Patent ID: 7419472

Claim:
A handheld biopsy instrument comprising: a. a hollow, biopsy, insertion needle having an axially extending open specimen port at its distal end, b. an elongated, rotatable, tissue specimen cutter slidably received within said biopsy insertion needle, wherein the cutter has a distal end, c. an elongated flexible push rod slidably received within said needle and parallel to said cutter, said push rod extending to the distal end of said needle, d. means for applying a first vacuum within the distal end of said needle whereby a portion of a tissue to be sampled is drawn into said specimen port when said needle is inserted into the tissue to be sampled, e. means for advancing said cutter toward the distal end of said needle, f. means for rotating said cutter as said cutter advances within said needle, whereby said cutter cuts and encapsulates the portion of said tissue contained within said specimen port, g. means for advancing said flexible push rod axially toward the distal end of said needle, and h. means at the distal end of said needle for causing said push rod to turn 180 degrees thereby reversing its direction of movement from a distal direction to a proximal direction, whereby said push rod end enters said cutter from the distal end of the cutter, engages said encapsulated tissue specimen therein, thereby moving said tissue specimen axially toward the proximal end of said cutter.