Principal Investigator Brett Bouma
Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) biopsy is a common biopsy technique used for evaluating of a palpable mass. FNA biopsy is performed by inserting a small diameter needle (23-25 guage) into a mass and aspirating a collection of cells for evaluation by cytology. FNA biopsies are commonly used in evaluation of breast and thyroid lesions. FNA biopsies are low cost and cause very little pain compared to core needle biopsy procedures. However, when not guided by an imaging modality, non-diagnostic samples are collected nearly 35% of the time. A portable optical guidance system utilizing low coherence interferometry can be used as a guidance device. An optical fiber is thread into the FNA needle and axial depth scans are obtained at the tip of the needle. An automated algorithm differentiates between tissue type.