Patent ID: 8012139

Claim:
A method of delivering a medical agent to an interior disc space of a spinal disc, the method comprising: providing a medical agent delivery device comprising one or more elongate tissue-penetrating members for penetrating into a tissue region of the patient; a first orifice located on said one or more tissue-penetrating members; a first fluid path from said first orifice; a delivery mechanism for delivering a medical agent, said delivery mechanism fluidly coupled to the first fluid path, said delivery mechanism includes a delivery plunger operatively associated with a medical agent supply chamber and adapted to deliver medical agent from the supply chamber through said first fluid path; a second orifice on said one or more tissue penetrating members; a second fluid path from said second orifice; and a withdrawal mechanism for withdrawing material from tissue of the patient, said withdrawal mechanism fluidly coupled to said second fluid path, said withdrawal mechanism includes a withdrawal plunger operatively associated with at least one tissue material receiving chamber and adapted to withdraw tissue material through said second fluid path; and wherein the first fluid path and the second fluid path are independent of each other; said medical agent supply chamber is provided by a barrel; said plunger and barrel are configured so that said plunger is traversable through the barrel so as to force medical agent forward of the plunger through said first fluid path and also create a reduced pressure zone rearward of the plunger in the barrel; and said second fluid path is coupled to said reduced pressure zone such that traversal of the plunger through the barrel simultaneously delivers medical agent to the tissue region and withdraws tissue material from the tissue region; positioning the medical agent delivery device so as to insert said first orifice and second orifices into the interior space of the spinal disc; delivering a medical agent from said first orifice located on said one or more tissue-penetrating members to a disc nucleus tissue within the interior disc space.