The biopsy needle will be replaced by micro-stars
Wireless micro-forceps for biopsy have been developed
The results of experiments on testing micro-forceps are published in two journals at once: Gastroenterology and Advanced Materials.
(An article on the development of the first version of these forceps was published in January 2009, and now we are talking about improving the methodology and testing micrographers not in a test tube, but in conditions close to preclinical studies – VM.)
The micro-forceps, whose size varies from 300 micrometers to 1.5 millimeters, have the shape of a star. Its tentacles, made of chrome and connected to the "body" by hinges, are initially opened – in this state they are held by a polymer material. Getting into the heat, it softens, and the tentacles close, simultaneously capturing tissue samples. Since the micro-forceps begin to work at human body temperature, they should be kept at 4 degrees Celsius before the biopsy.
In the pictures from the press release, Johns Hopkins Team Deploys Hundreds of Tiny Untethered Surgical Tools in First Animal Biopsies - one microstar next to forceps for biting out a tissue sample, which (along with less creepy devices like needles with a diameter of less than 1 mm) are used for biopsy now, and a cloud of stars in a tiny test tube – VM.
For the procedure, hundreds of "stars" are injected into the body through an endoscope; after collecting the necessary samples, the micro-forceps are removed using a magnetized catheter. According to the authors of the work, the number of cells collected by one "asterisk" is enough to analyze tissue samples. This method is less invasive than existing methods of tissue selection, and due to the large number of samples, the accuracy of diagnosis increases.
Earlier experiments were carried out by scientists on plastic models of human organs, while in the course of the latest study they used a functioning pig liver placed in a bath. Micro forceps inserted through an endoscope first successfully reached the bile duct, from which it is difficult to take a biopsy in the traditional way, and then were successfully extracted with a magnetized catheter.
The authors of the work believe that the results achieved are only the first step in creating a less invasive and better biopsy technique. Now they plan to improve their invention, and then test it on animals.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru26.04.2013