Novel design of honeybee-inspired needles for percutaneous procedure

In-Silico Analysis of Optimal Configurations for Rotational Bioinspired Bone Marrow Biopsy Needle Designs: An ANN Approach

Medical needle innovations have utilized rotating motion to enhance tissue-cutting capabilities, reducing cutting force and improving clinical outcomes. This study analyzes the effects of six essential factors on insertion and extraction forces during bone marrow biopsy (BMB) procedures. The study uses Taguchi's L32 orthogonal array and numerically simulates the BMB process using the Lagrangian surface-based method on a three-dimensional (3D) heterogeneous Finite Element (FE) model of the human iliac crest. The study evaluates cutting forces in needle insertion and extraction using uni-directional (360° rotation) and bidirectional (180° clock and anti-clock rotation) bioinspired BMB needles. This work aims to create an AI tool that assists researchers and clinicians in selecting the most suitable and safe design parameters for a bio-inspired barbed biopsy needle. An efficient Graphical User Interface (GUI) has been developed for easy use and seamless interaction with the AI tool. With a remarkable accuracy rate exceeding 98%, the tool's predictions hold significant value in facilitating the development of environmentally conscious biopsy needles. The tool demonstrates significantly higher efficiency compared to Abaqus, rendering it a valuable asset for researchers and clinicians engaged in bio-inspired biopsy needle development.

Study of Tissue Damage Induced by Insertion of Composite-Coated Needle

Medical interventions have significantly progressed in developing minimally invasive techniques like percutaneous procedures. These procedures include biopsy and internal radiation therapy, where a needle or needle-like medical device is inserted through the skin to access a target inside the body. Ensuring accurate needle insertion and minimizing tissue-damage or cracks are critical in these procedures. This research aims to examine the coated needle effect on the force required to insert the needle (i.e., insertion force) and on tissue-damage during needle insertion into the bovine kidney. Reducing the needle insertion force, which is influenced by needle surface friction, generally results in a reduction in tissue-damage. Surgical needles were coated with a composite material, combining Polytetrafluoroethylene, Polydopamine, and Activated Carbon. Force measurement during needle insertion and a histological study to determine tissue-damage were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the coating. The insertion force was reduced by 49 % in the case of the coated needles. Furthermore, a histological analysis comparing tissue-damage resulting from coated and uncoated needles revealed an average 39 % reduction in tissue-damage with the use of coated needles. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of coated needles to enhance needle insertion and safety during percutaneous procedures.

An experimental study on the mechanics and control of SMA-actuated bioinspired needle

Active needles demonstrate improved accuracy and tip deflection compared to their passive needle counterparts, a crucial advantage in percutaneous procedures. However, the ability of these needles to effectively navigate through tissues is governed by needle-tissue interaction, which depends on the tip shape, the cannula surface geometry, and the needle insertion method. In this research, we evaluated the effect of cannula surface modifications and the application of a vibrational insertion technique on the performance of shape memory alloy (SMA)-actuated active needles. These features were inspired by the mosquito proboscis' unique design and skin-piercing technique that decreased the needle tissue interaction force, thus enhancing tip deflection and steering accuracy. The bioinspired features, i.e., mosquito-inspired cannula design and vibrational insertion method, in an active needle reduced the insertion force by 26.24% and increased the tip deflection by 37.11% in prostate-mimicking gel. In addition, trajectory tracking error was reduced by 48%, and control effort was reduced by 23.25%, pointing towards improved needle placement accuracy. The research highlights the promising potential of bioinspired SMA-actuated active needles. Better tracking control and increased tip deflection are anticipated, potentially leading to improved patient outcomes and minimized risk of complications during percutaneous procedures.

