Field of the Invention: The present invention relates to autopsy methods and apparatus for use, for example, in hospitals and in Medical Examiners offices. In particular, the invention relates to methods and apparatus for cutting bone during an autopsy, such as a skull cap, to obtain access to the brain for autopsy examination.

Background of the invention:

Many jurisdictions require an autopsy to be performed to assure that death was from natural or accidental causes, and an autopsy is sometimes requested or permitted by the family of the deceased, even though not legally required. It is not unusual for a Medical Examiner's office, in an urban area, to perform a number of autopsy examinations a day. Most autopsy examinations require examination of the brain. For examination of the brain, a cut is made around the hollow upper portion of the skull bone, usually slightly above the region of maximum diameter, and the resulting skull cap is lifted and removed to expose the brain for examination and/or removal. The technician and a pathologist or Medical Examiner usually work together during an autopsy. The technician does the skullcap cutting and the bone cutting necessary to open the chest cavity to remove the organs for examination.

The known technique for cutting a skullcap is to draw a line around the skull, then cut along the line with an autopsy saw which is a hand-held saw powered by an electric motor driving an oscillating blade. The saw allegedly cuts bone without cutting adjacent soft tissue. The technician does the skullcap cutting with this saw, usually by cutting around the skull several times until the skull bone is severed to remove the skullcap. Sometimes the skull is not cut completely through at all locations. When only a thin section

or sections of the bone remain, a T-blade can be used to break the remaining sections and pry off the skullcap.

Cutting the skullcap in this known manner is time consuming and tedious because the oscillating blade cuts bone very slowly and significant pressure is required to cut the bone. The time required to cut the skullcap in this manner is about thirty minutes. Cutting the skullcap requires constant attention and is uncomfortable for the technician because part of the autopsy saw gripped by the hand of the technician becomes quite hot when the autopsy saw is operated for long periods of time. Furthermore, considerable skill is required to avoid damaging brain tissue, and an unskilled or careless technician can cause cosmetic damage to the head which is difficult for a mortician to repair or conceal. Finally, the prior art methods of removing the skull cap allows exposure of the technician to bits of body tissue that may be infected. The protection of personnel from exposure to disease-causing organisms is certainly needed.

Summary of the Invention:

The method and apparatus of the invention provides for rapid removal of the skullcap in a manner that avoids the problems encountered using prior methods. Damage to the brain tissue, unsightly damage to head and face and exposure of personnel to infectious microorganisms is avoided or mini¬ mized. The method of the invention is fast and efficient.

The human skull is not spherical, but is a somewhat irregular oval shape in the region where the skull must be cut. Furthermore, the skull bone is not of uniform thickness, but varies in the region where the skull must be cut in order to remove the skullcap.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a powered cutter is used which is mounted on a carrier which guides the cutter around the skull in a plane so that the end of the cut meets the beginning of the cut. The use of the mounted cutter allows the technician to set the cutter in the skull, then remove himself from the area near the body to

avoid contact with tissue fragments.

Brief Description of the Drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of an embodiment of an apparatus of the invention showing phantom lines wherein the skull will be cut to remove the skullcap.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the apparatus of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged front view of the cutter carrier and its cradle support, and shows the position of the cutter during cutting of a skull cap using one form of follower according to the invention.

Fig. 4 is a view in section looking along line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a rear view of the cutter carrier looking along line

5-5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is an enlarged front view of the cutter, follower and handpiece used with the automatic apparatus of figures 1-5.

Fig. 7 is a side view of the cutter and handpiece of fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a view in section of a slip clutch for controlling the power supplied to the cutter blade. Fig. 9 is a frontal view of a second embodiment of the cutter and follower which can be used with the automatic apparatus of figs. 1-5.

Fig. 10 is a side view of the cutter and follower of fig. 9.

