Initial phantom studies for an office-based low-field MR system for prostate biopsy.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Oncology
• Biopsy Technology

Background:

• Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in US men, with significantly lower survival rates for advanced stages.
• Early detection through screening and accurate diagnosis is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
• Image-guided biopsies are essential for precise tissue sampling in prostate cancer diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the navigation accuracy of Promaxo's office-based Magnetic Resonance (MR) system for image-guided transperineal prostate biopsy.
• To determine the feasibility of using this system in a clinical setting for prostate biopsies.

Main Methods:

• A low-field MR system was used to image prostate phantoms with transperineally inserted needles.
• Needle coordinates from the office-based MR system were compared against a 1.5T external reference scan (ground truth).
• Navigation error was calculated as the distance from the planned target to the ground truth core center and trajectory.

Main Results:

• The average error between the planned target and the ground truth core center was 2.57 ± 1.02 mm.
• The average error for the actual core segment was 2.05 ± 1.24 mm.
• Both error measurements were within the 95% confidence intervals.

Conclusions:

• The average navigation errors were below the clinically significant threshold of 5 mm.
• The Promaxo office-based MR system demonstrates feasibility for accurate prostate biopsies.
• These initial phantom results support the potential of this system for clinical use in physician's offices.