Experimental and analytical study on insertion force of composite-coated needle in soft tissue material

Medical interventions require control over surgical needle insertion to minimize tissue damage and target inaccuracies during percutaneous procedures. The composite coating of the needle using Polydopamine (PDA), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and Activated Carbon (C) has been used to reduce the damaging needle insertion force. This research aims to further understand the interfacial mechanics of coated needle insertion by studying the forces at the needle and tissue interface and developing an analytical insertion force model through a combined experimental and numerical method. The proposed analytical force model is divided into two components: (1) Friction force on the needle shaft, modeled using a modified Karnopp model that includes an elastic force component; (2) Cutting force on the needle tip, modeled using a constant cutting coefficient for a given tissue and insertion speed. In this work, the analytical model was established by incorporating experiments conducted at a reasonable 35 mm insertion depth in tissues. In a bovine kidney with a 35 mm insertion depth, the insertion force evaluated through experimentation and modeling differed by 6.5% for a bare needle and 17.1% for a coated needle. It is important to note that this difference in the analytical insertion force model is anticipated when dealing with real tissues with a highly complex structured tissue. Prediction of the insertion force could potentially be utilized in robotic needle systems for needle control to improve the success of percutaneous procedures.

Honeybee stinger-based biopsy needle and influence of the barbs on needle forces during insertion/extraction into the iliac crest: A multilayer finite element approach

Bone marrow biopsy (BMB) needles are frequently used in medical procedures, including extracting biological tissue to identify specific lesions or abnormalities discovered during a medical examination or a radiological scan. The forces applied by the needle during the cutting operation significantly impact the sample quality. Excessive needle insertion force and possible deflection might cause tissue damage, compromising the integrity of the biopsy specimen. The present study aims at proposing a revolutionary bioinspired needle design that will be utilized during the BMB procedure. A non-linear finite element method (FEM) has been used to analyze the insertion/extraction mechanisms of the honeybee-inspired biopsy needle with barbs into/from the human skin-bone domain (i.e., iliac crest model). It can be seen from the results of the FEM analysis that stresses are concentrated around the bioinspired biopsy needle tip and barbs during the needle insertion process. Also, these needles reduce the insertion force and reduce the tip deflection. The insertion force in the current study has been reduced by 8.6% for bone tissue and 22.66% for skin tissue layers. Similarly, the extraction force has been reduced by an average of 57.54%. Additionally, it has been observed that the needle-tip deflection got reduced from 10.44 mm for a plain bevel needle to 6.3 mm for a barbed biopsy bevel needle. According to the research findings, the proposed bioinspired barbed biopsy needle design could be utilized to create and produce novel biopsy needles for successful and minimally invasive piercing operations.

Bioinspired medical needles: a review of the scientific literature

Needles are commonly used in medical procedures. However, current needle designs have some disadvantages. Therefore, a new generation of hypodermic needles and microneedle patches drawing inspiration from mechanisms found in nature (i.e. bioinspiration) is being developed. In this systematic review, 80 articles were retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed and classified based on the strategies for needle-tissue interaction and propulsion of the needle. The needle-tissue interaction was modified to reduce grip for smooth needle insertion or enlarge grip to resist needle retraction. The reduction of grip can be achieved passively through form modification and actively through translation and rotation of the needle. To enlarge grip, interlocking with the tissue, sucking the tissue, and adhering to the tissue were identified as strategies. Needle propelling was modified to ensure stable needle insertion, either through external (i.e. applied to the prepuncturing movement of the needle) or internal (i.e. applied to the postpuncturing movement of the needle) strategies. External strategies include free-hand and guided needle insertion, while friction manipulation of the tissue was found to be an internal strategy. Most needles appear to be using friction reduction strategies and are inserted using a free-hand technique. Furthermore, most needle designs were inspired by insects, specifically parasitoid wasps, honeybees, and mosquitoes. The presented overview and description of the different bioinspired interaction and propulsion strategies provide insight into the current state of bioinspired needles and offer opportunities for medical instrument designers to create a new generation of bioinspired needles.

Experimental study of mosquito-inspired needle to minimize insertion force and tissue deformation

The aim of this work is to propose a mosquito-inspired (bioinspired) design of a surgical needle that can decrease the insertion force and the tissue deformation, which are the main causes of target inaccuracy during percutaneous procedures. The bioinspired needle was developed by mimicking the geometrical shapes of mosquito proboscis. Needle prototypes were manufactured and tested to determine optimized needle shapes and geometries. Needle insertion tests on a tissue-mimicking polyvinylchloride (PVC) gel were then performed to emulate the mosquito-proboscis stinging dynamics by applying vibration and insertion velocity during the insertion. An insertion test setup equipped with a sensing system was constructed to measure the insertion force and to assess the deformation of the tissue. It was discovered that using the proposed bioinspired design, the needle insertion force was decreased by 60% and the tissue deformation was reduced by 48%. This finding is significant for improving needle-based medical procedures.

