U.S. patent number 4,485,706 [Application Number 06/353,019] was granted by the patent office on 1984-12-04 for methods and apparatus for cutting a substrate.
Invention is credited to Dale R. Disharoon.
United States Patent |
4,485,706 |
Disharoon |
* December 4, 1984 |
Methods and apparatus for cutting a substrate
Abstract
Methods and apparatus utilizing a vitreous carbon knife element
having particular properties for smoothly cutting a substrate such
as a tissue substrate for microtomy or during surgical procedures
such as ophthalmolgic or heart surgery.
Inventors: |
Disharoon; Dale R. (Cardiff,
CA) |
[*] Notice: |
The portion of the term of this patent
subsequent to May 26, 1998 has been disclaimed. |
Family
ID: |
26896433 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/353,019 |
Filed: |
March 1, 1982 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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201131 |
Oct 27, 1980 |
4317401 |
|
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56469 |
Jul 11, 1979 |
4269092 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
83/42; 30/350;
606/132; 76/101.1; 83/856; 83/915.5; D24/216 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B23P
15/40 (20130101); G01N 1/06 (20130101); Y10T
83/0538 (20150401); Y10T 83/9493 (20150401); G01N
2001/061 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B23P
15/40 (20060101); G01N 1/04 (20060101); G01N
1/06 (20060101); G01N 001/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;83/42,651,856,701,915.5
;76/11R ;30/350 ;225/2 ;128/305,305.1 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Meister; James M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Fitch, Even, Tabin &
Flannery
Parent Case Text
This application is a continuation in part of my application Ser.
No. 201,131 filed Oct. 27, 1980, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,401, which
is a division application of application Ser. No. 56,469 filed July
11, 1979, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,092, which are incorporated by
reference herein.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for smoothly cutting a substrate comprising the steps
of providing a substrate to be cut, providing a knife element
comprising a vitreous carbon body having two intersecting smooth
surfaces which intersect along a substantially smooth intersection
edge, and pressing said vitreous carbon knife element intersection
edge against said substrate to cleanly slice said substrate.
2. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said vitreous carbon
body intersection edge has a hardness of about 7 mohs.
3. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said sample is
living tissue and wherein a smooth clean incision is provided in
said tissue in a single stroke.
4. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said surfaces
intersect at an angle in the range of from about 7.degree. to about
35.degree., wherein said edge is at least about 0.25 cm. in length,
and wherein said edge has a radius of curvature of less than about
5 microns.
5. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said vitreous carbon
has a density of at least about 1.35 g/cm.sup.3, a compressive
strength of at least 90,000 psi, a hardness of at least 7 on the
mohs scale, and a porosity of less than 0.05 percent, and wherein
said tissue is corneal tissue, bone tissue or heart tissue.
6. A knife element comprising a vitreous carbon body having at
least two intersecting substantially smooth sufaces forming a
substantially microscopically smooth knife edge having a length of
at least about 2 millimeters and having a sharpness characterized
by a radius of curvature of less than about 5 microns.
7. A vitreous carbon surgical knife element in accordance with
claim 6 wherein said surfaces intersect at an angle in the range of
from about 7.degree. to about 35.degree..
8. A vitreous carbon knife element in accordance with claim 6
wherein said vitreous carbon has a density of at least about 1.35
grams per cm/sq, a permeability of less than 2.5.times.10.sup.11, a
porosity of less than about 0.05%, a compressive strength of at
least about 90,000 psi, a tensile strength of at least about 25,000
psi, and a hardness of at least about mohs 7.
9. A vitreous carbon knife element in accordance with claim 6
wherein the plane surfaces forming the knife edge include a carbide
forming element.
10. A method for manufacturing a vitreous carbon knife element
comprising the steps of providing a body of vitreous carbon, and
forming two smooth intersecting surfaces of said vitreous carbon
which intersect at an angle in the range of from about 7.degree. to
about 60.degree. along a substantially microscopically smooth,
continuous edge having a sharpness characterized by a radius of
curvature of less than about 5 microns.
Description
The present invention is directed to methods and apparatus for
cutting substrates and, more particularly, is directed to methods
and apparatus for controllably slicing substrates such as tissue
samples for microscopic examination, and tissues in a living body
during surgical procedures.
