Cook Medical’s Ultrasound Biopsy Needle Provides Greater Accuracy in Diagnosing GI Cancers

Results from a multicenter European study, that was presented at at the 2011 Digestive Disease Week conference, indicate that Cook Medical’s 19-gauge EchoTip ProCore High Definition Ultrasound Biopsy Needle can aid gastroenterologists in diagnosing multiple types of cancers in a variety of target tissues with a high degree of accuracy.

A company representative tells Medgadget that this new, large-core biopsy needle “designed for use with an endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) scope may help to overcome limitations of current EUS methods for biopsies of lesions in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and surrounding tissue. The EchoTip ProCore needles obtain intact tissue samples, allowing for a histological diagnosis rather than conventional cytological diagnosis based on individual cells. In addition to this advantage, the needles are designed to access difficult-to-reach tissue in areas of the GI tract such as the pancreatic head.”

More from the press release:

EUS is an established procedure for diagnosing GI cancers and determining the stage of their development. Most often, a very fine needle is used—but fine-needle aspiration (FNA) can have limited yield and sensitivity for certain kinds of tumors or in some anatomical locations and only procures a cytological sample.

The EchoTip ProCore needles circumvent this limitation by obtaining intact tissue samples, allowing for a histological diagnosis rather than conventional cytological diagnosis based on individual cells. In addition to this advantage, the needles are designed to access difficult-to-reach tissue in areas of the GI tract such as the pancreatic head.

In the five-center study to be published in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the 19-gauge EchoTip ProCore retrieved adequate histological tissue samples in 89.5 percent of cases, and subsequent diagnosis proved accurate in more than 85 percent of total cases. The overall accuracy for detecting malignancy in EchoTip ProCore samples was greater than 92 percent. Moreover, 78 percent of the samples were collected with just one pass of the needle; in FNA, the recommended number of passes can be as high as seven. Researchers studied 109 patients with 114 intestinal lesions and/or peri-intestinal lymph nodes.

Features from the product page:

• Specially designed needle-tip to increase sampling yield and promote collection of histological core samples

• High-definition dimpling pattern provides exceptional needle visibility

• Naturally contoured handle delivers precise needle control and stability

• 8 cm needle extension affords a large diagnostic reach

• Safety lock ring easily slides and locks at the desired extension

• “Zero” reference mark ensures complete needle retraction within the sheath

• Supplied sterile. Disposable; intended for single use only

Press release: Biopsy Needle Provides Advanced Accuracy in Diagnosing Cancers of GI Tract …

Product page: Echotip ProCore High Definition Ultrasound Biopsy Needle …