Guided trephine samples for skeletal bone studies

Claim 1

Trephine biopsy apparatus comprising: a planar surface member; a first vertical upstanding support column assembly releasably attached to said planer surface member; a second vertical upstanding support column assembly releasably attached to said planar surface member and disposed parallel to said first vertical upstanding support column assembly; said vertical upstanding column assemblies each including a vertical upstanding support member and a vertical upstanding guide member; a pair of vertically movable follower members each slidably received on one of said upstanding guide members; a rotatable vertical lead screw member located in one of said upstanding support column assemblies, disposed parallel of said guide members and support member therein and threadably received in one of said vertically movable follower members; a horizontally disposed transverse assembly suspended between said upstanding support column assemblies in connection with said vertical follower members and selectably positionable vertically along said column assembies by said vertical lead screw and threadably received follower members; said transverse assembly including a rigid transverse structural member and a transverse lead screw member disposed parallel thereto; a transverse movable follower member threadably received on said transverse lead screw member; a horizontally disposed way assembly cantilever supported from said horizontally disposed transverse assembly in connection with said transverse lead screw member, said way assembly being orthogonal to said transverse assembly and parallel to said planar surface member; said horizontally disposed way assembly including a plurality of horizontal guide members and a lead screw member disposed parallel thereto; a tool platform member suspended on said horizontally disposed way assembly, including a follower portion slidably received on said way assembly horizontal guide members and treadably received on said way assembly lead screw member and movable along said horozontal guide members in said orthogonal plane; said tool platform member including a sloped way assembly pivotally mounted thereon and disposable within predetermined angular limits with respect to said planar surface member, said sloped way assembly also having parallel disposed guide and lead screw members; a tool carriage member mounted on said tool platform member way assembly, said carriage member including follower portions slidably received on said sloped way assembly guide member and threadably received on said sloped way assembly lead screw member, said carriage member being thereby movable along said sloped way assembly guide and lead screw members at said predetermined sloped angle with respect to said planar surface member; a powered drilling tool received in said tool carriage member and including a rotationally driven trephine cutter bit driving member; elongated cradle receptacle means disposed parallel to said transverse assembly on said planer surface member for retaining a horizontally reposed vertebrate test specimen in predetermined alignment with said trephine cutter bit driving member.