Hollow Needle Puncture Mechanics for Biopsy Sampling

TL;DR

This paper presents a physics-based model for hollow needle puncture mechanics in biopsy sampling, incorporating fracture and friction effects to predict key puncture parameters and improve needle design and control.

Contribution

The authors develop a semi-analytical energy-based model that accounts for frictional interactions, extending existing fracture mechanics approaches to better understand tissue puncture mechanics.

Findings

Model accurately predicts core size and insertion forces.

Friction significantly influences puncture force and regime.

Experimental validation confirms model's predictive capability.

Abstract

Biopsy sampling relies on hollow needles that puncture soft tissues by propagating and opening a cylindrical crack, yet the mechanics governing this coring process remain only partially understood. Motivated by this gap, we develop a simple, energy based model for puncture by blunt hollow needles, grounded in brittle fracture mechanics and extended to include frictional interactions at the needle tissue interface. The model describes puncture as the competition between the fracture energy and the elastic energy. This energetic balance is controlled by the interplay among needle geometry (radius and wall thickness), material properties (toughness and elastic modulus), and interfacial parameters (adhesion and friction). This model provides semi analytical predictions for five key quantities, core size, frictionless force, frictional force slope, critical insertion depth, and critical insertion force. Model predictions are validated against experiments, demonstrating that friction significantly improves force estimation and alters the puncture regime. These results offer quantitative insight into the mechanics of tissue coring and force generation during biopsy, providing a predictive foundation for needle design, sampling performance, and real time control in robotic biopsy and needle insertion systems.