Robotic mechanical localization of prostate cancer correlates with magnetic resonance imaging scans

To evaluate the concordance of cancer location of the tissue mapping from a mechanical pressure transducer with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

A total of 60 indentations were performed on 5 prostate specimens obtained after radical prostatectomy utilizing a robotic indentation system. The mechanical elastic moduli of suspected malignant lesions were calculated and mapped, and their locations were compared with suspicious areas of malignancy on MRI scans.

The concordance rate between the location mapping from the robotic indentation system and MRI scans results was 90.0% (54/60). The sensitivity and specificity of the robotic indentation system were 87.9% (29/33) and 92.6% (25/27), respectively. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 93.5% (29/31) and 93.1% (27/29), respectively.

The locations of malignant lesions derived from our robotic indentation system correlated strongly with the locations of suspected areas of malignancy on MRI scans. Our robotic system may provide a more targeted biopsy of the prostate than conventional non-targeted systemic biopsy, possibly improving the diagnostic accuracy of prostatic biopsies for cancer.