High-Performance PMN-PT Single-Crystal-Based 1-3 Composite Transducer Integrated with a Biopsy Needle

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging
• Ultrasound Technology

Background:

• Lung nodule detection faces challenges due to limited imaging depth of high-frequency ultrasound and complex lung tissue structures.
• Existing methods require improved resolution for precise nodule edge measurement and area estimation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel system integrating 50 MHz ultrasound transducers with 18-gauge biopsy needles for enhanced lung nodule imaging.
• To assess the imaging resolution and accuracy of the integrated system in a lung-tissue-mimicking phantom.

Main Methods:

• Integration of a miniaturized 50 MHz micromachined 1-3 composite ultrasound transducer (0.6 × 0.5 × 0.5 mm³) with an 18-gauge biopsy needle.
• Mechanical scanning of a nodule within an in vitro lung-tissue-mimicking phantom using the integrated transducer.

Main Results:

• The 50 MHz transducer achieved an axial resolution of 30 μm, enabling precise measurement of nodule edges.
• The integrated biopsy needle prototype demonstrated high accuracy in estimating nodule area, with a discrepancy of only 1.74% compared to actual dimensions in vitro.

Conclusions:

• The biopsy-needle-integrated transducer system shows significant potential for improving lung nodule detection and characterization.
• This technology can enhance the accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (EUS-FNA) in clinical settings.