can be combined with each other to fix the tissue dividing base  101  and the guide portion  107 . That is, the cross section of the tissue dividing base  101  is in a shape of a V-shaped notch, and the cross section of the guide portion  107  is in a shape that fits into the cross section of the tissue dividing base  101  when combined with the tissue dividing base  101  (i.e., a triangular shape with a vertex having substantially the same angle as the angle of the V-shaped notch), whereby the positioning of the tissue dividing base  101  and the cutting blade set  103  is achieved. The guide portion  107  has a guide hole  108  that moves the cutting blade member  105  to a fixed position. 
     The cutting blade member  105  is provided with a cutting blade  106  that extends in the longitudinal direction of the tissue placement portion  102 . The cutting blade  106  is disposed at a position where, when the guide portion  107  is disposed at the predetermined position on the tissue dividing base  101  by the positioning mechanism and the cutting blade member  105  is moved along the guide hole  108 , the cutting blade  106  divides the needle biopsy tissue S placed on the tissue placement portion  102  into two fragments in the longitudinal direction. 
     In a large tumor in a large organ, it is possible to collect many needle biopsy tissues from the same site. However, in prostate cancer or the like in which malignant tumors are relatively small and distributed irregularly in the organ, a plurality of collected needle biopsy tissues do not exhibit exactly the same properties (e.g., the proportion of the malignant tumors in the normal tissue and, malignancy and the like). Therefore, in prostate cancer in which tumors are distributed irregularly in the organ, an ordinary optical microscopy analysis and a molecular biological analysis are conventionally incompatible with the use of the same needle biopsy tissue. 
     According to the tissue dividing jig  100 , it is possible to place a needle biopsy tissue in a shape conforming to the shape of a needle without bending or twisting the needle biopsy tissue, and the needle biopsy tissue can be divided into two fragments accurately from the central portion thereof. Thus, the respective fragments obtained after dividing the needle biopsy tissue can be used immediately as a sample for histologic examination and a different sample for a molecular biological test having spatial correspondence to the sample for histologic examination. Specifically, in addition to preparation of a formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded specimen from a biopsy specimen collected for diagnosis of prostate cancer or the like, a tissue for preparation of a frozen specimen for DNA analysis also can be divided from exactly the same biopsy specimen. Accordingly, with reference to the malignancy of a cancer lesion obtained from a light microscope specimen, it becomes possible to cut out a frozen specimen from the same site and to perform DNA analysis. 
     Furthermore, by marking the end portion of the needle biopsy tissue with an ink for tissues, it becomes possible to identify the direction of the tissue (collecting direction). The direction of the tissue is identified by performing the marking, and the position can be checked accurately at the time of light microscopic diagnosis and tissue collection for DNA analysis. 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic explanatory view illustrating a process of dividing a needle biopsy tissue using a tissue dividing jig  100 . In prostate biopsy, a tissue fragment is collected by transperineal or transrectal needle biopsy. Accordingly, an elongated cylindrical fragment (for example, about 0.8 mm×20 mm, about 130 μL) is collected. Conventionally, an ordinary needle biopsy specimen is transferred to a cartridge in a state of being bent. In this state, it is not possible to divide the needle biopsy specimen into two fragments in the longitudinal direction (the direction along the biopsy needle). In contrast, the tissue placement portion  102  of the tissue dividing jig  100  of this example is in a shape of a valley-like recess. Thus, at the time of transferring the collected needle biopsy tissue from the biopsy needle  120 , it is possible to maintain the three-dimensional structure of the needle biopsy tissue S not be shifted from the three-dimensional positions in the state when it was collected ( FIGS. 4A and 4B ). 
     In this state, the guide portion  107  and the cutting blade member  105  are disposed on the tissue dividing base  101 . The guide portion  107  is disposed at a predetermined position on the tissue dividing base  101  by the positioning mechanism (see  FIG. 2 ). 
