Patent ID: 8414607

Claim:
A medical procedure comprising: a. insertion of a shredding tool into a working area associated with a body of a patient, the shredding tool comprising: i. a housing having a distal end and a proximal end; ii. a first multi-blade blade stack mounted for rotational motion about a first rotational axis relative to the housing, the first stack extending in part from the housing, the first stack comprising a plurality of substantially planar blades arranged in a parallel manner and co-axially along the first rotational axis, wherein at least one of the blades of the first stack comprises a first side and a second side parallel to and offset from the first side, and a plurality of cutting tips, wherein each cutting tip has dimensions, each of which are no greater than about 0.5 millimeters, wherein a maximum radial extension of at least some of the tips are located on the first side of the blade while the maximum radial extension of at least some other tips are located on the second side of the blade; iii. a second multi-blade blade stack mounted for rotational motion, about a second axis which is parallel to the first axis, relative to the housing and extending in part from the housing, wherein at least a portion of the blades of the second blade stack have interlaced positions with the blades of the first stack in a plane perpendicular to the first and second axes of rotation but which are offset in the direction of the first and second axes so that the blades of first stack do not interfere with the blades of the second stack; iv. a drive mechanism for rotating the blades of the first stack; and v. a drive mechanism for rotating the blades of the second stack in an opposite direction relative to the rotation of the blades of the first stacks; b. powering on the drive mechanism and moving the shredding tool to desired locations within the working area to intake and shred selected material; and c. extracting the shredding tool from the working area and from the body of the patient.