Detailed Description of the Invention:

The apparatus for removal of the skullcap automates much of the arduous work involved in such a procedure. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the powered cutter is mounted on a carrier which -guides the cutter around the skull to automatically cut the skull in a designated plane in such a manner that there is minimal damage to the underlying tissue. Because exposure of the technician to tissue released into the environment, transmittal of disease organisms is greatly decreased. This is particularly important in an atmosphere where organisms of HIV virus and other viruses may be present in the body of the deceased.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the

cutter is mounted on a carrier to move generally radially toward and away from the axis of the skull as the cutter is moved around the skull to maintain the cutter in a cutting position relative to the skull despite the irregular contour of the skull. During such cutting, the head of the cadaver is held in a generally centered position with respect to the path of travel of the cutter. The apparatus may be equipped with a follower in the form of an interior guide finger or guide element which is inserted in an initially formed cut or sit in the skull to engage the inner surface of the skull bone. This finger has a rounded leading portion to enable the finger to move forward between the inner surface of the skull and the membrane surrounding the grain to avoid damage to the underlying brain tissue as the cutter is advanced to cut the skull bone.

The preferred cutter is a rotary circular saw blade the finger is spaced slightly outwardly of the periphery of the saw blade and is secured to the saw casing behind the saw blade so that the finger can move forward as cutting proceeds The support portion connecting the finger to the saw casing follows the blade through the cut formed by the blade. A slight outward pressure on the saw as it is moved around the skull maintains the finger against the inside of the skull bone to limit the depth of penetration of the saw blade to prevent penetration into the soft tissue. Such outward pressure can be obtained by rotating the blade in the direction of travel of the blade so it tends to climb around the skull and thereby exerts a component of force outwardly away from the skull. The outward pressure can also be maintained by a spring so that the blade can be rotated in either direction. If an apparatus is used without the guiding finger, the apparatus may be set to cut to a uniform depth that will not damage the brain. After such a cut is made, areas that have not been fully cut because of variation in skull depth may be cut with a hand-held instrument and the skull be pried off using a T-blade. If the skull is to be cut to a uniform depth, the apparatus may be equipped with a guide

or follower such as a bushing or roller that rides on the outside of the skull and limits the depth of the cut. In this mode, the depth of cut selected is about the depth of the minimum thickness of the skull along the line of cut to avoid damaging brain tissue.

The circular carrier for holding the blade may be mounted on a mobile structure such as wheeled cart so that the apparatus can be easily moved to the structure that supports the body. The mobile structure should allow variation of height for adjustment.

The casing of the cutting head may be a handpiece wherein the power is cable driven. When the circular blade is driven from a remotely located motor it is possible to minimize the weight and bulk of the cutting head mounted on the carrier. A quick connecting arrangement is then provided to facilitate mounting the cutting head on the carrier. The cutting head can then be removed from the carrier for manual use. The cutting head can then be used manually to form the initial slit in the skull which will receive the guide finger or can be used for any other bone-cutting that may be necessary during the autopsy.

The preferred embodiment of the invention provides a cradle within which the head is positioned and secured, a carrier on which the rotary'cutter is supported to move around the periphery of the skull, and a follower or guide means for engaging the skull to enable the rotary saw to move inwardly and outwardly relative to the longitudinal axis of the skull to control the extent of inward penetration of the cutter into the skull so that damage to the brain is avoided. In the preferred embodiment, the cradle takes the form of a support frame or ring with positioning elements such as adjustable pins or clamp screws for supporting and securing the skull in the cradle. The carrier has a ring rotatable on the cradle has a cutter support which enables the cutter to move toward and away from the axis of the skull as it moves around the skull.

Detailed Description of the Drawings:

Fig. 1 shows the cadaver (10 (phantom lines)) placed face up on a table (12) with the head or skull (14) at the end of the table and a block or support (16) placed under the neck and shoulders to support the head (14) .

Fig. 2 shows the table or cart (18) . The cutting apparatus (22) includes an annular carrier assembly (24) mounted for rotation on the rear of a stationary support ring or cradle assembly (26) The support ring is secured on the top (27) of cart 18 with the axis of the ring horizontal and the carrier assembly which rotates about a horizontal axis. A radially moveable slide or shuttle assembly (28) is mounted on the rear of the rotatable carrier assembly (24) .

