MR-guided Biopsy of Human Ex-vivo Sarcomas using the GantryMate Assistance System

Motivation: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are difficult to treat due to their heterogeneous nature. Accurate monitoring of treatment responseusing multi-parametric MRI is crucial, particularly during neoadjuvant radiation therapy. Goal(s): To develop a precise, MRI-guided biopsy method that correlates multi-parametric MRI data with histopathology, thereby improving the assessment of therapeutic response in STS. Approach: An MR-compatible assistance system (GantryMate) was used for ex vivo biopsies, targeting regions pre-identified on in vivo MRI. Biopsies were guided by real-time tracking using phase-only cross correlation. Results: Fifteen biopsies were successfully collected from 5 STS. The proposed technique enabled precise needle guidance, enabling targeted tissue extraction from heterogeneous tumors. Impact: An MRI-guided ex vivo biopsy approach for soft tissue sarcomas is presented that enables precise correlation between multi-parametric MRI and histology. The technique holds promise to improve treatment monitoring during radiation therapy and could guide future in vivo studies.