Patent ID: 6875183

Claim:
A biopsy needle instrument for sampling bone marrow tissue, said instrument comprising: a handle for inserting said needle into the bone marrow tissue; and said needle further comprising a single hollow tube, configured for both cutting and receiving a bone marrow tissue sample, coupled to said handle; said tube having (a) a tube bore defining a tissue-receiving space for the bone marrow tissue sample, (b) a substantially rigid tip, and (c) an outer wall configured to contact the bone marrow tissue, said outer wall being provided with an abrading formation comprising at least one slot cut into said outer wall, said slot having at least one sharp edge, said slot having a width of less than about 1 mm, said abrading formation extending in an axial direction along said tube to abrade the bone marrow tissue and thereby to allow said tip of said single hollow tube to be laterally displaced within the bone marrow tissue to facilitate retrieval of the bone marrow tissue sample.