Minimally invasive no touch (mint) procedure for harvesting the great saphenous vein (gsv) and venous hydrodissector and retractor for use during the mint procedure

Abstract

A harvester for harvesting a vein, comprising a handle, a blade extending at an angle from the handle and having a spoon-shaped tip at a distal end of the blade, the spoon-shaped tip including a concave surface and a convex surface, and an image capturing assembly for capturing images of an operating field, the image capturing assembly including an image capturing device provided on the concave surface of the spoon-shaped tip.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A harvester for harvesting a vein, the harvester comprising:
 a handle;   a blade extending at an angle from the handle and having a spoon-shaped tip at a distal end of the blade, the spoon-shaped tip including a concave surface and a convex surface; and   an image capturing assembly for capturing images of an operating field, the image capturing assembly including an image capturing device provided on the concave surface of the spoon-shaped tip.   
     
     
         2 . The harvester of  claim 1 , wherein the image capturing assembly comprises a waterproof miniature endoscopic image capturing device and encapsulated lighting. 
     
     
         3 . The harvester of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more hook-shaped attachments configured to couple with the blade so as to protrude from a surface of the blade, the one or more hook-shaped attachments being configured for lifting of a vein during a vein harvesting procedure.