Needle deflection and tissue sampling length in needle biopsy.

This study investigates the effect of needle tip geometry on the needle deflection and tissue sampling length in biopsy. Advances in medical imaging have allowed the identification of suspicious cancerous lesions which then require needle biopsy for tissue sampling and subsequent confirmatory pathological analysis. Precise needle insertion and adequate tissue sampling are essential for accurate cancer diagnosis and individualized treatment decisions. However, the single-bevel needles in current hand-held biopsy devices often deflect significantly during needle insertion, causing variance in the targeted and actual locations of the sampled tissue. This variance can lead to inaccurate sampling and false-negative results. There is also a limited understanding of factors affecting the tissue sampling length which is a critical component of accurate cancer diagnosis. This study compares the needle deflection and tissue sampling length between the existing single-bevel and exploratory multi-bevel needle tip geometries. A coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian finite element analysis was applied to understand the needle-tissue interaction during needle insertion. The needle deflection and tissue sampling length were experimentally studied using tissue-mimicking phantoms and ex-vivo tissue, respectively. This study reveals that the tissue separation location at the needle tip affects both needle deflection and tissue sampling length. By varying the tissue separation location and creating a multi-bevel needle tip geometry, the bending moments induced by the insertion forces can be altered to reduce the needle deflection. However, the tissue separation location also affects the tissue contact inside the needle groove, potentially reducing the tissue sampling length. A multi-bevel needle tip geometry with the tissue separation point below the needle groove face may reduce the needle deflection while maintaining a long tissue sampling length. Results from this study can guide needle tip design to enable the precise needle deployment and adequate tissue sampling for the needle biopsy procedures.