The main principles of ultramicrotomy were adapted from light
microscopy. However, major modifications had to be made with
respect to embedding procedures, the manufacture of knives and the
construction of microtomes. Much of this development has been the
result of empirical work and many details of well known steps in
conventional sectioning procedures are not fully understood in
theory.
In conventional sectioning procedures for sample sectioning, frozen
tissue samples, or tissue samples embedded in either a rigid or
semi-solid organopolymeric matrix are rapidly cleaved by means of a
microtome sectioning knife. In order to produce sections of
specimen suitable for ultramicroscopic examination, marks on the
specimen due to knife edge defects or deformations, should be
minimized, and the knife edge should function to cleave the
specimen cleanly. The quality of microtome sections depends to a
large extent on the quality and characteristics of the microtome
knife, and the cutting process is also influenced by properties of
the trough fluid used in the sectioning and sectioned sample
transport operations.
Metallic knives such as steel microtome knives were originally used
for cutting sections for ultramicroscopic examination by techniques
such as electron micropscopy. However, the use of steel microtome
knives is cutting sections for electron microscopes has substantial
disadvantages, especially in the achievement of satisfactory sample
surfaces for examination and in the provision and maintenance of
sufficiently sharp knife edges. Substantial effort has been expnded
in the art to overcome such difficulties and to provide cutting
methods utilizing materials having suitable homogeneity and
hardness without excessive brittleness. One significant result of
such development efforts has been the provision of cleaving methods
for providing and using glass "knives" by breaking glass sheets to
produce a cleaved cutting edge [Latta, et al., Use of a Glass Edge
in Tissue Sections for Electron Microscopy, Proc. Bio. Med., Vol.
74, pp. 436-439 (1950]. By providing a series of straight parallel
scorings at 90.degree. to the long axis of a glass strip, with one
central portion of each 2" distance kept free of score marks, 1"
glass blocks may be produced that can then be cleaved at a
45.degree. angle (to score-mark free corner) thus producing a knife
edge length along the thickness dimension of one surface of one
triangle (1".times.1".times.1/4") and a less perfect edge on one
edge of the opposite triangle. However, while such glass knives
represent a substantial improvement in the art, such cleaved edges
can be used only for a limited time, and for providing a limited
number of sectioned samples.
In view of the tendency of such cleaved edges to lose their
properties with time and/or use, glass microtome knives are
conventionally made on site as needed under conditions of use. In
this latter connection, specific jigs have been developed for
producing precision glass knives for laboratory applications,
specifically for cleaving tissue samples for microscopy. Examples
of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,207,398,
3,494,521 and 3,908,878.
The use of glass knives in microtomy suffer from a number of
disadvantages. They may be time consuming to produce and, because
glass is physically a super cooled liquid, have a very short life.
The cleaved edges produced by the intersection of the fracture
plane with another plane at a score-free junction may be sharp
initially, but within a matter of hours and without use, the edge
will begin to dull due to flow characteristics of the glass, and/or
its inability to maintain the precise molecular arrangement that
exists at the cleaving edge immediately after breaking. Such
knives, as indicated, must therefore be produced at the point of
application since their structural longevity is no more than a day
or two in their sharpest state. In addition to such limitation,
glass knives dull quickly in use and may be utilized only with
difficulty in providing numerous thick sections of hard specimens
including routinely embedded materials.
In this regard, not only is it desirable to produce thin sections
of hard samples, it is frequently desirable to prepare samples for
ultramicroscopic examination by cleaving relatively thick sections
of the specimen material embedded in an organopolymeric material,
such as a specimen having a thickness in the range of 10 to 50
microns, and to reorient and reembed the thick specimen at a
different angle. The reembedded specimen may then be subsequently
sectioned to provide the desired specimen. Glass knives function
best when cleaving sections are no more than 2 microns in
thickness, but may be utilized to provide a very limited number of
sections per knife when a thickness of about 2 to about 10 microns
is desired. Thicker sections may not reliably be provided through
the use of glass knives.
