Importance

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Abstract

A device for safe removal of abnormal deposits, primarily in the human body, where differential cutting properties provide for fracture of hard matter while safely preserving soft tissue. The device includes a rotating cutting tool having spirally shaped cutting flutes having hardness-differential cutting properties. The tool is driven from outside the body by means of a flexible drive shaft at greater than 2000 revolutions per minute. A channel is incorporated in the drive shaft for adding or removing chemical matter from the internal body space to provide systematic removal of cutting debris from abnormal deposits. The cutting tool has fluid ports which communicate with the drive shaft channel. The fluid ports may be at the nose of the tool as well as around its cicumference. In the latter instance, the ports extend from in front of a cutting flute into a center cavity with a circumferential component so that rotation tends to force blood into these ports. External mass transfer machines aid in injecting or withdrawing material, such as cutting debris. Auxiliary instrumentation, such as fluoroscopy and pressure measuring apparatus, are helpful in the clinical procedure. Multiple operational cycles are easily implemented to gradually dissect the deposit while periodically reestablishing physiological viability, such as blood flow in vessels.

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