A biopsy consists of the medical removal of tissue from a person, to determine the presence, or extent, of a disease, like cancer; the tissue is then examined under a microscope by a pathologist. Breast cancer, which is the most common form of cancer in women, can be diagnosed by inserting the biopsy needle into a patient’s breast and taking a sample from the abnormal tissue (lesion); this is typically referred to as a needle aspiration biopsy.
If a biopsy is completed during a breast cancer scan in an MRI, the accuracy goes way up; utilizing robotics instead of relying on the human hand to control the biopsy needle also helps with accuracy. The current version of UT’s biopsy robot is smaller than the previous versions, so it can fit inside an MRI scanner’s tunnel; 5-meter-long air pipes control the Stormram 4 from outside the scanner.
Linear stepper motors were used for the first two versions of the Stormram, while the third employed rotational stepper motors. Vincent Groenhuis, MSc, Dr. Françoise Siepel, and Prof. Stefano Stramigioli from UT’s Robotics and Mechatronics (RAM) lab developed Stormram 4; the team also collaborated with ZGT radiologist Dr. Jeroen Veltman, to make the design usable for clinical practice, and Ave van der Werf from Machnet B.V., which specializes in MRI coils.
According to the RAM lab’s research page on MRI-compatible robotics, “Some lesions inside the breast can only be detected with MRI, not using mammography (x-ray) or ultrasound. A possible malignant lesion usually needs to be biopsied, but manual MRI-guided breast biopsy procedures are inaccurate and inefficient due to various reasons. A robotic needle manipulator could solve these problems.”
The team’s Stormram 4 robot recently competed in the Surgical Robotic Challenge, and came away with an important award, at the international Hamlyn Symposium in London, which is one of the most important events in the world when it comes to robotic surgery. MRI scanners offer very accurate detection and visualization of abnormal tissue, and you can’t start treating a disease until you know for sure that it’s there and how far it’s spread. Plastic medical robots, like the Stormram 4, offer mechanical accuracy that doesn’t miss, and are not an issue for the powerful scanning machines. With any luck, this kind of medical robot will soon become a mainstay in hospitals around the world.
See the Stormram 4 in action in this UT video:
Discuss in the Biopsy Robot forum at 3DPB.com.
[Source/Images: University of Twente]