In an attempt to overcome the general thin and thick sectioning
limitations of glass knives, knife edges of harder crystalline
materials such as diamond have been propesed for microtomy purposes
[Fernandez-Moran, A.H., A Diamond Knife for Ultra Thin Sectioning,
Exp. Cell Research, 5, pp. 255-256 (1953)], and subsequently have
achieved substantial commercial application. However, diamond
knives are very expensive and difficult to produce thereby limiting
their general applicability. Further, diamond knife edges are
fragile, and sensitive to impacts and small blows, so that a knife
being used for thick sectioning has a shorter life than one being
used for thin sectioning. The economic risk of various sample
materials represents a substantial limitation in the use of diamond
knives.
Because of the expense and fragility of diamond knives, various
efforts have been made to improve the cutting qualities and
longevity of relatively inexpensive glass knives. For example,
efforts have been made to coat glass knives with materials such as
tungsten in an effort to overcome deficiencies of glass [Roberts,
Tungsten Coating--A Method of Improving Glass Microtome Knives for
Cutting Ultrathin Sections, Journal of Microscopy, Vol. 103, Pt. 1,
pp. 113-119 (1974)]; but such techniques have not achieved wide
acceptance. Still others [Ward, Some Observations on Glass Knife
Making, Stain Technology, Vol. 52, pp. 305<309 (1977)], have
tried varying the bevel angle, up to 55.degree., of the glass knife
edge to enhance cleaving capabilities, but succeed only to a
limited degree.
However, despite significant need for improved microtomy methods
and apparatus, there have been few significant developments in
respect of glass microtomy knives since their introduction in 1950,
and glass and diamond microtomy systems remain as the two principal
alternatives available for ultramicroscopic sample sectioning.
Similarly, there is a need for improved surgical apparatus and
procedures for cutting living tissue to controllably and repeatedly
produce a smooth, clean incision in the tissue. In this regard, for
example, in surgery, such as opthalmologic surgery, heart surgery,
and various microsurgical procedures, it is necessary to cut
relatively tough substrate tissues in a precisely controlled
manner. It is desirable that the respective living tissues
subjected to the surgical procedure be smoothly and reproduceably
cut in a single stroke with a minimum of applied cutting force and
a minimum of tissue trauma, to achieve the necessary surgical
incision. Accordingly, there is a need for improved methods and
apparatus for cutting of substrates requiring a smooth clean
incision surface such as living and non-living tissue, and it is an
object of the present invention to provide such methods and
apparatus.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from
the detailed description and accompanying drawings of which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of microtome apparatus utilizing a
knife element in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the knife element of the microtome
of FIG. 1 and another similar element following a controlled
fracture step in the manufacture of such elements;
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the knife element of the
microtome of FIG. 1, in a manufacturing step subsequent to the
fracture step illustrated in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a photograph by scanning electron microscope of a portion
of the cutting edge of the vitreous carbon knife element of FIG. 1
at a magnification of 540;
FIG. 5 is a photograph by scanning electron microscope of the
cutting edge of a vitreous carbon microtome knife element produced
by machining, at a magnification of 27 ;
FIG. 6 a photograph by scanning electron microscope of a portion of
the cutting edge of the knife element of FIG. 5, at a magnification
of 2700, 100 times the magnification of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing radius of curvature
determination;
FIG. 8 is an illustration of a one-piece vitreous carbon surgical
scalpel;
FIG. 9 is an illustration of an embodiment of a vitreous carbon
surgical knife blade;
FIG. 10 is an illustration of a microdisection instrument utilizing
a vitreous carbon knife edge; and
FIG. 11 is an illustration of an vitreous carbon coring or trephine
instrument.
Generally in accordance with the present invention, methods and
apparatus for cleanly slicing substrate materials are provided
utilizing knife elements of particular design and composition,
particularly including surgical methods which utilize such vitreous
carbon knife elements.
In this connection, knife elements may be provided in accordance
with the present invention which comprises a vitreous carbon body
of particular physical property parameters, and having two
intersecting substantially smooth surfaces which intersect along a
substantially microscopically smooth intersection edge. For blade
elements such as microtome knives which will have substantial force
applied to the knife edge during use, the edge-forming surfaces
should best intersect at an angle in the range of from about
35.degree. to about 60.degree., and preferably in the range of from
about 40.degree. to about 50.degree., to form a high performance
microtome knife edge. For blade elements such as scalpels and other
surgical knives which are utilized in surgery on living tissue, the
facet bevel angle may be more acute, such as in the range of from
about 7.degree. to about 35.degree., and preferably about
17.degree. plus or minus about 8.degree.. At least one of the
intersecting surfaces adjacent the knife edge may be provided with
a hydrophilic surface, as will be described in more detail
hereinafter.
