1. A tissue treatment system comprising:
an elongated cannula having a proximal end a distal end and a lumen extending there between;
a handle body mounted to a proximal portion of the elongated cannula, the handle body comprising at least one extension projecting from the handle body;
a shaft slidably disposed with the lumen of the cannula, the shaft including a plurality of delivery tubes carried by a distal portion of the shaft, the delivery tubes including respective lumens configured for carrying a treatment material;
a plunger assembly slidably disposed relative to the shaft and configured to push the treatment material out of the respective lumens of the delivery tubes; and
an indexing device comprising a tubular portion having a plurality of slots configured to receive the at least one extension, at least some of the plurality of slots having different lengths.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the handle body comprises a plurality of extensions projecting from the handle body.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of extensions are located on opposing sides of the handle body and wherein the plurality of slots comprises a plurality of pairs of opposing slots disposed in the tubular portion, each respective opposing pair having substantially the same slot length.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the handle body comprises a single extension and the plurality of slots comprise slots of different lengths.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the treatment material comprises treatment particles.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the treatment material comprises a liquid.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the treatment material comprises a gel.
8. The system of claim 5, wherein the treatment particles are radioactive.
9. The system of claim 5, wherein the treatment particles comprise a bioactive agent.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the bioactive agent harms or destroys tissue.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the delivery tubes have a cross-sectional shape selected from the group consisting of rectangular, circular, elliptical, and square.
12. The system of claim 1, further comprising a handle affixed to a proximal portion of the shaft.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein the indexing device comprising a base portion affixed to the tubular portion.
14. The system of claim 1, wherein the plunger assembly comprises a proximal portion and a plurality of distal portions, the plurality of distal portions configured to push the treatment material out of the respective lumens of the delivery tubes.
15. A tissue treatment system comprising:
an elongated cannula having a proximal end a distal end and a lumen extending therebetween;
a handle body mounted to a proximal portion of the elongated cannula, the handle body comprising a plurality of slots, at least some of the plurality of slots having different lengths;
a shaft slidably disposed with the lumen of the cannula, the shaft including a plurality of delivery tubes carried by a distal portion of the shaft, the delivery tubes including respective lumens configured for carrying a treatment material;
a plunger assembly slidably disposed relative to the shaft and configured to push the treatment material out of the respective lumens of the delivery tubes; and
an indexing device comprising a tubular portion having at least one extension projecting from the tubular portion and configured to engage with the plurality of slots in the handle body.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the tubular portion has a plurality of extensions projecting there from.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the plurality of extensions are located on opposing sides of the tubular portion and wherein the plurality of slots comprises a plurality of pairs of opposing slots disposed in the handle body, each respective opposing pair having substantially the same slot length.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein the tubular body comprises a single extension and the plurality of slots comprise slots of different lengths.
19. The system of claim 15, wherein the treatment material comprises treatment particles.
20. The system of claim 15, wherein the treatment material comprises a liquid.
21. The system of claim 15, wherein the treatment material comprises a gel.
22. The system of claim 19, wherein the treatment particles are radioactive.
23. The system of claim 19, wherein the treatment particles comprise a bioactive agent.
24. The system of claim 23, wherein the bioactive agent harms or destroys tissue.
25. The system of claim 15, wherein the delivery tubes have a cross-sectional shape selected from the group consisting of rectangular, circular, elliptical, and square.
26. The system of claim 15, further comprising a handle affixed to a proximal portion of the shaft.
27. The system of claim 15, wherein the indexing device comprising a base portion affixed to the tubular portion.
28. The system of claim 15, wherein the plunger assembly comprises a proximal portion and a plurality of distal portions, the plurality of distal portions configured to push the treatment material out of the respective lumens of the delivery tubes.
29. A method for treating tissue, comprising:
placing an indexing device against a surface of a body, the indexing device comprising a tubular member having a plurality of slots therein;
inserting a treatment device into the indexing device, the treatment device including one or more extensions configured to fit within the plurality of slots;
deploying a plurality of delivery tubes from the treatment device such that the plurality of delivery tubes are at a first position within a target tissue region; and
delivering a treatment material from the plurality of delivery tubes to the target tissue region.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the treatment material comprises treatment particles.
31. The method of claim 29, wherein the treatment material comprises a liquid.
32. The method of claim 29, wherein the treatment material comprises a gel.
33. The method of claim 30, wherein the treatment particles are radioactive.
34. The method of claim 30, wherein the treatment particles comprise a bioactive agent.
35. A method for treating tissue, comprising:
placing an indexing device against a surface of a body, the indexing device comprising a tubular member having one or more extensions;
inserting a treatment device into the indexing device, the treatment device including a plurality of slots configured to receive the one or more extensions;
deploying a plurality of delivery tubes from the treatment device such that the plurality of delivery tubes are at a first position within a target tissue region; and
delivering a treatment material from the plurality of delivery tubes to the target tissue region.