As shown at Fig. 1, an elongated casing (29) containing a rotatable spindle is mounted near one end of the slide assembly (28) . The casing (29) extends horizontally through and is secured to the slide assembly. A rotary cutter (32) is mounted on the spindle as shown in Fig. 2. The cutter is driven by a variable speed motor (33) contained in a protective housing (34) . Motor 33 is mechanically connected to the spindle in casing 29 by an elongated flexible shaft drive cable (35) . A motor speed control knob (36) is on the front of housing 34, and the speed control circuitry is within the housing. The casing (29) can be the handpiece or handle of a cable drive tool.

Circumferentially spaced radially extending positioning pins (37) are threaded through blocks mounted on the front face of the support ring assembly (26) and can be manually adjusted to position and hold the head of the cadaver. Fig. 1. shows the head (14) positioned so that its longitudinal axis (38) is horizontal.

The carrier assembly (24) is driven with a V-belt (40) from a variable speed reduction gear electric motor (41) to revolve the carrier assembly (24) around the head (14) of the cadaver. A motor (41) is mounted on the underside of the top has a V drive pulley (42) on its output shaft, and a speed control knob (43) . The mounting for the motor can be an

adjustable mount to adjust the tension in the belt (40) . The cart (18) , as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 has portions of its side panels and front panel removed to better show the compartment (50) in which the motor (41) is located and which provides a storage area in which accessories such as cutter blades, the motor housing with the motor and other parts can be placed. The cart may advantageously be equipped with such additional conveniences as doors (51 and 52) and lockable castor wheels (54) and adjustable legs (56) so that the height of the top of the cart with the apparatus can be adjusted vertically to facilitate use with cadaver support surfaces. As shown, each leg (56) may have internally threaded section which thread into sleeves (57) fixed to the lower end of a tube at each corner of the cart. A threaded lock-nut ring (59) can be provided on each leg to provide for manually rotatable means for adjusting height. To maintain the cart in position, wheel locking levers (60) may be provided. Furthermore, clamps (61) may be provided to secure the cart to the table.

As shown in figs. 3, 4 and 5, the support assembly (26) includes a support ring (62) fixed to the reinforcing plate of the top (27) of the cart by a mounting block (63) so that the ring (62) is supported in cantilever fashion from its front face (65) . The support ring (62) is L-shaped in section, as shown in fig. 4, to provide an external cylindri- cal journal face (64) and a flat annular rearwardly facing shoulder (66) .

The carrier assembly includes a bearing ring (68) having an annular end face (67) and an internal cylindrical bearing surface (69) . The bearing ring (68) is mounted for rotation on the journal surface (64) and is held against axial movement by a retaining ring (70) which acts as a thrust bearing and extends across an annular bearing shoulder (72) of an interior recess (73) of the bearing ring (68) . The retaining ring (70) is fixed to the rear face of the support ring (62) with screws which are recessed in the rear face of the retaining ring. A carrier ring (74) seats on the rear face of the bearing ring and is secured to the bearing ring

with screws. The thickness of the retaining ring is only slightly less than the axial width of the recess (73) in the bearing ring (68) , and the length of the bearing surface (69) is only very slightly less than the length of the journal surface (64) to provide a bearing arrangement resistent to entry of bone dust and liquids. Thus, the support ring and the retaining ring are fixed and stationary and the carrier assembly (24) comprised of the bearing ring, carrier ring and the slide assembly (28) can revolve as a unit on the support ring. The bearing ring has a smooth outer surface which is engaged by the flat inner surface of the V-drive belt (40) to rotate the carrier assembly when the reduction gear drive motor (41) is energized.

