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The era of precision medicine is upon us, which means radiology departments (and in particular interventional radiologists) are being tasked with an ever-increasing range of procedures. This is great news for radiology as a field, making it more integral to medicine and expanding its impact - particularly around cancer care. However, it also demands improvements in treatment efficacy so as to be able to meet the demands of an increasing procedural load.
The role of percutaneous, image guided biopsies in particular are evolving, with biopsies no longer being performed at the time of an initial diagnosis but repeatedly in order to detect progression, predict prognosis, and guide next-line therapy (1).
Better biopsies lead to better care
Research has shown that better biopsies lead to better cancer care, allowing for fewer and less invasive procedures for patients. In contrast, inadequate biopsies lead to delayed or inaccurate diagnoses, the need for extra procedures, and delays in treatment. All of this results in greatly increased cost to the health system and an overall inefficient use of resources (2).
Currently biopsy success is highly dependent on the manual skill of the operator, meaning that interventional radiologists with more experience are better at extracting the relevant tissue. Researchers in the field of radiology have therefore called for devices which reduce the required operator skill needed to get an adequate sample (2), and given the highly specialized requirements of the CT room, navigational aids which are easily integrated into the existing clinical workflow are prioritized.
The Cube Navigation System, developed by a senior radiologist, has been shown to reduce variability in procedure time and accuracy (3), independent of experience. The system can be used with various biopsy needle types, supporting 10-22 G. With no need for setup, calibration, or additional equipment it is easy to adopt while also preserving the clinical workflow.
Curious how? Contact us today to arrange a demo of our CNS and see how we can help your radiology department rise to the challenge of precision medicine while navigating with ease.
References:
1. LaBerge J M, Firetag B, Miller T, Kerlan R K. The changing face of percutaneous image-guided biopsy: molecular profiling and genomic analysis in current practice. JVascIntervRadiol 2013; 24: 1094–1103.
2. Pritzker, K, Nieminen, H J. Needle Biopsy Adequacy in the Era of Precision Medicine and Value-Based Health Care. Arch Pathol Lab Med 1 November 2019; 143 (11): 1399–1415. doi: https://doi.org/10.5858/arpa.2018-0463-RA
3. Mokry A, Willmitzer F, Hostettler R, Richter H, Kircher P, Kneissl S, et al. Evaluation of a novel, patient-mounted system for CT-guided needle navigation-an ex vivo study. Neuroradiology. 2018; 61:55–61.
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