Biopsy site marker delivery device: US Pat. No. 7,651,505

U.S. Patent No. 7,651,505, issued on January 26, 2010 to SenoRx, Inc. of Irvine, CA, discloses a delivery tube for introducing markers into a patient’s body at desired locations to be used as reference points in ultrasound, x-ray, MRI, or other medical imaging devices.

For small cancerous lesions in the body (e.g., in the breast), it can be difficult to direct surgical or radiation treatment to the exact location from which a biopsy was taken, often weeks earlier.  The patent discloses a device to precisely place biopsy site markers to indiate the location where the biopsy was taken, thereby identifying the location of the lesion for later treatment.

SenoRx is a publicly owned company (NASDAQ: SENO), having completed its initial public offering of common stock in March 2007.  According to their website, SenoRx places a high priority on maintaining and growing a strong portfolio of intellectual property in the area of  minimally invasive devices for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.  The USPTO database shows that SenoRx is the assignee of 68 issued U.S. patents, seven of which were issued in 2009 and ten of which were issued in 2008.