As indicated, the vitreous carbon knife element utilized in
accordance with the present invention comprises a vitreous carbon
body. Though polymeric carbon is a better term for this material,
due to some of this carbon's properties it has been designated
vitreous carbon. The vitreous carbon should best be an isotropic
for certain manufacturing procedures for microtome knives involving
controlled fracture of the material.
Vitreous carbon is a nongraphitic carbon material which may be
formed by controlled heating of selected polymeric precursors in
accordance with known procedures which generally involve slow
carbonization of a formed article under conditions which permit
diffusion of pyrolysis products without disruption of the physical
integrity of the artifact, and which is generally accompanied by a
larger, but predictable contraction in the size of the formed
artifact [Jenkens, et al., Polymeric Carbons--Carbon Fibre, Glass
and Char, Cambridge University Press (1976)]. Vitreous carbon may
be produced in a variety of forms, such as a molded sheet form, or
a precursor shape such as a scalpel or blade shapes. The molecular
structure of the vitreous carbon is believed to involve carbon
atoms joined by strong covalent bonds to form relatively small
planar hexagonal arrays plus other carbon arrays which are
disordered with respect to one another in a turbostatic
structure.
The existence of a cross-linked aromatic structure in the original
polymer, or during thermal degradation is believed to prevent
formation or rearrangement to a full graphite structure on
subsequent heating and provides for the turbostatic structure.
Vitreous carbon knife elements in accordance with the present
invention should generally be provided from vitreous carbon
material having a density of at least about 1.35 g/cc and typically
have a bulk density of about 1.45 g/cc. The density will generally
be less than about 1.5 g/cc, but it should be noted that the
inclusion of carbide forming elements may increase the density of a
vitreous carbon material.
The physical properties of the vitreous carbon material are
important in the provision of microtome knives. In this connection,
the vitreous carbon should have a compressive strength of at least
about 90,000 pounds per square inch, and will generally be in the
range of from about 90,000 to about 140,000 pounds per square inch.
The vitreous carbon should also have a tensile strength of at least
about 25,000 pounds per square inch, and will generally be in the
range of from about 25,000 to about 35,000 pounds per square inch
at 20.degree. C. The material should further have a Young's modulus
of at least about 3.times.10.sup.6 pounds per square inch (e.g., in
the range of 3-4.times.10.sup.6 psi), and a hardness of at least
about 7 on mohs scale. Accordingly, the vitreous carbon material
utilized in the knife elements herein is a very hard material which
will scratch most forms of siliceous glass. It is further important
that the vitreous carbon be highly uniform in structure, and in
this connection should best be free of crystalline inclusions,
porosity or other structural defects. In this connection, the
vitreous carbon should best have a permeability of less than about
2.5.times.10.sup..times.11 cm.sup.2 /sec (helium) and a porosity of
less than about 0.05. The vitreous carbon materials should be
substantially nongraphitic and homogenous in composition and in
this connection, the X-ray crystallite size of L.sub.c of the
vitreous carbon should best be less than about 26A and more
preferably less than about 24A. The thermal conductivity of the
vitreous carbon may desirably be at least about 0.01
cal/cm/sec/.degree. C.
As indicated, the vitreous carbon used for knife manufacture by
fracture methods is desirably substantially free of crystalline
defects, and in this connection, it is desirable to use very high
purity polymer precursors which are substantially free of
components which induce or provide carbon (graphite) or carbide
crystallization. However, the vitreous carbon may be reacted with
various carbide forming elements to modify the properties of the
vitreous carbon. Such reaction may be carried without substantial
graphite formation and the materials may be combined within the
turbostatic structure of vitreous carbon without merely forming an
external deposit. In this regard, a vitreous carbon knife element
may be reacted with carbide forming elements such as silicon,
boron, tungsten, tantalium, tianium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium,
niobium, chromium, molybdenum, and mixtures thereof without
substantial change in the shape of the knife edge, by selecting a
volatile compound (such as hydride) of the carbide forming elements
and reacting this compound in the vapor phase with the vitreous
carbon microtome knife at a suitably elevated temperature.
