Patent ID: 8175697

Claim:
A catheter for insertion into a human body comprising one or more scanning-enabled ultrasonic transducers as well as a surgical instrument, wherein the surgical instrument is configured to be operated from the outside of the human body and comprises a needle configured for the introduction of a substance or for the extraction of tissue samples, wherein the catheter comprises at least two inner parts having substantially circular arc cross sections, and wherein a rod is inserted between said inner parts and at the end of the rod is provided with at least one scanning-enabled ultrasonic transducer, said inner parts being enclosed in an outer tube which passes over the inner parts, and wherein the outer surface of at least one of the inner parts is provided with a longitudinal groove configured to provide an opening for insertion of the needle, wherein the inner parts removably engage each other and are bound by said outer tube when the catheter is assembled, wherein the inner parts have abutting surfaces shaped so that they can be locked relative to one another, forming a longitudinal seam between the inner parts, the inner parts capable of being removed from the outer tube and disengaged from each other, and wherein the longitudinal groove is shaped such that the needle can be inserted from the outside of the human body into the human body via the longitudinal groove.