Prostate cancer diagnosis often includes MRI-guided biopsies to accurately sample suspicious tissue. Motorisation of the Philips DynaTRIM, a manually operated prostate biopsy device, was the focus of this work using MRI-compatible pneumatic stepper motors. A goal was to deliver accurate, remotely operated needle placement to increase accuracy and safety in biopsies.
The research responded to three basic questions: the pneumatic motor resolution and integration requirements of the DynaTRIM, clinical tolerances for providing safe biopsies, and system reliability impacts of motorisation. The process of developing involved background research on MR safety and clinical operations, functional and non-functional requirements definition, motorised prototype, and emergency fail-safe implementation. Testing confirmed that the prototype mostly achieved the required positioning accuracy (≤1.5 mm) and delivered stable, repeatable motion control. Motorising additional axes, increasing structural stiffness, and performing more advanced testing with clinicians and phantom prostates in MRI environments will form future work.
The project advances safer, more efficient MRI-guided prostate biopsy procedures by integrating precision engineering with medical device design.