Needle insertion force exerted on various breast tissues: Experimental study and finite element analysis

Purpose In this study, we measured the needle insertion force exerted on various breast tissues including those of a breast phantom, cattle tissue, and human tissue, according to needle insertion speed, and compared it using finite element analysis. Methods As target breast tissues in our experiment a breast phantom for the medical experiment, breast tissue of slaughtered cattle, and surgically removed parts of breast cancer patients were used. A biopsy robot designed and manufactured by the biomedical engineering branch of the National Cancer Center in Korea was used for the measurement of needle insertion force. Results The experimental result proved that the needle insertion force decreased as needle insertion speed was increased regardless of the type of breast tissue used in our study. And the result of the finite element analysis showed that the stress increased as the depth increased. Conclusions Finite element analysis performed using commercial software ANSYS Workbench showed similar results to the experiment and proved that this technique can be applied not only to the breast but also to various fields of medical study.