[New method of MR-guided mammary biopsy]

With a recently installed new open MR tomograph (Signa SP, General Electric MS) it is possible for the first time to examine patients with obscure lesions of the mamma by MR imaging in a sitting position, similar to mammography.

The newly developed positioning device with integrated surface coil permits in combination with the vertical gap in the new magnet and imaging of the mamma with a "real time" sequence a biopsy procedure within a short time and in a manner that is acceptable for the patient. By means of an integrated interactive scan plane guiding system ("flash point tracking system") and special MR-compatible needles and wires tissue samples can be taken, or marking by a wire can be carried out within a short time.

Phantom experiments and first in vivo experience (10 patients) show that by means of the new mamma fixation and biopsy device a MRI of one breast in a sitting position for detecting an enhancing lesion and a MR-guided biopsy of this lesion is possible. The whole procedure takes about 25-35 minutes, comparable to the conventional stereotactic method.

Direct patient access and the interactive guided biopsy allow in future both new diagnostic information (histological results after biopsy or after wire-guided open biopsy of a lesion only visible in MR) and the development of minimal invasive therapeutic procedures, e.g. MR-guided and -controlled interstitial thermotherapy.