     Next, by moving the cutting blade member  105  along the guide hole  108  of the positioned guide portion  107 , the cutting blade  106  is lowered to reach the needle biopsy tissue S (see  FIG. 3 ) and divides the needle biopsy tissue S. At this time, by disposing the cutting blade  106  to be placed at the center of the valley-like recess of the tissue placement portion  102 , the needle biopsy tissue S placed on the tissue placement portion  102  can be divided into two fragments in the longitudinal direction (the direction along the biopsy needle) ( FIG. 4C ). 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , it is preferable that a sheet-like member  109  having an affinity for the needle biopsy tissue S is placed on the tissue placement portion  102 . As the sheet-like member  109 , a filter paper, a pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet, a pressure-sensitive adhesive film, a nonwoven fabric sheet, or the like can be used suitably. As the filter paper, for example, it is possible to use a “Filter Paper for Uni-Cassette &lt;Biopsy&gt;6” (Sakura Finetek Japan Co., Ltd.) or the like, which is a filter paper suitable for needle biopsy specimens. By the sheet-like member  109 , the needle biopsy tissue S is fixed by sticking action, and therefore, it becomes possible to perform cutting more accurately. 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic explanatory view illustrating a process of transferring a needle biopsy tissue S collected with the biopsy needle  120  to the tissue placement portion  102  (or the sheet-like member  109 ).  FIG. 5A  shows the biopsy needle  120 . In the biopsy needle  120 , a notch  121  is formed as a needle biopsy tissue collection portion. When the biopsy needle  120  is moved forward in a target tissue and then is taken out, the needle biopsy tissue S is held in the notch  121  as shown in  FIG. 5B , whereby specimen collection can be achieved. The biopsy needle  120  thus taken out is disposed easily at a fixed position on the tissue placement portion  102  with the use of the tissue dividing jig  100  ( FIG. 5C ). Then, the needle biopsy tissue S is transferred to the tissue placement portion  102  by bringing the needle biopsy tissue S into contact with the tissue placement portion  102  ( FIGS. 5D and 5E ). At this time, if the sheet-like member  109  is placed on the tissue placement portion  102 , the transfer can be carried out more suitably. Also, the transfer may be performed by providing a suction device in the tissue placement portion  102  and sucking the needle biopsy tissue S in the state shown in  FIG. 5D . In this example, as the sheet-like member  109 , a breathable material such as filter paper may be used. 
     It is preferable that the sheet-like member  109  can be divided by the cutting blade  106 . When the sheet-like member  109  can be divided, needle biopsy tissues SA and SB obtained after dividing the needle biopsy tissue S into two fragments can be taken out easily from the tissue dividing jig  100  in the state where the needle biopsy tissues SA and SB are held integrally with the divided sheet-like members, respectively. This configuration is preferable because the three-dimensional structures of the needle biopsy tissues SA and SB obtained after the dividing can be prevented from being shifted from the three-dimensional positions in the state when they were collected, during the process of taking them out. 
     Also, it is preferable that a specific position of the sheet-like member  109  is provided with a mark that is orthogonal to the cutting direction, for example, because this allows the direction of the tissue (collecting direction) to be identified and also, the positional relationship between needle biopsy tissues obtained after cutting becomes comprehensible. With this configuration, at the time of light microscopic diagnosis and tissue collection for DNA analysis, the position can be checked more accurately. It is also preferable that a sample number and the like are printed on the sheet-like member  109 . 
     Furthermore, it is also preferable that, as shown in  FIGS. 4A to 4D , the tissue dividing base  101  is composed of two members, namely, tissue dividing bases  101 A and  101 B, and can be divided at the cutting position of the needle biopsy tissue S. When the tissue dividing base  101  can be divided into the tissue dividing bases  101 A and  101 B at a position where the cutting blade  106  is in contact with the central portion of the recess, as shown in  FIG. 4D , the respective needle biopsy tissues SA and SB obtained after dividing the needle biopsy tissue S into two fragments can be taken out easily from the tissue dividing jig  100  in the state where they are held integrally with the divided tissue dividing bases  101 A and  101 B, respectively. Alternatively, the tissue dividing base  101  may be formed of a single member, and the tissue dividing base  101  may be cut with the cutting blade  106  together with the needle biopsy tissue S. In this example, it is preferable that the tissue dividing base  101  is formed of a material that can be cut easily with the cutting blade  106 . 