Figures 4 and 5 show diametrically opposed carrier blocks (78 and 79) mounted on the rear face of the carrier ring (74) . The slide assembly (28) includes a slide plate (80) supported by the blocks (78 and 79) for movement radially of the carrier ring (74) . Pairs of parallel guide pins (81 and 82) are fixed in the respective carrier blocks so that the axes of the opposed rings are aligned transversely of the carrier ring (74) . Parallel bores in each end of the slide plate (80) receive the guide pins to mount the slide plate for movement radially of the carrier ring.

A cutter support block (84) is mounted on the slide plate (80) in a slot (86) formed in and offset toward one end of the slide plate. The block (84) has a T-shaped block portion and a retaining plate (85) which holds the T-block in the slot. The slot (86) is longer than the block (84) to allow the block to be moved to different positions on the slide plate to adjust the radial position of the cutter. The block (84) can be clamped with the set screws (88) shown at Fig. 5.

Seated in the support block (84) is a cutter support bushing (90) which is retained with a wing screw (91 of Fig. 5) . The bushing (90) has a central opening to receive the casing or handpiece (29) and a thumb screw (92) to lock the handpiece in the bushing. The handpiece (29) has a chuck (95)

to receive and grip the shaft of the arbor (96) in which the rotary cutter, in the form of a circular blade saw (97) is mounted. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 3 to 5 compression springs (98) are mounted on the guide pins (82 and 82) between the carrier block (79) and the adjacent end of the slide plate (80) to urge the slide plate toward the opposite carrier block (78).

The head positioning pins (37) are shown in greater detail at figures 3 and 4. These pins extend through respective support blocks (192) fastened to and projecting from the front face of the support ring (62) . The pins (37) each take the form of a thumbscrew, with a pad (105) swivel mounted at the inner end of the screw having a pointed top for secure, non-slip engagement with the head or skull of the cadaver.

The handpiece (29) is a conventional cable driven handpiece with a quick disconnect cable coupling with the flexible drive cable (35) of the type which enables the handpiece to swivel or turn relative to the cable sheath. The cable sheath is secured to the motor (33) in housing (34) so that the sheath cannot rotate. This enables the carrier assembly to revolve while the cutter is driven without twisting the cable sheath.

Figs. 6 and 7 show the handpiece (29) and circular saw blade in greater detail. The handpiece can be used with the skull cutting apparatus of Figs. 1-5 or alone as a hand¬ held cutting device.

Attached to the handpiece (29) is a blade guard (110) . The guard has a sleeve portion (112) which is posi- tioned on the cutter end of the handpiece and secured with set screws (113 and 114) . The blade guard has an integral hood (116) which extends over and partially around the saw blade (97) . Fixed to the outside hood (116) is a follower finger plate (118) which is precisely coplanar with the blade (97) and extends along and is spaced only slightly outwardly of the periphery of the blade (97) . The finger plate (118) is secured with screws (120) to a block secured to the hood by

screws (122) . The finger plate has a leading follower finger (124) preferably of a thickness slightly less than the width of cut formed by the saw blade (97) so that it can be inserted through an initial cut formed by the blade to engage the inside surface of the skull bone. A connecting portion (126) which connects the finger (124) to the mounting portion (128) is of a thickness less than the width of cut formed by the saw blade (97) so it can move through and in the slit or cut formed by the blade as a cut advances. The finger (124) has a rounded leading end (130) which engages the dura so that the dura is depressed rather than cut.

The blade guard (110) partially encircles the blade (97) to contain bone dust formed during cutting and to shield the blade against accidental contact by the user to avoid injury. The hood (116) of the blade guard (110) , as measured between the end edges (132 and 133) , extend not more than about 180 degrees around the blade, and the finger plate extends about 75 degrees beyond the edge (132) of the hood so that the blade can cut in the region (134) without interfer¬ ence by the finger plate (118) or the hood (116) .

When the saw is used manually for bone cutting, a circular hand guard (136) is placed on the handpiece (29) so that it abuts against the sleeve portion (112) of the blade guard as shown in Fig. 10. The hand guard (136) is of flexible material and has a funnel-shaped peripheral skirt (138) which prevents the ^* hand of the person holding the handpiece from slipping toward the blade (97) .

