Moon Sangjun
Department of Mechanical Convergence Engineering, Gyeongsang National University, Changwon 51391, Gyeongsangnam-do, Republic of Korea.
Cyberneticsimagingsystems Co., Ltd., Changwon 51391, Gyeongsangnam-do, Republic of Korea.
Micromachines (Basel). 2023 Oct 4;14(10):1900. doi: 10.3390/mi14101900.
Millimeter-scale biopsy tools combined with an endoscope instrument have been widely used for minimal invasive surgery and medical diagnosis. Recently, a capsule-type endoscope was developed, which requires micromachining to fabricate micro-scale biopsy tools that have a sharp tip and other complex features, e.g., nanometer-scale end-tip sharpness and a complex scalpel design. However, conventional machining approaches are not cost-effective for mass production and cannot fabricate the micrometer-scale features needed for biopsy tools. Here, we demonstrate an electroplated nickel micro-biopsy tool which features a planar shape and is suitable to be equipped with a capsule-type endoscope. Planar-type micro-biopsy tools are designed, fabricated, and evaluated through in vitro tissue dissection experiments. Various micro-biopsy tools with a long shaft and sharp tip can be easily fabricated using a thick photoresist (SU8) mold via a simple one-step lithography and nickel electroplating process. The characteristics of various micro-biopsy tool design features, including a tip taper angle, different tool geometries, and a cutting scalpel, are evaluated for efficient tissue extraction from mice intestine. These fabricated biopsy tools have shown appropriate strength and sharpness with a sufficient amount of tissue extraction for clinical applications, e.g., cancer tissue biopsy. These micro-scale biopsy tools could be easily integrated with a capsule-type endoscope and conventional forceps.
毫米级活检工具与内窥镜仪器相结合已广泛应用于微创手术和医学诊断。最近，一种胶囊型内窥镜被开发出来，这需要微加工来制造具有尖锐尖端和其他复杂特征的微尺度活检工具，例如纳米级的端部尖锐度和复杂的手术刀设计。然而，传统的加工方法对于大规模生产来说成本效益不高，并且无法制造活检工具所需的微米级特征。在此，我们展示了一种电镀镍微活检工具，其具有平面形状，适合与胶囊型内窥镜配套使用。通过体外组织解剖实验对平面型微活检工具进行设计、制造和评估。使用厚光刻胶（SU8）模具，通过简单的一步光刻和镍电镀工艺，可以轻松制造出各种具有长轴和尖锐尖端的微活检工具。为了从小鼠肠道中高效提取组织，对各种微活检工具设计特征的特性进行了评估，包括尖端锥角、不同的工具几何形状和切割手术刀。这些制造的活检工具已显示出适当的强度和锋利度，能够提取足够量的组织用于临床应用，例如癌症组织活检。这些微尺度活检工具可以很容易地与胶囊型内窥镜和传统镊子集成。