     The needle biopsy tissues SA and SB obtained by the dividing process described above have spatial correspondence over the entire lengths of the needle biopsy tissues SA and SB. By immersing one of the thus-divided needle biopsy tissues in formalin and quick-freezing the other one of the needle biopsy tissues, it is possible to obtain a fresh frozen fragment for DNA analysis and a permanent preparation embedded in paraffin or resin, which have spatial correspondence. 
     SECOND EXAMPLE 
       FIG. 6  shows a tissue dividing jig  200  according to a second example.  FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of a tissue dividing jig  200  in the state where a needle biopsy tissue S is taken out from a biopsy needle  120 . The tissue dividing jig  200  has a tissue dividing base  201  and a cutting blade set  203 . The tissue dividing base  201  has a tissue placement portion  202  on which the needle biopsy tissue S is to be placed.  FIG. 6  shows the state where a sheet-like member  209  having an affinity for the needle biopsy tissue S is placed on the tissue placement portion  202 . The cutting blade set  203  is provided with a cutting blade member  205  and guide portions  207 . In this example, the guide portions  207  are formed integrally with the cutting blade member  205 . 
     The tissue dividing base  201  and the cutting blade set  203  have a positioning mechanism for mutually fixing the positions thereof. The positioning mechanism in this example is composed of positioning pins  210  formed on the tissue dividing base  201  and the guide portions  207  formed on the cutting blade member  205 . That is, the guide portions  207  function as positioning holes, and positioning of the tissue dividing base  201  and the cutting blade set  203  is achieved by inserting the positioning pins  210  into the guide portions  207  to combine them. 
     The cutting blade member  205  is provided with a cutting blade  206  that extends in the longitudinal direction of the tissue placement portion  202 . The cutting blade  206  is disposed at a position where the cutting blade  206  divides the needle biopsy tissue S placed on the tissue placement portion  202  into two fragments in the longitudinal direction when the cutting blade set  203  is disposed at a predetermined position on the tissue dividing base  201  where the positions of the guide portions  207  coincide with the positions of the positioning pins  210 , the positioning pins  210  are inserted into the guide portions  207 , and the cutting blade set  203  is moved toward the tissue dividing base  201 . 
     It is preferable that the tissue dividing jig  200  is provided with a biopsy needle guide  220 . It is preferable to use the biopsy needle guide  220  because the needle biopsy tissue S can be placed easily at an appropriate position on the tissue dividing jig  200 . Although the biopsy needle guide  220  for the biopsy needle  120  can be provided on the tissue dividing base  201  as shown in  FIG. 6 , this disclosure is not limited thereto. 
       FIG. 7  shows a perspective view of a tissue dividing base  201 A according to a modified example of the tissue dividing jig of this example. In this modified example, a biopsy needle guide  220 A provided in the tissue dividing base  201 A is longer than the biopsy needle guide  220 . By using the biopsy needle guide  220 A, fixation of the biopsy needle  120  in the lengthwise direction can be achieved reliably. As a result, it is possible to suppress unintentional movement of the biopsy needle  120  and thus to place a needle biopsy tissue S at a predetermined position on the tissue placement portion  202  more reliably. 
     Furthermore,  FIG. 8  shows a perspective view of a tissue dividing base  201 B according to another modified example of the tissue dividing jig of this example. In this modified example, the dividing base  201 B has a biopsy needle stopper portion (biopsy needle stopper wall)  230  in the tip direction of a biopsy needle  120 . With the biopsy needle stopper portion  230 , it is possible to place a needle biopsy tissue S at a specific position on a tissue placement portion  202  by aligning the tip position of the biopsy needle  120 . Although  FIG. 8  shows the biopsy needle stopper portion  230  in the form of a wall formed integrally with the tissue dividing base  201 B, the biopsy needle stopper portion  230  is not limited thereto. For example, the biopsy needle stopper portion and the tissue dividing base may be provided as separate members, and the biopsy needle stopper portion may be mounted on the tissue dividing base to be movable with respect to the tissue dividing base. According to this configuration, the position at which a needle biopsy tissue is to be placed can be set freely depending on the position of the notch in the biopsy needle or the length of the needle biopsy tissue. 
