Patent ID: 8444656

Claim:
A follicular unit removal tool, comprising: a first elongated body having a distal tip configured to dissect a follicular unit, a lumen configured to encapsulate a follicular unit, and a wall structure, wherein the wall structure comprises an inner wall and an outer wall; a second elongated body coaxially disposed between the inner wall and the outer wall of the first elongated body and having a sharp distal tip configured to penetrate a body surface, at least one of the first and second elongated bodies being movable relative to the other so that (i) in a first position, the sharp distal tip of the second elongated body is positioned within the wall structure and spaced apart from the distal tip of the first elongated body, (ii) in a second position, the sharp distal tip extends out along a longitudinal axis of the first elongated body for making an incision in a skin surface, (iii) in a third position, the distal tip of the first elongated body moves axially relative to the second elongated body through the incision created by the sharp distal tip of the second elongated body; and wherein during withdrawal of the removal tool from the incision the encapsulated follicular unit is shielded from the sharp distal tip of the second elongated body by the wall structure of the first elongated body.