Patent ID: 8052693

Claim:
A method for treating a patient, the patient having a head with a first ear and a second ear, the method comprising: advancing a tube delivery device into the first ear of the patient; aligning the tube delivery device with a tympanic membrane of the first ear; verifying that the tube delivery device is within a desired range from the tympanic membrane, using a range finder of the tube delivery device; inputting a command to an input device operatively coupled to the tube delivery device to generate a signal; actuating the tube delivery device in response to the signal so as to drive a penetrator of the device through the tympanic membrane; and deploying a tympanostomy tube with the tube delivery device, the tympanostomy tube advancing with the penetrator and the penetrator retracting back into the ear canal after releasing the tympanostomy tube; wherein the tube delivery device comprises a first spring urging the penetrator distally through the tympanic membrane and a second spring urging the tympanostomy tube free of the penetrator and the penetrator proximally of the tympanic membrane, wherein the first and second springs are restrained and store mechanical energy prior to the signal and wherein the signal effects sequential release of the first spring and the second spring; and wherein the signal comprises an electrical signal, the device comprising an electromechanical mechanism effecting axial movement of the penetrator.