Laser-controlled diffusion processes may also be utilized.
Turning now to the drawings, various aspects of the present
invnention will be more particularly described with respect to the
microtome apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. The apparatus 10 is of
generally conventional design comprising an object holder assembly
11 adapted to secure a specimen 1 for sample preparation. The
microtome apparatus 10 further comprises a knife holder assembly 12
of conventional design of the type utilized for holding glass and
diamond knife elements, and which is adapted to secure in mounted
relationship thereto an unconventional knife element 30 of
particular specification in accordance with the present invention.
The illustrated holder assembly 12 comprises a steel yoke 13 with a
soft plastic blunt end which rests against the knife, and provides
a slot 14 at its midpoint which is sufficiently wide to accommodate
the thickness of the vitreous carbon knife element 30. The vitreous
carbon knife element is mounted in the holder assembly 12 between
the yoke 13 and knife slot 14 and held in alignment with the yoke
13 when tightened. The knife holder 12, with the vitreous carbon
knife in place, is then placed in final knife angle adjustment by
being secured to 15 of the ultra microtome. The illustrated
vitreous carbon knife element has a substantially linear knife edge
31 of extreme sharpness which has exceptional capacity for sample
cleavage. In the illustrated embodiment 10, at least one plane
surface 22 of the knife 30 is rendered hydrophilic and a water
trough is provided along the surface 22 to float cleaved sample
sections off the edge of the knife in accordance with conventional
practice.
In operation, the object holder is moved toward the knife element
30 and the sample impacts the knife edge 31 to cleave sample
tissues from the sample object.
The sample may be of the organopolymeric impregnated type in which
a tissue specimen has diffused thereinto an organopolymeric
precursor such as an acrylic monomer or epoxy resin precursor,
which is subsequently polymerized to provide a rigid and relatively
hard sample specimen for cleavage. The forcing of the object
against the edge of the knife element 30 may generate immense
pressures and mechanical strains at the knife edge, and the knife
30 must be capable of repeatedly withstanding such conditions.
While individual knife elements vary, such conditions normally
would require the changing of a cleaved glass knife element after,
for example, less than about 10 specimen sample sections of
conventional thickness in a range of less than 2 microns and about
5 microns of 2-10 microns thickness. Substantial difficulty may be
experienced with conventional glass knives in efforts to cleave
samples of greater thicknesses, such as from about 10 to 50 microns
in thickness. However, the vitreous carbon knife element 30 readily
and repeatedly cleaves relatively thick organopolymeric impregnated
specimen samples in the range of from about 10 to about 50 microns
of thickness and is utilizable in the cleavage of a relatively
large number of specimens, for example, in excess of 100 specimens
without a change in quality.
As indicated, the knife elements provided in accordance with the
present invention are manufactured of vitreous carbon, and may be
provided using slightly modified equipment similar to that used in
the manufacture of glass microtome knife elements. In this
connection, the microtome knife elements may be manufactured by
providing a suitable vitreous carbon sheet having substantially
flat parallel surfaces, scoring the sheet along a first line,
fracturing the sheet along the first line orthagonally to the
parallel surfaces to form a first substantially flat cleaved
surface, scoring the sheet along a second line intersecting the
first scored line and fracturing the sheet along the second line to
form a substantially flat cleaved surface orthagonal to said sheet
surface, free of score marks and intersecting the first cleaved
surface to form a microtome knife edge.
FIG. 2 illustrates in perspective view the knife element 30 which
has been broken from a scored vitreous carbon plate 31 having flat,
smooth, parallel surfaces 32, 33 and which has previously been
fractured along a line 34 to form a substantially planar fracture
surface 35 perpendicular to the surfaces 32, 33. The plate 31 is
provided from a commercially available VITRECARB vitreous carbon
sheet having a thickness of 0.25 inch and a length of about 2 cm.
which is manufactured by Fluorocarbon Company of Anaheim, Calif.
and has a density of 1.47 g/ml, a permeability of less than
2.5.times.10.sup.-11 cm.sup.2 /sec, a porosity of less than 0.05
percent, a thermal conductivity in the range of 0.01 to 0.02
cal/cm/sec/.degree. C., a compressive strength in the range of
90,000 to 140,000 psi, a tensile strength in the range of 25,000 to
35,000 psi at 20.degree. C., and a Young's modulus of
3-4.times.6.sup.10 psi. The plate 31 is substantially pure carbon
(about 2 ppm impurities) which is substantially free of crystalline
carbide inclusions.
