Cadaveric study of a novel pneumatic biopsy drill for MRI-guided long bone biopsies

Childhood musculoskeletal pain is a common complaint experienced by approximately 5-30% of school age children [1]. This musculoskeletal pain can be difficult to diagnose and assess. When present in long bones such as the legs, this pain can decrease the quality of life of patients. The current standard of care for work-up of persistent bone pain usually requires imaging and lab work. If suspicious bone lesions are seen on imaging, an image-guided needle bone biopsy may be needed to confirm the tissue diagnosis and cause of the pain [2]. This pain can sometimes be caused by infection of the bone known as osteomyelitis. Osteomyelitis a common pathological response to bacterial or fungal infections in the bone and it is estimated that 50% of patients who suffer from this condition are children under the age of 6 years [3]. Childhood cancers such as leukemia or primary bone tumors such as osteosarcoma are also associated with bone pain. Leukemia is the most common type of childhood cancer, representing 25% of all new childhood cancer cases [4]. Appropriate diagnoses of these various conditions are important for appropriate targeted treatment plans. Therefore, obtaining a quality biopsy sample for pathological testing is of the utmost importance.