Needle positioning apparatus

1. A positioning apparatus comprising:

a needle holder having a through hole that is adapted to at least partially surround a needle to guide the needle in a longitudinal direction;

a needle positioning unit having a base part adapted for mounting on a patient and a moving part having at least two degrees of freedom, which holds the needle holder and moves together with the needle holder so as to position the needle holder, and

an engagement member that fixes a position of the needle holder with respect to the needle positioning unit,

wherein the needle holder at least partially detachably attaches to the moving part of the needle positioning unit such that the needle holder is adapted to be removed from the moving part of the needle positioning unit without moving the positioning apparatus and while the insertion state of the needle is maintained.

2. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the needle holder is adapted to release a needle after needle insertion.

3. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the needle holder at least partially detachably attaches to the engagement member.

4. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the needle holder and engagement member together at least partially detachably attaches to the moving part of the needle positioning unit.

5. The positioning apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the engagement member is configured to at least partially detachably attach to the needle positioning unit when on the top of the moving part of the needle positioning unit at an angle relative to the top surface of the needle positioning unit.

6. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the through hole is configured to provide for release of the needle after being inserted into an object by being guided along the through hole.

7. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the portion of the needle holder surrounding the through hole has a C-shape, a U-shape or a semicircle shape.

8. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the needle holder is configured to, or is capable of, being divided or deformed, so that the through hole includes an opening that extends in the longitudinal direction of the needle, and

wherein a width of the opening in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is larger than or equal to a width of the needle in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction when the needle holder is divided or deformed.

9. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a fixing member on the needle positioning unit and a fixing member on the engagement member,

wherein one of the fixing member of the needle positioning unit and the fixing member of the engagement member comprises a protruding portion and the other comprises a recessed portion or hole for engaging the needle holder with the needle positioning unit.

10. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a fixing member on the needle positioning unit that comprises one or more inset portions configured to hold a portion of the engagement member.

11. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a fixing member on the needle positioning unit and a fixing member on the engagement member, wherein one of the fixing member of the needle holder and the fixing member of the engagement member comprises a hinging member and the other comprises a hinge receptor for engaging the needle holder with the needle positioning unit.

12. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the engagement member comprises a key that is adapted to slideably attach to the needle positioning unit via a keyway located on the needle positioning unit.

13. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the needle holder is completely detachable from the needle positioning unit.

14. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the needle positioning unit is adapted for use in a non-sterile field while the needle holder is adapted for use in a sterile field.

15. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the needle holder comprises an engageable shutter portion that, when engaged, prevents a needle from leaving the through hole.

16. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of fiducial markers located on the base part of the needle positioning unit.

17. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the engagement member comprises a ring portion that detachably attaches to the needle positioning unit, where the outer diameter of the ring portion is larger than an inner diameter of the needle positioning unit.

18. The positioning apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the ring portion of the engagement member has an opening that is at least wide enough for a needle to fit therethrough.

19. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the needle holder comprises a needle guidance member which is positioned such that the bottom end of the needle guidance member is within 0 mm to 30 mm of the bottom plane of the positioning apparatus and the top end of the needle guidance member is within 30 mm to 70 mm of the bottom plane of the positioning apparatus.

20. The positioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the needle holder comprises a releasing mechanism adapted to release a needle via an energizing mechanism.

21. A multiple needle positioning apparatus comprising:

at least two needle holders, each having a through hole, the through hole adapted to at least partially surround a needle to guide the needles in a longitudinal direction; and

a needle positioning unit including a base part adapted for mounting on a patient and a moving part having at least two degrees of freedom, the moving part holds the at least two needle holders and moves together with the at least two needle holders so as to position the needle holders,

at least two engagement members that fix position of the needle holders with respect to the needle positioning unit, the at least two needle holders being at least partially detachably attached to the moving part of the needle positioning unit,

wherein the apparatus is adapted such that the at least two needle holders can, when sequentially attached to the needle positioning unit, position at least two needles without interfering with each other, and such that each one of the at least two needle holders can be be sequentially removed from the moving part of the needle positioning unit without moving the positioning apparatus and while the insertion state of a sequentially inserted needle is maintained.