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Needle-shaped ultrathin piezoelectric microsystem for guided tissue targeting via mechanical sensing

Nature Biomedical Engineering volume 2, pages 165–172 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Needles for percutaneous biopsies of tumour tissue can be guided by ultrasound or computed tomography. However, despite best imaging practices and operator experience, high rates of inadequate tissue sampling, especially for small lesions, are common. Here, we introduce a needle-shaped ultrathin piezoelectric microsystem that can be injected or mounted directly onto conventional biopsy needles and used to distinguish abnormal tissue during the capture of biopsy samples, through quantitative real-time measurements of variations in tissue modulus. Using well-characterized synthetic soft materials, explanted tissues and animal models, we establish experimentally and theoretically the fundamental operating principles of the microsystem, as well as key considerations in materials choices and device designs. Through systematic tests on human livers with cancerous lesions, we demonstrate that the piezoelectric microsystem provides quantitative agreement with magnetic resonance elastography, the clinical gold standard for the measurement of tissue modulus. The piezoelectric microsystem provides a foundation for the design of tools for the rapid, modulus-based characterization of tissues.

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Fig. 1: Tissue modulus probes based on ultrathin PZT actuators and sensors.
Fig. 2: Fundamental studies of device operation.
Fig. 3: In vivo and ex vivo measurements on animal model tissues.
Fig. 4: Measurements of tissue modulus performed using a sensor system laminated onto a conventional biopsy needle.
Fig. 5: Modulus-based biopsy guidance in cancerous human tissue samples.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Center for Bio-Integrated Electronics. R.O. acknowledges National Institutes of Health grants R01HL137193, R01EB24403, R21EB021148 and R03CA172738, and Mayo Clinic. R.S. acknowledges support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (grant number EP/L016028/1) and China Scholarship Council. L.T. acknowledges support from a Beckman Institute postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Y.H. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation (grant numbers 1400169, 1534120 and 1635443) and National Institutes of Health (grant number R01EB019337). The authors acknowledge N. Pallace (Media Support Services at Mayo Clinic) for expert photography during the experiments.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Xinge Yu, Heling Wang and Xin Ning.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Simpson Querrey Center and Feinberg School of Medicine, Center for Bio-Integrated Electronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Xinge Yu & John A. Rogers

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Xinge Yu, Xin Ning, Rujie Sun, Yang Yu, Limei Tian, Chan Mi Lee, Aditya Chempakasseril, Peilin Tian & John A. Rogers

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Heling Wang, Jianghong Yuan & Yonggang Huang

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Heling Wang, Jianghong Yuan & Yonggang Huang

  5. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Heling Wang, Jianghong Yuan, Yonggang Huang & John A. Rogers

  6. Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    Rujie Sun

  7. Division of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Minimally Invasive Therapeutics Laboratory, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Hassan Albadawi & Rahmi Oklu

  8. Department of Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Marcela Salomao

  9. Division of Abdominal Imaging, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Alvin C. Silva

  10. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Yang Yu

  11. Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Limei Tian

  12. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, USA

    Ahyeon Koh

  13. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Matt Pharr

  14. Center for Mechanics and Materials, and Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Jianghong Yuan

  15. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    John A. Rogers

  16. Department of Neurological Surgery, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    John A. Rogers

  17. Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    John A. Rogers

  18. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    John A. Rogers

Authors
  1. Xinge Yu
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Contributions

X.Y., H.W., X.N., Y.H., R.O. and J.A.R. designed the experiment and wrote the manuscript. X.Y., H.W., X.N., R.S., M.S., H.A., Y.Y., A.K., C.M.L., A.C.S., P.T. and R.O. performed the experiments and analysed the experimental data. H.W. led the structural designs and mechanics modelling, with assistance from J.Y. L.T. and M.P. contributed to the analysis of the experimental results.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yonggang Huang, Rahmi Oklu or John A. Rogers.

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Yu, X., Wang, H., Ning, X. et al. Needle-shaped ultrathin piezoelectric microsystem for guided tissue targeting via mechanical sensing. Nat Biomed Eng 2, 165–172 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-018-0201-6

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