Interventional medicine apparatus

Claim 2

The apparatus defined by claim 1 wherein said planar reference pattern means is formed separate from said frame means.

Claim 3

The apparatus defined by claim 1 wherein said planar reference pattern means is formed integral with said frame means.

Claim 4

The apparatus defined by claim 1 wherein said pattern elements are configured in a double-X pattern that is centered with respect to said principal axis of symmetry, said double-X configured pattern elements forming one spaced-apart pair of unified element sectional images displayed on said equipment monitor when said pattern means principal axis of symmetry is positioned within said equipment cross-sectional imaging plane.

Claim 5

The apparatus defined by claim 1 wherein said pattern elements are configured in a double-X pattern that is centered with respect to said principal axis of symmetry, said double-X configured pattern elements forming two spaced-apart pairs of spaced-apart element sectional images displayed on said equipment monitor when said pattern means principal axis of symmetry is positioned without said equipment cross-sectional imaging plane.

Claim 6

The apparatus defined by claim 5 wherein said double-X reference pattern means includes pattern elements which intersect each other at an angle of approximately fifty-three degrees.

Claim 7

The apparatus defined by claim 5 wherein said two spaced-apart pairs of spaced-apart element sectional images are each comprised of equally spaced-apart element sectional images, said equally spaced-apart element sectional images appearing on said equipment monitor when said principal axis of symmetry is positioned parallel to said equipment cross-sectional imaging plane.

Claim 8

The apparatus defined by claim 7 wherein said double-X reference pattern means includes pattern elements which intersect each other at an angle of approximately fifty-three degrees.

Claim 9

The apparatus defined by claim 5 wherein said two spaced-apart pairs of spaced-apart element sectional images are each comprised of differently spaced-apart element sectional images, said pairs of differently spaced-apart element sectional images appearing on said equipment monitor when said principal axis of symmetry is positioned angularly with respect to said imaging equipment cross-sectional imaging plane.

Claim 10

The apparatus defined by claim 5 wherein said apparatus further comprises a position indicator means and a graduated angular position scale means, one of said indictor means and said scale means being located on said support means and the other of said indicator means and said scale means being adjacently and cooperatively located on said frame means.

Claim 11

The apparatus defined by claim 10 wherein said graduated angular position scale means is calibrated and marked in specified units of angular displacement, said units of angular displacement, said units of angular displacement being expressed as a function of the difference between the spacing of one pair of said two pairs of spaced-apart pattern element images and the spacing of the other of said two pairs of spaced-apart pattern element images.

Claim 12

The apparatus defined by claim 4 and further comprising track means supported by and movable with respect to said frame means, and having a longitudinal guide and two points which prescribe the orientation of a longitudinal straight line, said track means being positioned on said frame means so that said track means prescribed straight line substantially coincides with said pattern means principal axis of symmetry.

Claim 13

The apparatus defined by claim 7 and further comprising track means supported by and movable with respect to said frame means, and having a longitudinal guide and two points which prescribe the orientation of a longitudinal straight line, said track means being positioned on said frame means so that said track means prescribed straight line is separated from said pattern means principal axis of symmetry by either of the equal distances indicated by said equally spaced-apart pattern element sectional images displayed on said equipment monitor.

Claim 14

Vectoring apparatus for assisting in the manual location, vectoring, and insertion of a needle-like medical instrument relative to a patient's body using medical imaging equipment having a cross-sectional imaging plane and a monitor which displays a cross-section imaged at the equipment imaging plane, and comprising: frame means having at least one attached longitudinal guide; vectoring plane means rotatable mounted in said frame means generally parallel to said frame means longitudinal guide; and planar reference pattern means fixedly secured to and oriented at right-angles to said vectoring plane means, and having pattern elements which are imaged by said imaging equipment and sectionally displayed on said equipment monitor when intersected by said equipment cross-sectional imaging plane, said pattern elements, when imaged and displayed, the distance between the elements proportionally indicating on said equipment monitor the degree of angularity and the direction of angular displacement of said vectoring plane means relative to said imaging equipment cross-sectional imaging plane, if angled.

Claim 15

The vectoring apparatus defined by claim 14 wherein said planar reference pattern means is configured in a bi-plane warped-X pattern that is symmetrical with respect to the plane of said vectoring plane means, said bi-plane warped-X pattern having an image when sectioned by said imaging equipment cross-sectional imaging plane that is displayed as sections of different heights to indicate a degree of angularity of said vectoring plane means relative to said equipment cross-sectional imaging plane.

Claim 16

The vectoring apparatus defined by claim 14 and further comprised of a graduated angular displacement scale, said graduated angular displacement scale being calibrated in units that correspond to the units of the height difference of said bi- plane warped-X pattern cross-sectional image displayed on said equipment monitor.

Claim 17

The vectoring apparatus defined by claim 14 wherein said planar reference pattern means is configured in a bi-plane warped-X pattern that is symmetrical with respect to the plane of said vectoring plane means, said bi-plane warped-X pattern having an image when sectioned by said equipment cross-sectional imaging plane that is reversed to indicate a different relative direction of angular displacement of said vectoring plane means relative to said equipment cross-sectional imaging plane.

Claim 18

The vectoring apparatus defined by claim 14 wherein said vectoring plane means has an axis of rotation imaged by said equipment cross-sectional imaging plane, said imaged axis of rotation having an intermediate non-imaged gap that is sized sufficiently to permit through passage of a needle-like medical instrument.

Claim 19

The vectoring apparatus defined by claim 18 wherein said vectoring plane means has a protractor-like graduated angular vector scale, said graduated vector scale having a base reference position that extends from said non-imaged gap toward said graduated angular vector scale at right-angles to said vectoring plane means axis of rotation.

Claim 20

Apparatus for assisting in the manual location, vectoring, and insertion of a needle-like medical instrument relative to a patient's body using medical imaging equipment having a cross-sectional imaging plane and a monitor which displays a cross-section imaged at the equipment imaging plane, and comprising: support means for placement in proximity to the patient's body above a patient target of interest; first frame means carried by and rotatable relative to said support means; second frame means carried by and translatable linearly relative to said support means; a vectoring plane means rotatably supported in said second frame means; first planar reference pattern means carried by said first frame means, having a principal axis of symmetry, and having pattern elements which are imaged by said imaging equipment and sectionally displayed on said equipment monitor when said equipment cross-sectional imaging plane sections said patient target of interest; and second planar reference pattern means fixedly secured and oriented at right-angles to said vectoring plane means, and having pattern elements which are imaged by said imaging equipment and sectionally displayed on said equipment monitor when said equipment cross-sectional imaging plane sections said patient target of interest, said first and second planar reference pattern means pattern elements, when imaged and displayed, proportionally indicating on said equipment monitor the angularity and separation distance of said first frame means pattern principal axis of symmetry relative to said equipment cross-sectional imaging plane, and proportionally indicating on said equipment monitor the degree of angular rotation of said vectoring plane means relative to said equipment cross-sectional imaging plane, if angled.