Effect of composite coating on insertion mechanics of needle structure in soft materials

This research aims to study the effect of a composite coating comprised of polydopamine (PDA), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and activated Carbon on the insertion mechanics of surgical needles in tissues i.e., polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tissue phantom and bovine kidney. A needle insertion and extraction test system was designed and constructed to measure the insertion and extraction forces. It was found that the composite coating on the needle surface decreases the maximum average insertion and extraction forces by 62% and 64%, respectively, when tested in PVC tissue phantom and by 49% and 30%, respectively, in bovine kidney tissue. Additionally, an Atomic Force Microscope study was performed to characterize the surface properties of the coated needles. It was found that the composite coating reduced the friction force on the needle surface by 65.7%. The decrease in these forces is critical in minimizing tissue damage and decreasing needle path deviation or deflection during percutaneous procedures.

An overview on the advantages and limitations of 3D printing of microneedles

The use of 3D printing (3DP) technology, which has been continuously evolving since the 1980s, has recently become common in healthcare services. The introduction of 3DP into the pharmaceutical industry particularly aims at the development of patient-centered dosage forms based on structure design. It is still a new research direction with potential to create the targeted release of drug delivery systems in freeform geometries. Although the use of 3DP technology for solid oral dosage forms is more preferable, studies on transdermal applications of the technology are also increasing. Microneedle sequences are one of the transdermal drug delivery (TDD) methods which are used to bypass the minimally invasive stratum corneum with novel delivery methods for small molecule drugs and vaccines. Microneedle arrays have advantages over many traditional methods. It is attractive with features such as ease of application, controlled release of active substances and patient compliance. Recently, 3D printers have been used for the production of microneedle patches. After giving a brief overview of 3DP technology, this article includes the materials necessary for the preparation of microneedles and microneedle patches specifically for penetration enhancement, preparation methods, quality parameters, and their application to TDD. In addition, the applicability of 3D microneedles in the pharmaceutical industry has been evaluated.

Why bees are critical for achieving sustainable development

Reductions in global bee populations are threatening the pollination benefits to both the planet and people. Whilst the contribution of bee pollination in promoting sustainable development goals through food security and biodiversity is widely acknowledged, a range of other benefits provided by bees has yet to be fully recognised. We explore the contributions of bees towards achieving the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our insights suggest that bees potentially contribute towards 15 of the 17 SDGs and a minimum of 30 SDG targets. We identify common themes in which bees play an essential role, and suggest that improved understanding of bee contributions to sustainable development is crucial for ensuring viable bee systems.

Effect of vibration on insertion force and deflection of bioinspired needle in tissues

The design of surgical needles used in biopsy procedures have remained fairly standard despite the increase in complexity of surgeries. Higher needle insertion forces and deflection can increase tissue damage and decrease biopsy sample integrity. To overcome these drawbacks, we present a novel bioinspired approach to reduce insertion forces and minimize needle-tip deflection. It is well known from the literature, design of bioinspired surgical needles results in decreasing insertion forces and needle-tip deflection from the needle insertion path. This technical note studies the influence of vibration on bioinspired needle to further reduce insertion forces and needle-tip deflection. Bioinspired needle geometrical parameters such as barb shapes and geometries were analyzed to determine the best design parameters. Static and dynamic (vibration) needle insertion tests were performed to determine the maximum insertion forces and to estimate needle-tip deflection. Our results show that introducing vibration on the bioinspired needle insertion can reduce the maximum insertion force by up to 50%. It was also found that the needle-tip deflection is decreased by 47%.

Additive manufacturing: state of the art and potential for insect science

Additive Manufacturing has become an efficient tool to study insect-inspired biomimetic solutions. Indeed, it can build objects with intricate 3D-shapes and use materials with specific properties, such as soft materials. From biomaterials to biostructures or biosensors, Additive Manufacturing allows more possibilities in terms of design and functions. Reciprocally, insect-inspired technological solutions can be implemented to enhance Additive Manufacturing processes providing for example biocompatible structures that can successfully host living cells. We believe that, thanks to its continuous progress, Additive Manufacturing will play a growing role in the development of insect-inspired solutions.