     In this example, it is also preferable to use a pressing member  215 . The pressing member  215  is disposed between the tissue dividing base  201  and the cutting blade set  203 . By using the pressing member  215 , the sheet-like member  209  is held during the transfer and the cutting of the needle biopsy tissue S to prevent lifting and slippage of the sheet-like member  209 , whereby the transfer and the cutting of the needle biopsy tissue S can be performed more smoothly. Furthermore, when the pressing member  215  also is provided with a biopsy needle guide  221 , misalignment is less likely to occur when the needle biopsy tissue S is transferred from the biopsy needle  120  onto the tissue placement portion  202 . It is preferable that the tip side of the biopsy needle in the tissue placement portion is also provided with a biopsy needle guide  221 , because unintentional movement of the biopsy needle can be further suppressed and the biopsy needle guide  221  also can function as a biopsy needle stopper portion. In this example, by providing positioning holes  216  also in the pressing member  215  and disposing the pressing member  215  at a fixed position relative to the tissue dividing base, it becomes possible to place the needle biopsy tissue S at a predetermined position accurately. Therefore, by dividing the needle biopsy tissue S into two fragments reliably and easily over the entire length of the needle biopsy tissue S, it is possible to obtain divided tissues with spatial correspondence. 
     Although this example is directed to a structure where the needle biopsy tissue S is divided into two fragments over the entire length of the needle biopsy tissue S using one cutting blade  206 , this disclosure is not limited thereto. As the cutting blade member  205 , it is also possible to use a cutting blade member (not shown) provided with a plurality of cutting blades  206  arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction of the tissue placement portion  202 . By using the plurality of cutting blades  206 , it is also possible to divide the needle biopsy tissue S into three or more fragments over the entire length of the needle biopsy tissue S. For example, by using two cutting blades, the needle biopsy tissue S can be divided into three fragments. 
     THIRD EXAMPLE 
       FIG. 9  shows a dividing jig  300  according to a third example. The tissue dividing jig  300  has a tissue dividing base  301  and a cutting blade set  303 . The tissue dividing base  301  has a tissue placement portion  302  on which a needle biopsy tissue S is to be placed.  FIG. 9  shows the state where a sheet-like member  309  having an affinity for the needle biopsy tissue S is placed on the tissue placement portion  302 . The cutting blade set  303  is provided with a cutting blade member  305  and hinges  307 . 
     The hinges  307  in this example correspond to the positioning mechanism and the guide portion. In this example, the hinges  307  join the cutting blade member  305  and the tissue dividing base  301  together to fix their positions mutually. Then, the cutting blade member  305  is guided by the hinges  307  to move to a fixed position on the tissue dividing base  301 . 
     The cutting blade member  305  is provided with a cutting blade  306  that extends in the longitudinal direction of the tissue placement portion  302 . The cutting blade  306  is disposed at a position where the cutting blade  306  divides the needle biopsy tissue S placed on the tissue placement portion  302  in the longitudinal direction when the cutting blade set  303  is disposed at a predetermined position on the tissue dividing base  301  by the hinges  307  and the cutting blade set  303  is moved toward the tissue dividing base  301 . 
     In this example, it is also preferable to use a pressing member  315 . The pressing member  315  is disposed between the tissue dividing base  301  and the cutting blade set  303 . By using the pressing member  315 , the sheet-like member  309  is held during the transfer and the cutting of the needle biopsy tissue S to prevent lifting and slippage of the sheet-like member  309 , whereby the transfer and the cutting of the needle biopsy tissue S can be performed more smoothly. Furthermore, when the pressing member  315  also is provided with a biopsy needle guide  321 , misalignment is less likely to occur when the needle biopsy tissue S is transferred from the biopsy needle  120  onto the tissue placement portion  302 . It is preferable that the tip side of the biopsy needle in the tissue placement portion is also provided with a biopsy needle guide  321 , because unintentional movement of the biopsy needle can be further suppressed and the biopsy needle guide  321  also can function as a biopsy needle stopper portion. In this example, it is preferable to join the pressing member  315  and the tissue dividing base  301  with hinges  316 . According to this configuration, the pressing member  315  can be disposed at a fixed position relative to the tissue dividing base  301 , and it becomes possible to place the needle biopsy tissue S at a predetermined position accurately. Therefore, by dividing the needle biopsy tissue S reliably and easily over the entire length of the needle biopsy tissue S, it is possible to obtain divided tissues with spatial correspondence. 
