A specimen holding and positioning apparatus operable to substantially non-movably maintain a specimen (e.g., an excised tissue specimen) in a fixed or stable orientation with respect to the apparatus during imaging operations (e.g., x-ray imaging), transport (e.g., from a surgery room to a pathologist's laboratory), and the like for use in facilitating accurate detection and diagnosis of cancers and/or other abnormalities of the specimen.

A thermographic sensing device for measuring temperatures at one or more regions of the human body, particularly the breast, utilizes a thermographic composition deposited into linear arrays of recesses formed in the lobes of a conformable medium which is disposable against the skin. The thermographic composition includes a binary solvent system and at least one colorant, wherein the compositions in each array are formulated to melt at precise temperatures, within a diagnostically temperature relevant range, to change from a first visible color to a second visible color.

A breast X-ray imaging apparatus comprising a detection mechanism and a needle holder. The detection mechanism may include a ray tube and a detector that is arranged opposite to the ray tube. An irradiated region may be arranged between the ray tube and the detector. The needle holder may be configured to move relative to the detection mechanism, and the needle holder may be arranged outside the irradiated region. A breast biopsy positioning device may be mounted on the breast X-ray imaging apparatus. The needle holder of the breast biopsy positioning device may be driven to move based on different workflows of the correction process and the verification process to move the needle tip of the puncture needle to a preset position, and a pair of stereo positioning images may be collected and identified. The accuracy correction and verification of the breast biopsy positioning device may be achieved by measuring the position of the needle tip and the preset position.

The present invention relates to the use of a NIR fluorescent probe comprising an aza-bicycloalkane based cyclic peptide labelled with a Cy5.5 dye moiety in the fluorescence- guided surgery of pathologic regions and to an optical imaging method that comprises using this fluorescent probe for the identification and demarcation of tumor margins during the surgical resection.

A method is disclosed comprising providing a biological sample on a swab, directing a spray of charged droplets onto a surface of the swab in order to generate a plurality of analyte ions, and analysing the analyte ions.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for evaluating the margins of a surgically-removed tissue specimen, such as a breast tissue specimen, to determine whether sufficient fatty tissue has been removed from around the lesion or cancerous point. The instant invention provides a solution to the problem of on-site evaluation of the margin sufficiency during the surgical procedure, in that it provides surgeons with an orthogonal view of all sides of the tissue specimen to be evaluated. The specimen evaluation device provides for properly-oriented examination of the removed specimen in a non-compressed, undistorted manner, both by visual inspection and through radiographic evaluation. Through this examination of the properly-oriented specimen, the surgeon may quickly and more accurately be informed of whether there remain cancerous cells in the margins surrounding the sample, which are meant to be free of cancerous cells. Upon evaluation of the margins of the removed sample, the surgeon may then make an on-site determination on whether to proceed with additional surgery or complete the surgical procedure.

A biopsy device includes a lateral member; a gun mount configured to support a biopsy gun, the gun mount being connected to the lateral member and movable along a first axis with respect to the lateral member, and a sensor which detects a position of the gun mount along the first axis with respect to the lateral member and generates positional data which is provided to an interface module. The gun mount can also be reconfigured in orientations which are offset in a dimension which is orthogonal to the first axis, orientations rotationally offset about the first axis or an axis parallel to the first axis. The lateral member can be in right hand and left hand orientations. Various sensors detect these reconfigurations and provide corresponding data to the interface module for additional calculations and display.

A biopsy marker that can emit near infrared fluorescence for location of a biopsy site. The biopsy marker has a body formed from a polymer and a quantity of a near infrared fluorescent dye, such as indocyanine green, embedded in the polymer. A near infrared energy source is used to excite the near infrared fluorescent dye. A near infrared energy detector is used to detect any near infrared emissions from the biopsy marker. As a result, any and all biopsy markers within the field of view may be readily identified and located so that the tissue locations can be surgical removed if the tissue samples indicate a risk of cancerous tissue.

A method is disclosed comprising providing a biological sample on a swab, directing a spray of charged droplets onto a surface of the swab in order to generate a plurality of analyte ions, and analysing the analyte ions.

An MRI guided breast biopsy targeting set includes a firing obturator for use with positioning a breast biopsy device within a patient. The obturator is insertable into a targeting cannula in lieu of a needle of a biopsy device. The targeting set includes an obturator and a firing assembly. The firing assembly includes a housing, a latch mechanism, and a release mechanism, The firing assembly is responsive to the release mechanism to fire the obturator into the desired position within the breast.