Bone biopsy devices - a patent review

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Bone biopsies have great value for the diagnosis of, amongst others, hematologic diseases. Although the bone biopsy procedure is mostly performed minimally invasive with the use of a slender cannula, the patient may still experience discomfort, especially when the procedure has to be repeated due to an unsuccessful biopsy.

Areas covered

This review presents a comprehensive overview of bone biopsy devices presented in the patent literature. The patents were obtained using a classification search combined with keywords in the Espacenet patent database and were subsequently verified using pre-set eligibility criteria. This resulted in 62 unique patents included in this review.

Expert opinion

The included patents were categorized based on the used strategies for the three steps that can be identified during a bone biopsy (1) biopsy sampling, (2) biopsy severing and (3) biopsy harvesting. Most patents described strategies for multiple steps. Insight into the used strategies and the comprehensive overview may serve as a source of inspiration for the design of novel bone biopsy devices.

KEYWORDS:

• Biopsy
• bone
• cannula
• mechanical design
• medical devices
• patent review

Article highlights

• Bone biopsy have great diagnostic value for hematologic diseases, benign and malignant bone tumors, but cause discomfort to patients.

• The preferred method for sampling of the biopsy is by advancing the needle with a single of double rotating motion.

• The preferred method for severing the biopsy from the surrounding bone is by sheer or cutting the biopsy loose.

• The preferred method for harvesting the bone biopsy is by using friction between the needle and the biopsy or by utilizing a shape lock.

• There are opportunities to develop novel biopsy needles that increases the success rate of the bone biopsy procedure without increasing the diameter of the biopsy needle and the complexity in use.

Declaration of interests

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This research is supported by Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), domain Applied and Engineering Sciences (TTW), project number [17553].