Tissue removing

Abstract

Devices, systems, and methods of the present disclosure are directed to efficient and accurate removal of tissue from a three-dimensional anatomic structure, such as a breast, of a patient. For example, a cup can be positioned on the patient's breast to conform the breast (e.g. via suction) to a known three-dimensional contour, and a cutting tip can be moved along the three-dimensional contour at one or more predetermined distances from at least one surface of the cup. The cutting tip can remove tissue along the three-dimensional contour to form a skin envelope. As compared to a manual process performed by a surgeon, formation of the envelope through controlled movement of the cutting tip along the three-dimensional contour can improve control over dimensions of the envelope, thus, facilitating achievement of consistent outcomes by reducing the likelihood of complications associated with an envelope that is too thick, too thin, or uneven.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer program product encoded on one or more non-transitory computer storage media, the computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause the one or more computing devices to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a signal indicative of a vacuum pressure in a volume at least partially defined by at least one surface of a cup;   positioning a cutting tip along a three-dimensional contour within the volume, the three-dimensional contour spaced apart from the at least one surface of the cup at one or more predetermined distances; and   based on the received signal, selectively activating the cutting tip to dissect tissue of a patient along the three-dimensional contour.   
     
     
         2 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the signal indicative of the vacuum pressure in the volume is received from a pressure sensor in fluid communication with the volume. 
     
     
         3 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the signal indicative of the vacuum pressure in the volume is received over a predetermined period of time. 
     
     
         4 . The computer program product of  claim 3 , wherein selectively activating the cutting tip to dissect tissue of the patient along the three-dimensional contour is at least partially based on a fluctuation of the received signal over the predetermined period of time. 
     
     
         5 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein positioning the cutting tip along the three-dimensional contour within the volume includes sending one or more control signals to an actuator mechanically coupled to the cup and to the cutting tip. 
     
     
         6 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the three-dimensional contour is at least a portion of an ellipsoid. 
     
     
         7 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein selectively activating the cutting tip includes delivering energy to the cutting tip based on whether the received signal corresponds to a condition at or below a predetermined vacuum pressure in the volume. 
     
     
         8 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the computer program product further comprises instructions that, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause the one or more computing devices to perform operations further including repeating the steps of receiving the signal, positioning the cutting tip along the three-dimensional contour within the volume, and selectively activating the cutting tip to dissect tissue to form a skin envelope.