Patent ID: 8409111

Claim:
A localizing wire for marking a location of a lesion in a tissue mass, the localizing wire adapted for placement through at least one cannula lumen relative to the lesion, the localizing wire comprising: a localizing anchor adapted to hold the localizing wire at a selected location within the tissue mass relative to the lesion; and a localizing thread connected to the localizing anchor to define an enclosed variable area, the localizing thread extending along an axis, the localizing thread being (i) sized to extend outside the tissue mass and (ii) disengaged and separated from the cannula lumen when the localizing anchor is held at the selected location, the localizing thread and the localizing anchor being formed from the same piece; wherein the localizing anchor comprises a resilient material adapted to automatically transition from a collapsed shape that bounds a first area when the localizing anchor is in the at least one lumen, to an expanded shape that bounds a second area larger than the first area when the localizing anchor is outside the at least one lumen, wherein the localizing anchor displaces but does not puncture the tissue mass when the localizing anchor expands from the collapsed shape to the expanded shape, and wherein the axis of the localizing thread intersects the expanded shape of the localizing anchor at approximately a center point of an opening in the localizing anchor, and wherein the expanded shape of the localizing anchor is generally a square.