       FIG. 10A  is a perspective view showing the state of the tissue dividing jig  300  after the needle biopsy tissue S has been taken out from the biopsy needle  120 . As shown in  FIG. 10A , after the sheet-like member  309  is placed on the tissue placement portion  302 , the pressing member  315  is disposed on the tissue dividing base  301 . In this state, the biopsy needle  120  is inserted into the biopsy needle guide  321 , and the needle biopsy tissue S is transferred by bringing the needle biopsy tissue S into contact with the sheet-like member  309 . After transferring the needle biopsy tissue S, the biopsy needle  120  is removed from the biopsy needle guide  321 , and the cutting blade set  303  is moved using the hinges  307 . After moving the cutting blade set  303  to a predetermined position as shown in  FIG. 10B , the cutting blade member  305  (cutting blade  306 ) is pushed into the needle biopsy tissue S to cut the needle biopsy tissue S. It is preferable that the cutting blade member is configured such that the cutting blade member  306  comes out when pushing the button  330  from the viewpoint of safety during operations. Furthermore, by using the cutting blade member  305  provided with a plurality of cutting blades  306 , it is also possible to divide the needle biopsy tissue S into three or more fragments over the entire length of the needle biopsy tissue S. 
     When the sheet-like member  309  can be divided (cut) with the cutting blade  306  and the needle biopsy tissue is divided into three or more fragments using a plurality of cutting blades, a tissue located at a position other than end portions after the cutting (for example, when the needle biopsy tissue is divided into three fragments using two cutting blades, the divided needle biopsy tissue to be sandwiched between the cutting blades) and the sheet-like member may enter and remain in a space between the cutting blades. In this example, the needle biopsy tissue and the sheet-like member remaining in the space between the cutting blades are taken out using tweezers with thin tips or the like, for example. At this time, the operation has to be performed carefully to maintain the state of the tissue. Thus, to obtain divided tissues with spatial correspondence more easily, it is effective to provide non-cut regions in end portions of the sheet-like member  309 , for example. When the sheet-like member  309  has the non-cut regions, the end portions of the sheet-like member  309  can be kept connected after the cutting, and therefore, it is possible to prevent the tissue and the sheet-like member after the cutting from entering and remaining in a space between the cutting blades. 
     Alternatively, by providing a step in each end portion of the tissue placement portion  302  on which the sheet-like member  309  is placed to prevent the sheet-like member  309  from being cut in the step portions even if the cutting blade  306  is pushed in, the end portions of the sheet-like member can be kept connected without being cut. Also, it is effective to use, as a cutting blade, a cutting blade having subjected to surface processing such as fluorine processing to allow the cutting blade and the needle biopsy tissue to be less likely to adhere to each other. 
     By using the tissue dividing jig, it is possible to divide a needle biopsy tissue easily into a plurality of fragments, namely, two fragments or three or more fragments, over the entire length of the needle biopsy tissue without using any special biopsy needle. As the biopsy needle, it is possible to use a commonly used biopsy needle. For example, “Bard MONOPTY (MAX⋅CORE) (trade name)” (Medicon Inc.), which is a disposable automatic biopsy needle or the like can be used. 
     As a specific example, our tissue dividing jigs have been described above with reference to examples where the tissue dividing jig is used to divide a needle biopsy tissue in prostate cancer. It is to be noted, however, that our tissue dividing jigs are not limited thereto. Our tissue dividing jigs are not only applicable to prostate cancer but also to cancer treatment of a wide region of other type of cancers and the like.