What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus for removing material from a target area of a breast of a human or an animal, the apparatus comprising:
a handpiece;
a cannula including a proximal end portion structured to be coupled to the handpiece and an open distal tip structured to be placed in a target area of a breast of a human or an animal; and
a rotational element structured to be operatively coupled to a source of rotational energy, the rotational element disposed at least partially in the cannula and being structured to at least assist in drawing material from the target area of a breast into the cannula.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the rotational element and the cannula cooperatively engage to form a source of suction effective in drawing material from a target area of a breast into the cannula in response to rotation of the rotational element.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 which includes no other source of suction or aspiration.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the rotational element includes a shaft and one or more outwardly extending projections.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the one or more outwardly extending projections have a substantially helical configuration.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the rotational element includes a distal portion that extends beyond the open distal tip of the cannula.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the distal portion of the rotational element includes one or more outwardly extending projections having a substantially helical configuration.
8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the rotational element includes a shaft portion that extends beyond the open distal tip of the cannula.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the rotational element includes a distal portion that extends a distance in a range of about 0.02 inches to about 1 inch beyond the open distal tip of the cannula.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the cannula has an outer diameter no greater than about 5 mm.
11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the cannula has an outer diameter no greater than about 2 mm.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the open distal tip of the cannula is beveled or is substantially perpendicular with respect to a longitudinal axis of the cannula.
13. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a collection chamber, in communication with the cannula, structured to contain material passed through the cannula.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the collection chamber is structured to facilitate quantification of the material removed from a breast of a human or animal.
15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the cannula is structured to be manually deformable.
16. The apparatus of claim 1 which further comprises a motor operatively coupled to the rotational element to provide rotation to the rotational element.
17. An apparatus for removing tissue from a target area of a breast of a human or an animal, the apparatus comprising:
a handpiece;
a cannula, having an outer diameter of about 5 mm or less, and including a proximal end portion structured to be coupled to the handpiece and an open distal tip structured to be placed in a target area of a breast of a human or animal; and
a rotational element structured to cooperate with the cannula in drawing tissue into the open distal tip in response to rotation of the rotational element, the rotational element including a shaft and having distal portion extending beyond the open distal tip of the cannula, and a proximal end portion structured to be operatively coupled to a source of rotational energy.
18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the rotational element and the cannula are sized and positioned to cooperate to form suction effective in drawing tissue from a breast into the cannula in response to rotation of the rotational element.
19. The apparatus of claim 17 which includes no other source of suction or aspiration.
20. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the rotational element includes one or more outwardly extending projections.
21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the one or more outwardly extending projections have a substantially helical configuration.
22. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the distal portion of the rotational element includes one or more outwardly extending projections having a substantially helical configuration.
23. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the shaft extends beyond the open distal tip of the cannula.
24. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the distal portion of the rotational element extends a distance in a range of about 0.02 inches to about 1 inch beyond the open distal tip of the cannula.
25. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the cannula has an outer diameter no greater than about 2 mm.
26. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the open distal tip of the cannula is beveled or is substantially perpendicular with respect to a longitudinal axis of the cannula.
27. The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising a collection chamber, in communication with the cannula, structured to contain tissue passed through the cannula.
28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the collection chamber is structured to facilitate quantification of tissue passed through the cannula.
29. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the cannula is manually deformable.
30. A method of removing material from a breast of a human or an animal, the method comprising the steps of:
placing into a breast of a human or an animal a cannula having an open, distal tip and a rotational element disposed at least partially in the cannula; and
rotating the rotational element relative to the cannula, thereby at least assisting in drawing a material from the breast into the open distal tip of the cannula.
31. The method of claim 30 which further comprises passing the material from the breast through the cannula.
32. The method of claim 30 wherein the placing step includes percutaneously introducing the cannula into the body, and positioning the open distal tip of the cannula in close proximity to the material from the breast to be removed.
33. The method of claim 30 wherein the cannula and rotational element are sized and positioned so that the rotating step is effective to create suction effective in drawing the material from the breast into the open distal tip of the cannula.
34. The method of claim 30 wherein the cannula has an outer diameter no larger than about 5 mm.
35. The method of claim 30 wherein the cannula has an outer diameter no larger than about 2 mm.
36. The method of claim 30 wherein the material from the breast is removed without applying additional suction or aspiration to the open distal tip of the cannula.
37. The method of claim 30 wherein the step of rotating is effective in drawing the material from the breast into the open distal tip of the cannula as a substantially single continuous piece.
38. The method of claim 30 further comprising at least one of collecting the removed material from the breast and observing the removed material from the breast.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A navigation switch assembly, comprising:
a navigation switch mounted on a printed circuit board, comprising:
an adjustment stick protruding from an upper portion thereof;
a knob, comprising:
a first connecting portion, and
a holder, comprising:
a second connecting portion,
wherein the first connecting portion is to connect to the second connecting portion and to the adjustment stick.
2. The navigation switch assembly of claim 1,
wherein the first connecting portion comprises:
a pair of guide grooves and a pair of locking grooves, each pair of grooves being formed along an external circumference of a hollow shaft disposed at a lower end of the knob, and
wherein the second connecting portion comprises:
a pair of ribs and a pair of tension ribs, each pair of ribs being formed along an inner surface of the holder.
3. The navigation switch assembly of claim 2, wherein:
each of the guide grooves has a vertical guide groove and a horizontal guide groove connected to an end of the vertical guide groove,
each of the locking grooves has a vertical shape,
each of the ribs protrudes from the holder toward a center,
each of the tension ribs protrudes from the holder along a circumference direction with a long length and has a locking protrusion formed at an end thereof, and
the hollow shaft is fitted in the holder in a vertical direction such that the ribs are inserted into the vertical guide grooves and then the holder is rotated in a circumferential direction such that the ribs are moved to the horizontal guide grooves simultaneously with the locking protrusion being connected with the locking grooves.
4. The navigation switch of claim 2, wherein the holder is larger than the opening.
5. The navigation switch of claim 2, wherein an upper portion of the knob is larger than the opening.
6. The navigation switch of claim 2, wherein the casing is shaped to have a concave surface formed around the opening, and wherein a height of the knob is equal to that of a surface other than the concave surface.
7. The navigation switch of claim 2, wherein the casing is shaped to have a concave surface formed around the opening, and wherein a height of the knob is higher than that of a surface other than the concave surface.
8. The navigation switch of claim 1, further comprising:
a product casing, comprising:
an opening through which the first connecting portion passes to connect to the second connecting portion.
9. The navigation switch assembly of claim 1, wherein the knob further comprises:
a pressing plate to press the knob towards the switch to activate the switch.
10. The navigation switch assembly of claim 9, wherein the pressing plate comprises;
a friction opening to prevent sliding.