Patent ID: 7452367

Claim:
An apparatus for transplanting a hair graft, comprising: a housing including an actuator chamber and a hair graft chamber with an open distal end, the hair graft chamber for housing a loaded hair graft; a gas-permeable rod inside the housing, an end of the rod being movable to a position along a central axis of the housing; a vacuum source operably coupled to the housing to provide suction through the gas-permeable rod and at the open distal end for drawing a hair graft into the hair graft chamber; and an actuator to move the end of the rod substantially flush with the open distal end so that the loaded hair graft is delivered to a scalp wound, wherein the end of the rod is movable between a first position and a second position, wherein, with the end of the rod in the first position, the housing provides a spacing between the end of the rod and the open distal end of the housing to receive a hair graft, and wherein, with the end of the rod in the second position, the end of the rod is substantially flush with the open distal end of the housing, so that the hair graft is delivered to a scalp wound.