Ex Vivo Evaluation of Sample Yields among New Semi-automatic, Conventional Semi-automatic, and Full-core Biopsy...

Purpose: To evaluate the sample weights obtained using a new semi-automatic biopsy needle and a new full-core biopsy needle, and to compare them with those obtained using a conventional semi-automatic needle under identical ex vivo conditions. Material and Methods: A total of three biopsy needles were compared: the semi-automatic biopsy needles TEMNO Elite™ (Merit Medical Systems, South Jordan, UT, USA) and STARCUT^Ⓡ (TSK Laboratory, Tochigi, Japan) and the full-core automatic biopsy needle CorVocet™ (Merit Medical Systems), with throw lengths of 15 mm, 20 mm, and 25 mm. Two materials were used for sampling: kamaboko (a type of Japanese fish cake) and chicken breast muscle. For each material, 20 specimens were collected using each needle type, resulting in 100 samples per material. All procedures were conducted under identical conditions. Results: The TEMNO Elite™ needle yielded the heaviest samples among all tested needles in both kamaboko (9.21 ± 0.95 mg) and chicken breast (5.92 ± 0.51 mg), significantly surpassing all others (p < 0.05). STARCUT^Ⓡ collected significantly more tissue than CorVocet™ (15 mm) in both materials (p < 0.05), while CorVocet™ (25 mm) collected more than STARCUT^Ⓡ in chicken breast (p < 0.05). No significant difference was observed between STARCUT^Ⓡ and CorVocet™ (20 mm) in both materials. For CorVocet™, sample weight increased with throw length in both materials. Conclusions: The TEMNO Elite™ needle collected the heaviest biopsy specimens among all tested needles in both model materials.