The plate 31 is fractured along diagonal score line 36 to form a
fracture plane 37 which provides a microtome knife edge 38 at its
intersection with the fracture plane 35 and leaving a sheld 39 on
the opposite triangle. The angle formed by the intersection of the
fracture planes 35, 37 is typically in the range of from about
45.degree. to about 55.degree., but may be varied within a broad
range. The intersection 38 of the fracture planes 35, 37 forms an
extremely sharp substantially linear edge, which has a radius of
curvature of less than about 5 microns. By radius of curvature is
meant, the radius of curvature R of a plane curve at any point P
(FIG. 7) is the distance, measured along the normal, on the concave
side of the curve, to the center of curvature, C, this point being
the limiting position of the point of intersection of the normals
at P and a neighboring point Q as omega is made to approach P along
the curve.
While the illustrated knife edge 38 is manufactured by cleavage
techniques as previously described, vitreous carbon microtome
knives may be provided by grinding and lapping procedures and
polished to produce a very sharp knife edge. The lapping, grinding
and polishing procedures may desirably provide slight hollow-ground
surfaces for some application, which are considered herein to be
smooth, substantially planar edge forming surfaces.
In this connection, a vitreous carbon knife is prepared by first
cutting a 1".times.1".times.1/4" square at 45.degree. angle from
corner to corner using a standard mechanical diamond saw to form
triangles of equal dimensions. Next, rough grinding is performed on
a standard low speed lapping machine to form the cutting edge. This
is a step-wise procedure starting with 250 micron diamonds embedded
in a metal disk, going down to 15 micron diamonds to achieve a
straight, linear edge. Further lapping and polishing is now
performed on a standard low speed lapping machine with a further
reduction in diamond size, down to 1 micron. The lap used, being
made of a soft metal, is prepared in a typical fashion which
achieves a straight, linear edge on the vitreous carbon knife. A
combination of polishing materials such as silicon oxide and
aluminum oxide, together with "carriers" of water, detergents and
oils are used to achieve the final edge. FIGS. 5 and 6 are
photographs of a knife element produced by the above procedures,
which were taken at a magnification of 27 times and 2700 times
respectively to show a substantially linear and defect free knife
edge. Since all three surfaces of the triangle are lapped and
polished, it is possible to produce two cutting edges on one knife,
whereas a cleaved vitreous carbon knife only has one cutting
edge.
Such procedures may advantageously provide knife edges of
substantial length which could be used on histological microtomes
which require 25 mm. to 38 mm. knife lengths or longer; while
utilization of fracture procedures tends to limit the maximum knife
edge length to the thickness of the carbon plate, which in turn is
limited by the vitreous carbon manufacturing process.
Vitreous carbon is a hydrophobic material, and in order to provide
for use of the knife edge 38 with water for cleaved sample handling
in accordance with conventional sample handling techniques, at
least one surface adjacent to the edge may be rendered hydrophilic,
although it will be appreciated that such treatment should not
substantially degrade the knife edge sharpness.
Hydrophilic properties may be provided by acceptance of the
electrostatic charge on the vitreous carbon surface, and in this
regard, FIG. 3 illlustrates the changing of the surface properties
of vitreous carbon knife element 30 by ionization treatment. In
this connection, it is important to note that the cutting surfaces
of a vitreous carbon knife must be rendered hydrophilic or it
becomes almost impossible to use as a sectioning tool. Due to the
physical chemistry of the surface, the vitreous carbon attracts and
acquires an electronic charge which renders it hydrophobic and
unuseable. Therefore one must deionize the surface, as described
below, or use other suitable procedures, which may be utilized to
treat the vitreous carbon microtome surfaces, if desired. As shown
in FIG. 3, the preformed knife element 30 may be placed on the
stage 42 in an evacuated chamber (e.g., at a vacuum of 150
millitorr) of a vacuum evaporator using a filament voltage to an
ionization probe 44 of about 40 volts for 2-5 minutes to render the
microtome surface hydrophilic.