Regarding operation of the embodiment described in Figs. 1-5, after the cadaver is positioned on the autopsy table, the cart (18) with the cutting device can be adjusted and the cart moved to a position at the head of the table where it can be secured. The skull (14) is elevated to the necessary position on the block (16) . The line of cut is marked on the skull and the head positioned so that the line of cut is a few inches beyond the end of the table. The head is positioned within the assembly (22) (said assembly (37)

having thumbscrew pins withdrawn) so that the head enters the assembly (22) and the saw blade (97) is in the radial plane of the line to be cut on the skull. The thumbscrew pins are then adjusted to position and secured to the skull. The axial position of the saw blade (97) can be adjusted if necessary by loosening a thumbscrew (92 of Fig. 5) and sliding the handpiece (29) axially in the bushing (90) so that the blade is exactly at the desired line of cut of the skull, and the thumbscrews (92) are then slightly tightened. The handpiece (29) is then rotated counterclockwise

(as viewed in Fig. 3) from the cutting position until the exposed portion (134) of the blade faces the skull and thumbscrew 92 is tightened. The cutter motor (33) is energized to rotate the saw blade (97) and the slide plate (80) or the rear of the handpiece is grasped to push the rotating blade forward and into the skull against the action of the weak compression springs (98) to form an initial slit in the skull. The handpiece thumbscrew is then loosened, the handpiece is turned in the block to the position shown in Fig. 3 so that the finger (124) extends through the starting slit and the end of the finger (130) engages the interior of the skull bone at a position slightly ahead of the blade (97) . Thumbscrew 92 is then tightened to lock the handpiece in position. The engagement of the end of the finger (13) with the interior of the skull prevents the springs (98) from pushing the slide and cutter away from the skull. The carrier drive motor (41) is then energized to revolve the carrier assembly and saw blade (97) counterclockwise around the skull, as viewed at Fig. 3. The blade is also rotated counter- clockwise. As thicker portions of the skull are engaged by the finger, the saw blade is pulled further inwardly into the skull to cut through all portions of the skull bone in a single revolution of the carrier assembly. The finger causes the slide plate (80) to move radially relative to the longitudinal axis of the skull which, in turn, moves the blade radially to follow the interior contour of the skull. The speed of revolution of the carrier assembly and blade around

the skull is about one revolution in two to four minutes. The thumbscrews (37) and clamps (61) are then released from the skull. Because of the quick disconnect coupling, the cable (35) can quickly be disconnected from the handpiece (29) and the handpiece can be removed from the apparatus (22) by loosening the thumbscrew (92) and withdrawing the handpiece and cutter as an assembly forwardly through the support ring (62) for manual cutting.

Fig. 6 shows a preferred circular saw blade (97) used for bone cutting wherein the circular blade useful for removing the skull cap which has both peripheral teeth (150) and side cutting teeth (152) on each side of the blade. The peripheral teeth have a positive radial relief angle (154) (the angle between the cutting edge of a tooth and the radius of the blade) which can be in the range of 5 to 30 degrees and a radial relief angle or tooth clearance angle (156) which can be in the range of 5 to 30 degrees and a radial relief angle or tooth clearance angle (156) which can be in the range of 5 to 15 degrees. The side teeth have axial relief and the flutes (157) taper inwardly toward the next following tooth. Such a blade has been found to cut the skull bone easily and without binding. A preferred saw blade is a metal slitting saw of stainless steel with 28 teeth wherein the blade is 2. inches in diameter and has a thickness of 1/8 inch. It has been found that the saw blade, when driven with a relatively low power drive in the range of about 1/8 to 1/6 horsepower, will not readily cut soft tissue. When the cutter engages such soft tissue, the drive motor stalls and the tissue is not cut. Such stalling of the drive motor also serves as a safety feature to prevent serious injury to a user who accidently engages the rotating saw blade.

