[Preoperative marking and biopsy of nonpalpable breast lesions with a guidance system for the open Magnetom]

MRI-guided interventional maneuvers in the breast, when closed MRI scanners are employed are relatively complex and time consuming. The purpose of our investigations was to develop a special device for the localization and biopsy of breast lesions using an open low-field MRI Scanner (Magnetom Open, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) permitting free access to the patient.

Due to its particular material and construction characteristics, a newly developed device for localization and biopsy of breast lesions is appropriate to remain within the magnetic field during the examination without degrading image quality. We performed 125 tests in a phantom and 31 investigations in patients including 26 wire-localizations and 5 biopsies.

The interventional maneuvers in the phantom could be performed very precisely. In all 125 phantom studies, the needle (14 G coaxial biopsy cannula, Bard) was positioned close to the simulated lesion. In 25 out of 26 patients the needle was positioned within a distance less than 5 mm from the lesion. When using the 14 G coaxial biopsy cannula (Bard, Karlsruhe, Germany) the needle tip was found adjacent next to the lesion in all 12 cases (7 wire-localizations, 5 biopsies).

Our results indicate that our device allows very precise preoperative localization of breast lesions within the Magnetom Open. Using MRI-compatible, large-core needles, biopsy under direct MRI control resulted in good results.