Mri-compatible surgical cannulae for transferring a substance to and/or from a patient

Abstract

A cannula for transferring a substance to and/or from a patient includes a tubular support sleeve and a transfer tube. The support sleeve includes a rigid tubular member defining a lumen extending from a proximal end to a distal end of the tubular member. The transfer tube is positioned in the lumen and extends beyond each of the proximal end and the distal end of the tubular member. The tubular member includes a rigid, MRI-compatible material.

That which is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A surgical system for delivering a substance to a brain of a patient, comprising:
 an MRI-compatible delivery cannula configured to deliver the substance to a selected region of the brain of the patient, wherein the MRI-compatible delivery cannula comprises a distal tip with a flat end face;   a circuit configured to communicate with an MRI scanner while the MRI-compatible delivery cannula is in position with a distal end portion of the MRI-compatible delivery cannula in the brain of the patient; and   at least one display in communication with the circuit,   wherein the circuit is configured to provide visualizations of the delivered substance to the at least one display in near real-time visually showing a dynamic dispersion and/or infusion pattern of the delivered substance in the brain of the patient.   
     
     
         2 . The surgical system of  claim 1 , wherein the substance comprises a chemotherapeutic agent for treating cancer. 
     
     
         3 . The surgical system of  claim 1 , wherein the substance comprises stem cells. 
     
     
         4 . The surgical system of  claim 1 , wherein the substance comprises a gene therapy. 
     
     
         5 . The surgical system of  claim 1 , wherein the substance comprises an antigen. 
     
     
         6 . The surgical system of  claim 1 , wherein the MRI-compatible delivery cannula is configured to communicate with a pump or syringe providing one or more adjustable operational parameters configured to selectively vary at least one characteristic of a flow of the substance delivered by the MRI-compatible delivery cannula to the brain of the patient thereby providing fine tuning of a desired treatment structure and/or volume of tissue in the brain. 
     
     
         7 . The surgical system of  claim 6 , wherein the at least one characteristic of the flow of the substance includes a flow rate, flow direction and/or a flow pattern of the flow of the substance delivered by the MRI-compatible delivery cannula. 
     
     
         8 . The surgical system of  claim 1 , wherein the MRI-compatible delivery cannula comprises an outer tubular member surrounding an inner tubular member and a transfer tube extending through and out a distal end of the inner tubular member and which defines the distal tip, wherein the outer tubular member is rigid and comprises a distal end portion that tapers inward to a smaller outer diameter at the distal end portion thereof, and wherein the inner tubular member has a distal end that resides a distance in a range of 1 to 50 mm proximal to the distal tip of the transfer tube. 
     
     
         9 . The surgical system of  claim 8 , wherein the distal end of the inner tubular member resides at 3 mm proximal to the distal tip of the transfer tube. 
     
     
         10 . The surgical system of  claim 8 , wherein the inner tubular member extends out of the outer tubular member a distance in a range of 1 mm and 75 mm, and wherein the transfer tube has an inner diameter in a range of 10 μm to 1 mm. 
     
     
         11 . The surgical system of  claim 1 , further comprising flexible tubing coupled to a proximal end portion of the MRI-compatible delivery cannula. 
     
     
         12 . The surgical system of  claim 8 , wherein the transfer tube is formed of fused silica, and wherein the outer tubular member is ceramic. 
     
     
         13 . The surgical system of  claim 12 , further comprising a polymeric sleeve covering at least part of the outer tubular member. 
     
     
         14 . A method for delivering a substance to a brain of a patient in an MRI-guided surgical procedure, comprising:
 delivering the substance to a selected region in the brain of the patient using an MRI-compatible delivery cannula while the patient is in a bore of an MRI scanner;   obtaining MRI image data of the patient while the MRI-compatible delivery cannula is in an operative position in the patient and the patient is in the bore of the MRI scanner; and   generating and displaying visualizations of the delivered substance with respect to internal anatomical structure in near real-time to thereby facilitate the MRI-guided surgical procedure.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the obtaining the MRI image data comprises automatically segmenting the MRI image data to identify relevant MRI image data comprising a distal end portion of the MRI-compatible delivery cannula and the delivered substance. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the MRI-compatible delivery cannula comprises a distal tip with a flat end face. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the MRI-compatible delivery cannula comprises an outer tubular member surrounding an inner tubular member and a transfer tube extending through and out a distal end of the inner tubular member and which defines the distal tip, wherein the outer tubular member is rigid and comprises a distal end portion that tapers inward to a smaller outer diameter at the distal end portion thereof, and wherein the inner tubular member has a distal end that resides a distance in a range of 1 to 50 mm proximal to the distal tip of the transfer tube. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the distal end of the inner tubular member resides at 3 mm proximal to the distal tip of the transfer tube, wherein the inner tubular member extends out of the outer tubular member a distance in a range of 1 mm and 75 mm, and wherein the transfer tube has an inner diameter in a range of 10 μm to 1 mm. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising, based on the displayed visualizations of the delivered substance, adjusting a flow of the substance dispensed from the MRI-compatible delivery cannula to adjust a flow direction, a flow pattern or a flow volume. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising, before the delivering,
 mounting the MRI-compatible delivery cannula to an MRI-compatible guide frame;   selectively positioning the MRI-compatible delivery cannula with respect to the brain of the patient using the MRI-compatible guide frame.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising before or during the delivering, slidably extending and/or retracting the transfer tube relative to the outer tubular member and/or the inner tubular member while inside the brain of the patient at a target neurological site.