A review of bio-inspired needle for percutaneous interventions

Abstract

Bio-inspired design translates the knowledge of natural or biological structures or behaviors into novel theories and technologies, providing new directions for research and developments. Although the medical needles for percutaneous intervention technology appear to be mature, biomimetic solutions become popular to further facilitate the performance of the medical needles. In this paper, we review the current state of bio-inspired medical needle designs for percutaneous interventions, including a variety of biomimetic mechanisms and insertion strategies. Existing and experimental designs of biomimetic medical needles are classified into five groups with respect to the applications, while their characteristics are identified and discussed. Such classification and discussion will not only provide technical insights into previous studies but also identify undiscovered directions for future research.

Keywords

• Bio-inspired needle
• Biopsy needle
• Steerable needle