Project to Develop Breast Biopsy System Offering Real-Time Monitoring, Guidance

The objective of a European Union (EU)-funded project is to develop a breast biopsy system guided by three-dimensional (3D) real-time positron emission mammography (PEM) imaging and offering real-time guidance and correction of the needle trajectory for higher accuracy and efficiency in tumor sampling.

The first tool for breast cancer diagnosis is clinical imaging, chiefly mammography and ultrasound (US); however, suspicious findings typically require a biopsy to validate the diagnosis. Two percent of women who undergo a screening mammogram will require some type of breast biopsy (1.3 million women yearly in Europe).

Breast biopsy is an image-guided procedure that can use different imaging technologies. Apart from US-guided biopsy, which is a manual procedure with limited indications, all current imaging modalities are based on discrete scans of static images taken at different steps during the procedure. This guidance method makes current biopsy techniques to be long procedures with limited accuracy.

The project, called Mammocare (Valencia, Spain), would focus on the first breast biopsy system to provide real-time monitoring and guidance. The system will automatically calculate the best needle position to perform the biopsy and it will be positioned and inserted accordingly for the physician to extract the chosen sample. Mammocare is an European project funded by the Research Executive Agency (Brussels, Belgium), through the Research for the benefit of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) program, under the 7th Framework Program of the European Union.

Exclusive PEM image technology used in the system, having the highest spatial resolution and sensitivity in the market, will allow for detection of smaller lesions (1.5–2 mm) that could not be found out with other more conventional image technologies such as radiography, US, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or even other PEM scans in the market, and is also able to display heterogeneous uptake in malignant breast tumors, contributing to earlier and more precise diagnoses.

The biopsy module will offer a higher accuracy than current image-guided biopsy systems to enable targeted sampling of small tumors, thereby making it feasible to diagnose breast cancer at very early stages, improving patient prognosis and survival. Furthermore, the biopsy module will be more accessible to reach difficult areas not possible with other techniques, while reducing risk. Moreover, the length of the procedure will be shorter than the current PEM-guided biopsy, offering overall a cost-efficient option for breast cancer diagnosis.

Related Links:
Mammocare Project
European Commission Research Executive Agency