CT data-based navigation for post-mortem biopsy – A feasibility study

IntroductionRecent advances in medical imaging have brought post-mortem minimally invasive computed tomography (CT) guided percutaneous biopsy to public attention.AimsThe goal of the following study was to facilitate and automate post-mortem biopsy, to suppress radiation exposure to the investigator, as may occur when tissue sampling under computer tomographic guidance, and to minimize the number of needle insertion attempts for each target for a single puncture.Methods and materialsClinically approved and post-mortem tested ACN-III biopsy core needles (14 gauge × 160 mm) with an automatic pistol device (Bard Magnum, Medical Device Technologies, Denmark) were used for probe sampling. The needles were navigated in gelatine/peas phantom, ex vivo porcine model and subsequently in two human bodies using a navigation system (MEM centre/ISTB Medical Application Framework, Marvin, Bern, Switzerland) with guidance frame and a CT (Emotion 6, Siemens, Germany).ResultsBiopsy of all peas could be performed within a single attempt. The average distance between the inserted needle tip and the pea centre was 1.4 mm (n = 10; SD 0.065 mm; range 0–2.3 mm).The targets in the porcine liver were also accurately punctured. The average of the distance between the needle tip and the target was 0.5 mm (range 0–1 mm).Biopsies of brain, heart, lung, liver, pancreas, spleen, and kidney were performed on human corpses. For each target the biopsy needle was only inserted once. The examination of one body with sampling of tissue probes at the above-mentioned locations took approximately 45 min.ConclusionsPost-mortem navigated biopsy can reliably provide tissue samples from different body locations. Since the continuous update of positional data of the body and the biopsy needle is performed using optical tracking, no control CT images verifying the positional data are necessary and no radiation exposure to the investigator need be taken into account. Furthermore, the number of needle insertions for each target can be minimized to a single one with the ex vivo proven adequate accuracy and, in contrast to conventional CT guided biopsy, the insertion angle may be oblique.Navigation for minimally invasive tissue sampling is a useful addition to post-mortem CT guided biopsy.