Observations And Experiments For The Definition Of A New Robotic Device Dedicated To CT, CBCT And MRI-Guided Percutaneous Procedures

Determination of a tactile feedback strategy for use in robotized percutaneous procedures

Remote manipulation in robotized percutaneous procedures can offer increased safety to radiologists as well as patients. Providing feedback to the radiologist on needle-tissue interactions is however mandatory in addition to the medical images. A tactile feedback strategy is developed in this paper. Two types of information are considered: tissue puncture and nature of tissues. A haptic device is developed for that purpose, using a tactile display to provide information. Adequate signals are identified experimentally, with analysis of reaction times and the ability to discriminate one information from the other.

Lung and Abdominal Biopsies in the Age of Precision Medicine

Image-guided percutaneous needle biopsies (PNBs) are one of the most common procedures performed in radiology departments today. Rapid developments in precision medicine, which identifies molecular and genomic biomarkers in cancers, have ushered a new paradigm of oncologic workup and treatment. PNB has conventionally been used to establish a benign or malignant nature of a lesion during initial diagnosis or in suspected metastatic or recurrent disease. However, increasing amounts of tissue are being required to meet the demands of molecular pathologic analysis, which are now being sought at multiple time points during the course of the disease to guide targeted therapy. As primary providers of biopsy, radiologists must be proactive in these developments to improve diagnostic yield and tissue acquisition in PNB. Herein, we discuss the important and expanding role of PNB in the age of precision medicine and review the technical considerations of percutaneous lung and intra-abdominal biopsy. Finally, we examine promising state-of-the-art techniques in PNB that may safely increase tissue acquisition for optimal molecular pathologic analysis.