Fig. 8 shows another means for controlling the torque supplied to the blade (97) in the form of a slip clutch (160) . The slip clutch arrangement limits the power transmit- ted to the blade to avoid cutting soft tissue and to avoid serious injury to the user.

As shown, the blade (97) is mounted on an arbor

(161) having a shaft (162) adapted to be chucked in the collet of the handpiece (29) . The arbor has an integral collar (163) with a smooth end face and a smooth journal surface (164) with a thread (166) at its free end. Washers (167 and 168) are disposed on opposite sides of the blade and can be keyed to the blade.

Mounted on the free end of the journal (164) is a pressure plate washer (169) a Bellville spring (170) and a threaded ring (171) . A low friction slip disk (172) is between the pressure plate (169) and washer (168) . The respective surfaces of the collar (163) and washer (167) which engage the disk (172) are smooth and polished, as are the surfaces of the washer (168) and pressure plate (169) which engage the disk (173) . This assembly forms an adjustable slip clutch which enables the assembly of the blade and washer to slip and stall if overloaded, while the arbor (164) continues to rotate.

The ring (173) , when advanced on the thread (166) , compresses the Belleville spring to axially load the clutch. The ring is adjusted until, the blade slips at the predeter¬ mined torque necessary to cut bone without cutting or badly damaging soft tissue. The low friction slip disks (172) can be thin disks of TEFLON, and the ring (173) can have a self- locking thread to retain its adjusted position or the thread can be a self-locking thread.

Figs. 9 and 10 show a second embodiment of depth gauge and cutter assembly (179) which can be used with the automatic apparatus of Figs. 1-5 or can be used manually for autopsy bone cutting. Mounted on a saw arbor (180) between the blade and the handpiece (29) is a depth gauge bushing (182) which limits the depth of cut of the saw blade. The bushing (182) has ball bearings (183) so its outer peripheral portion (184) is freely rotatable relative to the blade and the arbor. Thus, the outer portion (184) can roll on the skull or body or remain motionless when the arbor and blade ar rotated.

The blade guard (190 of Fig. 9) in this embodiment

has a hood (191) and there is no finger plate. When used manually for bone cutting (including cutting of the skull) a cutter assembly (179) is selected which has a bushing (182) which limits the depth of cut. The line of cut is drawn on the skull and the rotating blade is engaged with the skull to cut the skull until the outer portion of the bushing engages the skull as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. The blade is then moved around the skull while inward pressure is exerted to maintain the bushing against the skull and form a cut of uniform depth around the skull. Only slight inward pressure is required if the blade (97) is moved around the skull in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the blade in the direction designated by arrow 195. (Fig. 9) The inside-out cutting action of the blade then tends to pull the blade toward the skull or other bone being cut. The bushing rolls on the skull as the skull cap is cut.

For the embodiments exemplified in Fig. 9 and 10, several cutter assemblies can be provided, each with a different diameter depth bushing so that the user need only select the assembly which best meets his needs.. For example, assemblies may provide for 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, or even 1/2 inch cuts.

The use of the automatic apparatus of Figs. 1-5 requires slight modification of the apparatus for most efficient use. First, the springs (98) are removed from the pins (81, 82) at one side of the carrier ring (78) and are placed on the pins at the opposite side of the carrier ring between the slide (26) and carrier block (78) so that the slide and cutter block (84) and handpiece (29) on the slide are urged toward the skull. Also, the direction of rotation of the carrier ring drive motor (41) is reversed so that the ring is driven clockwise while the blade rotates counterclock¬ wise so that the blade cuts the skull from inside to out and tends to pull the depth gauge bushing (182) against the outside surface of the skull to assist the action of the reversed springs (98) .

The operation of the apparatus of Figs. 1-5 with the

cutter assembly of Figs. 9 and 10 is then the same as previously described, but a cut of uniform depth is made around the skull, and there may be remaining sections of the skull which require separation by manual means.

A limited power cutter drive motor or slip clutch may be used with the embodiment of Figs. 9 and 10 to avoid damage to soft tissue and serious injury to the technician.