Electrical property sensing biopsy needle for prostate cancer detection
V Mishra1, A R Schned, A Hartov
1Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.
The Prostate
|September 3, 2013
Summary
This study shows that an electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) biopsy needle can differentiate between cancerous and benign prostate tissues. The EIS-Bx device offers potential for improved prostate cancer detection and volume estimation during biopsies.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Oncology
- Medical Devices
Background:
- Significant electrical property variations exist between malignant and benign prostate tissues.
- Current biopsy methods may benefit from enhanced diagnostic tools for improved accuracy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a custom-designed, clinically deployable electrical property sensing biopsy needle for discriminating between malignant and benign prostate tissues.
- To assess the efficacy of the electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) biopsy (Bx) device in an ex vivo prostate model.
Main Methods:
- An EIS-Bx needle was developed to measure resistive (ρR) and reactive (ρX) impedance components across a frequency range (100 Hz to 1 MHz).
- The EIS-Bx device was used in standard twelve-core biopsy protocols on 36 ex vivo human prostates.
- Histopathological findings were statistically correlated with impedance spectrum data obtained from each biopsy core.
Main Results:
- Malignant prostate tissues exhibited significantly higher mean resistive and reactive impedance components compared to benign tissues (P < 0.05).
- Optimal discrimination between cancerous and benign tissues was achieved with ρR at 63.09 kHz (75.4% specificity, 76.1% sensitivity, ROC AUC 0.779).
- Optimal discrimination using ρX was observed at 251.1 kHz (77.9% specificity, 71.4% sensitivity, ROC AUC 0.79).
Conclusions:
- Observed electrical property differences confirm the potential of EIS-Bx devices for clinical prostate cancer detection.
- The EIS-Bx device's ability to sense a larger prostate volume in real-time may enhance the accuracy of cancer grading and volume estimation in biopsies.
