Apparatus for sampling heart tissue and/or myocardial revascularization by mechanical cutting

A semi-automatic cardiac tissue removal device for obtaining biopsy samples and/or creating revascularization pathways in the myocardium of the heart, mechanically cuts the pathways using a hand piece with a cutting tip assembly having a hollow needle with an angled, sharpened edge rotatable mounted around a separately advanceable stylet. The stylet defines a piercer to spread the myocardium prior to insertion of the needle and to allow creation of a pathway only within the myocardium. The stylet further defines a plug at the cutting edge of the needle to finish the cutting cleanly and to plug the hollow needle thereby forming a closed chamber for excised tissue. A single button on the left or right handed hand piece actuates movement of the stylet into the myocardium, movement of the needle into the path produced by the piercer, and rotation of the needle to cut tissue.