In accordance with the present invention, vitreous carbon microtome
knives of high sectioning capacity and extreme sharpness may be
provided. In this connection, FIG. 4 is a scanning electron
microscope photomicropgraph of a portion of the knife edge 28 of
the microtome knife 20 following cleavage and ionization treatment.
The photomicrograph of FIG. 4 is taken at a magnification of 540
times and illustrates the uniformity of the cutting edge, as well
as the sharpness of the edge which may be achieved.
In order to demonstrate the performances of the microtome methods
and apparatus in accordance with the present invention, a series of
sections of various tissue samples and of varying thicknesses are
taken over a period of six weeks using a Sorvall MT-2B
UltraMicrotome in which is mounted a vitreous carbon microtome
knife manufactured in accordance with the previous disclosure.
The following table presents the data in connection with various
runs:
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ SECTIONING RUN WITH
HYDROPHOBIC KNIFE ELEMENT (Knife Not Treated By Ionization) Section
Quality Accept. Sec. # Est. Sec. Publisher Part # Thickness (M)
Quality Accept. Unaccept. ______________________________________ 1
Cannot Determine X 2 " X 3 " X 4 " X 5 " X 6 " X 7 " X 8 " X 9 " X
10 " X RUN TERMINATED ______________________________________ NOTE:
Due to hydrophobic properties of the knife, quality sections were
unattainable. SPECIMEN TYPE: Anterior angle/animal eye EMBEDDING
MEDIA: Epon (Epoxy resin)
As a comparison, a conventional glass microtome knife is freshly
prepared and is used in the microtome. The glass knives are unable
to satisfactorily cleave specimens greater than 10 microns in
thickness and must frequency be replaced with a new glass knife
after taking about 5 full-thickness sections of dimensions in the
range of 2-10 microns.
TABLE 2 ______________________________________ SECTIONING RUN WITH
HYDROPHILIC KNIFE ELEMENT (Knife Treated By Ionization) Section
Quality Accept. Sec. # Est. Sec. Publisher Part # Thickness (M)
Quality Accept. Unaccept. ______________________________________ 1
4 X 2 2 X 3 25 x 4 10 x 5 10 x 6 10 x 7 10 x 8 10 x 9 10 x 10 10 x
11 15 x 12 15 x 13 15 x 14 15 x 15 15 x 16 25 x 17 25 x 18 25 x 19
15 x 20 5 x 21 10 x 22 20 x 23 30 x 24 30 x 25 15 x 26 10 x 27 10 x
28 10 x 29 20 x 30 25 x 31 25 x 32 5 x 33 15 x 34 20 x 35 30 x 36
30 x 37 30 x 38 40 39 40 x 40 40 x 41 40+ x 42 40+ x 43 40+ x 44 40
x 45 40 x 46 40 x 47 40 x 48 40 x 49 40 x 50 30 x 51 30 x 52 2 x 53
50+ x 54 1-2 x 55 1-2 x 56 1-2 x 57 1-2 x 58 1-2 x 59 1-2 x 60 1-2
x 61 1-2 x 62 30 x 63 30 x 64 30 x 65 20 x 66 30 x 67 30 x 68 30 x
69 30 x 70 30 x ______________________________________ NOTE: At a
knife sample age of approximately 5 months it would still cleave
acceptable samples. SPECIMEN TYPE: Same as in Table 1
The deterioration of sectioning capability of the glass knives
apparently may represent no more than subtle or small scale changes
in the knife structure. In this connection, comparison of a
scanning electron microscope micrograph, examined at 540X, of a
glass knife after failure through use after cleaving 47 specimens
of 1000A-30 micron thickness at which time the knife would no
longer thin or thick section. Comparison with a similar micrograph
of a glass knife, made immediately after cleaving that knife, does
not reveal any substantial differences in the edge appearance in
the scanning electron micrograph. On the other hand, vitreous
carbon knives may have visible edge defects produced through use,
and still be capable of cleaving specimen samples.
