A NEEDLE BIOPSY INSPIRED MICROCATHETER FOR RAPID TISSUE MECHANICAL MEASUREMENT

Tissue mechanical property measurement is growing to become an important cancer diagnostic tool [1].Currently, the mechanical properties of cancer tissues can be characterized by different techniques such as tensile and compression tests, microindentation, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) [2][3][4].Despite extensive data on the mechanical properties that current measurement systems offer, current techniques suffer from either specific sample preparation or sophisticated measurement setup and procedure, which limits their application in assisting intraoperative histopathology [5].In addition, most systems are limited to surface measurement or small region measurement, limiting the comprehensiveness of assessments inside the tissue.Inspired by the clinical needle biopsy tool used in lung biopsy, we propose a microcatheter fabricated from magnetic materials and controlled by an external permanent magnet to perform tissue mechanical measurement.