36. The method of claim 35, wherein the treatment material comprises treatment particles.
37. The method of claim 35, wherein the treatment material comprises a liquid.
38. The method of claim 35, wherein the treatment material comprises a gel.
39. The method of claim 36, wherein the treatment particles are radioactive.
40. The method of claim 36, wherein the treatment particles comprise a bioactive agent.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
We claim:
1. A method for implementing a business process on a computer system comprising the steps of:
developing at least one business rule that describes the business process;
for each business rule, developing an element of a workflow that implements the business process;
determining at least one data item for implementing each workflow element; and
identifying sources of each data item from a plurality of computer systems, wherein at least one of computer systems comprises an operating system different from the operating system used on the computer system comprising a workflow engine that operates on a workflow representing the business process.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
defining a delegate to perform each workflow element;
arranging each delegate to form the workflow, wherein the delegate arrangement corresponds to an order of each business rule in the business process.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of defining a delegate to perform each workflow element further comprises the steps of:
determining if the workflow element specified retrieval of the data items from one of the computer systems comprising the identified data sources;
determining if more than one communications link exists between each of the plurality of computer systems and a computer system comprising the workflow engine;
if more than one communications link exists, then selecting one of the communications links based on at least one selection criterion; and
defining the delegate to perform the workflow element, wherein the delegate instantiates an action to retrieve the data item.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of defining the delegate to perform each workflow element comprises determining if the delegate exists in a delegate library maintained by the computer system comprising the workflow engine.
5. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of defining a delegate to perform each workflow element comprises categorizing each workflow element by a workflow element type representing a function supported by the workflow element.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein each workflow element type is represented by a geometric shape and the step of arranging each delegate to form the workflow comprises using a visual representation of the geometric shape assigned to each delegate to arrange the workflow elements in a manner that corresponds to an order of the business rules in the business process.
7. The method of claim 2 wherein each delegate is defined by an XML document.
8. The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of operating the workflow engine to implement the workflow.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the workflow can be modified during the step of operating the workflow engine to implement the workflow without restarting the workflow from the first workflow element.
10. A method for implementing a business process for an enterprise, wherein the business process comprises at least one business rule, comprising the steps of:
developing a workflow element from each business rule of the business process;
identifying each source of data items for the workflow elements;
defining a delegate to perform each workflow element;
arranging each delegate to form the workflow, wherein the workflow corresponds to an order of the business rules in the business process; and
operating a workflow engine that processes the workflow, wherein at least one of the workflow elements specifies the retrieval by the workflow engine of one of the data items from one of the identified sources and at least one of the sources of data items comprises a computer system other than a computer system comprising the workflow engine that operates on a workflow representing the business process.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of defining a delegate to perform each workflow element further comprises the steps of:
determining if the workflow element specifies retrieval of data from one of the computer systems of the enterprise comprising the identified data sources;
determining if more than one communications link exists between each of the computer systems and the computer system comprising the workflow engine;
if more than one communications link exists, then selecting one of the communications links based on at least one selection criterion; and
defining the delegate to perform the workflow element, wherein the delegate instantiates an action to retrieve the data using the selected communications link.
12. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of defining a delegate to perform each workflow element comprises the step of determining if the delegate exists in a delegate library maintained by the computer system comprising the workflow engine.
13. The method of claim 10 wherein the step of defining a delegate to perform each workflow element comprises categorizing each workflow element by a workflow element type representing a function supported by the workflow element.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein each workflow element type is represented by a geometric shape and the step of arranging each delegate to form the workflow comprises using a visual representation of the geometric shape assigned to each delegate to arrange the workflow elements in a manner that corresponds to an order of the business rules in the business process.
15. The method of claim 10 wherein each delegate is defined by an XML document.
16. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of operating the workflow engine to implement the workflow.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein the workflow can be modified during the step of operating the workflow engine to implement the workflow without restarting the workflow from the first workflow element.
18. A system for implementing a computer-based workflow representing a business process comprising:
a plurality of computers, each comprising data items for implementing the business process; and
a workflow engine, logically coupled to each of the computers, for operating the workflow by retrieving at least one data item from a data source for each of the computers in response to each workflow element of the workflow, wherein at least one of the computers comprises an operating system different from the operating system comprising the workflow engine.
19. The system of claim 18 further comprising a computer operable to receive display images in response to one of the workflow elements instantiating a display request, the computer further operable to send data to the workflow engine in response to one of the workflow elements instantiating a data request.
20. The system of claim 18 wherein the workflow engine instantiates a plurality of actions of actions retrieves one or more items of data for the plurality of computers.
21. A system for implementing a computer-based workflow representing a business process, wherein the business process comprises at least one business rule, comprising:
a first computer, logically connected to a second computer, wherein the first computer comprises a client computer software application operable to receive a definition of a delegate to perform each workflow element of the workflow, wherein each workflow element corresponds to a business rule comprising the business process, and further operable to receive an arrangement of each delegate to form the workflow.
22. The system of claim 21 wherein each delegate defined to perform each workflow element is represented by a geometric shape and the first computer is operable to receive an arrangement of each delegate to form the workflow using a visual representation of each delegate to arrange the workflow elements in a manner that corresponds to an order of the business rules in the business process.
23. The system of claim 21 wherein the first computer is further operable to receive at least one display image from the second computer, wherein the second computer comprises a workflow engine that operates on the workflow and each display image is displayed on the first computer as a result of the second computer operating on the workflow.