As also previously indicated, various aspects of the present
invention find particular utility in surgical procedures, both
human and veterinary, in which it is necessary to provide smooth,
clean incisions in a uniform manner with minimum tissue trauma. In
accordance with such surgical aspects of the invention, surgical
instruments and methods are provided which utilize a vitreous
carbon knife element, which may be, for example, a scalpel blade
for major or macroscale incisions, a micro dissection intrument
blade for delicate microsurgical techniques, or a specialized blade
such as a trephine or coring instrument. The vitreous carbon blades
may be provided by grinding, lapping and polishing of a vitreous
carbon knife body, as previously described. The blade edge should
have a microscopically smooth and continuous cutting edge (along
the direction of the edge), and it is a particular adavantage of
the vitreous carbon cutting edges and cutting method that edges may
be provided which are extremely sharp and microscopically smooth,
as shown in the scanning electron microphotograph of FIG. 6.
When performing surgical techniques on a living body, it is
necessary to have a readily controllable rate of incision through
the surgical site, and it is desired to produce a smooth, clean
incision with minimum tissue trauma. However, living tissues, such
as corneal tissue, bone tissue, and heart tissue may be quite tough
and/or difficult to cut, and accordingly require extremely sharp
surgical instruments which retain their sharpness and provide
uniform results with use, for most effective surgical
techniques.
In accordance with the present invention, vitreous carbon surgical
instruments and methods are provided which are extremely sharp,
have excellent and uniform cutting characteristics, and which
retain their properties over a substantial period of use.
Vitreous carbon surgical knives may take appropriate form for the
particular surgical application contemplated. For example,
illustrated in FIG. 8 is a one piece scalpel 80 which is
manufactured by forming the scalpel of a vitreous carbon
organopolymeric precursor, and heating the formed precursor in a
conventional controlled heating cycle to convert the formed
precursor material to vitreous carbon having properties as
previously described. The blade edge 82 of the scalpel 80 is
subsequently ground, polished and lapped to provide an extremely
sharp edge as described in respect to the embodiment of FIG. 6
(although it will be at a more acute angle than the cutting edge of
FIG. 6). The scalpel 80 may be used in conventional surgical
techniques to provide smooth, clean incisions with minimal amount
of trauma to the tissue.
Illustrated in FIG. 9 is a vitreous carbon surgical blade 90 which
comprises a base portion 92 of a material such as stainless steel
adapted to be affixed to a conventional surgical scalpel handle
(not shown) and vitreous carbon blade portion 94 affixed thereto in
an appropriate manner such as by means of an epoxy or other
suitable adhesive.
FIG. 10 depicts a micro dissecting instrument 100 illustrating a
type of surgical tool which may be utilized for microsurgical
techniques. The instrument 100 comprises a conventional stainless
steel micro dissection instrument handle 102 having a threaded
internal bore for receiving the removable blade head 104, which is
shown magnified in respect to the handle 102. The removable blade
head comprises a stainless steel base portion 106 into which is
inserted and affixed a vitreous carbon blade element comprising a
shaft 108 and polished knife surfaces 110 on opposing sides of the
shaft 108 which form an extremely sharp and microscopically,
smoothly continuous knife edge 112 which is adapted to provide
excellent performance in delicate microsurgical procedures. The
blade element may be machined, polished and lapped from a larger
vitreous carbon element, or may be preformed before heat treatment,
with only the blade faces subsequently being ground, polished and
lapped.
Illustrated in FIG. 11, in magnified view, is a coring or trephine
instrument 1100 which comprises a stainless steel handle portion
1102 into which is inserted and affixed a hollow cylindrical
vitreous carbon cylinder 1104 having a ground, polished and lapped
surface 1106 which forms an extremely sharp vitreous carbon
circular cutting edge 1108 with the interior surface of the
cylinder adjacent the cutting edge 1108 which is similarly
polished, but does not form an interior bevel which would inhibit
the internal passage of the cored tissue sample.
While the present invention has been particularly described with
respect to certain specific embodiments, various modifications,
adaptations and variations will be apparent based on the present
disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of
the present invention.
Various features of the invention are set forth in the following
claims.
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