Biomechanical Evaluation of Wasp and Honeybee Stingers

In order to design a painless and mechanically durable micro syringe-needle system for biomedical applications, the study of insect stingers is of interest because of their elegant structures and functionalities. In the present work, the structure, mechanical properties and the mechanical behavior during insertion of wasp and honeybee stingers have been investigated. The non-invasive imaging tool, micro-computed tomography has been employed to reveal the 3D-structures of wasp and honeybee stingers. A quasi-static nanoindentation instrument was used to measure the nanomechanical properties. Both wasp and honeybee stingers have graded mechanical properties, decreasing along their longitudinal direction starting from the base. The computed tomography images and the measured material properties from nanoindentation were fed into a computational framework to determine the mechanical behavior of the stingers during penetration. The computation results predicted the penetration angle of +10° for the wasp stinger and −6° for the honeybee stinger, which mimics the practical insertion mechanism of both stingers. Based on this understanding, a wasp and honeybee stringer inspired micro syringe-needle design has also been proposed.

Additive Manufacturing of Honeybee-Inspired Microneedle for Easy Skin Insertion and Difficult Removal

With natural evolution, honeybee stinger with microbarbs can easily penetrate and trap in the skin of hostile animals to inject venom for self-defense. We proposed a novel three-dimensional additive manufacturing method, namely magnetorheological drawing lithography, to efficiently fabricate a bioinspired microneedle imitating a honeybee stinger. Under the assistance of an external magnetic field, a parent microneedle was directly drawn on the pillar tip, and tilted microbarbs were subsequently formed on the four sides of the parent microneedle. Compared with the barbless microneedle, the microstructured barbs enable the bioinspired microneedle for easy skin insertion and difficult removal. The extraction-penetration force ratio of the bioinspired microneedle was triple that of the barbless microneedle. The stress concentration at the barbs helps to reduce the insertion force of the bioinspired microneedle by minimizing the frictional force, whereas it increases the adhesion force by interlocking the barbs in the tissue during retraction. Such finds may provide an inspiration for further design of barbed microtip-based microneedles for tissue adhesion, transdermal drug delivery, biosignal recording, and so on.

Tissue Deformation and Insertion Force of Bee-Stinger Inspired Surgical Needles

Surgical needles are commonly used to reach target locations inside of the body for percutaneous procedures. The major issues in needle steering in tissues are the insertion force which causes tissue damage and tissue deformation that causes the needle path deviation (i.e., tip deflection) resulting in the needle missing the intended target. In this study, honeybee-inspired needle prototypes were proposed and studied to decrease the insertion force and to reduce the tissue deformation. Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology was used to manufacture scaled-up needle prototypes. Needle insertion tests on tissue-mimicking polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gel were performed to measure the insertion force and the tip deflection. Digital image correlation (DIC) study was conducted to determine the tissue deformation during the insertion. It was demonstrated that the bioinspired needles can be utilized to decrease the insertion force by 24% and to minimize the tip deflection. It was also observed that the bioinspired needles decrease the tissue deformation by 17%. From this study, it can be concluded that the proposed bee-inspired needle design can be used to develop and manufacture innovative surgical needles for more effective and less invasive percutaneous procedures.

A narrative review of the success of intramuscular gluteal injections and its impact in psychiatry

There are 12 billion injections given worldwide every year. For many injections, the intramuscular route is favoured over the subcutaneous route due to the increased vascularity of muscle tissue and the corresponding increase in the bioavailability of drugs when administered intramuscularly. This paper is a review of the variables that affect the success of intramuscular injections and the implications that these success rates have in psychiatry and general medicine. Studies have shown that the success rates of intended intramuscular injections vary between 32 and 52%, with the rest potentially resulting in inadvertent subcutaneous drug deposition. These rates are found to be even lower for certain at-risk populations, such as obese patients and those on antipsychotic medications. The variables associated with an increased risk of injection failure include female sex, obesity, site of injection, and subcutaneous fat depth. New guidelines and methods are needed in order to address this challenge and ensure that patients receive optimum care. Looking forward, the best way to improve the delivery of intramuscular injections worldwide is to develop uniform algorithms or innovative medical devices to confirm or guarantee successful delivery at the bedside.