Smartphone application with 3D-printed needle guide for faster and more accurate CT-guided interventions in a phantom

• Published in: Skeletal radiology Vol. 53; no. 3; pp. 567 - 573
• Main Authors: Lui, Christopher, Polster, Rylan, Bullen, Jennifer, Baqui, Zeeshan, Ilaslan, Hakan, Neill, Matthew, Simpfendorfer, Claus, Altahawi, Faysal, Polster, Joshua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.03.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biopsy; Computed tomography; Graphical representations; Imaging; Lesions; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Nuclear Medicine; Orthopedics; Pathology; Radiology; Real time; Smartphones; Software; Three dimensional printing; Intervention; Needle guidance; CT; Smartphone
• DOI: 10.1007/s00256-023-04453-x
• ISSN: 0364-2348

Objective This study is to determine whether a needle guidance device combining a 3D-printed component with a smartphone would decrease the number of passes and time required to perform a standard CT-guided needle procedure in a phantom study. Materials and methods A 3D-printed mechanical guide with built-in apertures for various needle sizes was designed and printed. It was mounted on a smartphone and used to direct commercially available spring-loaded biopsy devices. A smartphone software application was developed to use the phone’s sensors to provide the real-time location of a lesion in space, based on parameters derived from preprocedural CT images. The physical linkage of the guide, smartphone, and needle allowed the operator to manipulate the assembly as a single unit, with real-time graphical representation of the lesion shown on the smartphone display. Two radiology trainees and 3 staff radiologists targeted 5 lesions with and without the device (50 total procedures). The number of passes and time taken to reach each lesion were determined. Results Use of the smartphone needle guide decreased the mean number of passes (with guide, 1.8; without guide, 3.4; P < 0.001) and mean time taken (with guide, 1.6 min; without guide, 2.7 min; P = 0.005) to perform a standard CT-guided procedure. On average, the decreases in number of passes and procedure time were more pronounced among trainees ( P < 0.001). Conclusion The combination of a mechanical guide and smartphone can reduce the number of needle passes and the amount of time needed to reach a lesion in a phantom for both trainees and experienced radiologists.