Feasibility of an Ultrasonic Bone-Marrow Harvester

The feasibility of an ultrasonic bone-marrow harvester is explored. Since current methods to extract bone marrow could put donors or patients at risk of medical complications, a new method to extract bone marrow is needed. This can be accomplished through the use of an ultrasonic device. A piezoelectric actuator enclosed in a concave casing is used to generate a focused ultrasound signal, which can be used to disrupt the cellular matrix of bone marrow, facilitating catheter advancement and the enhanced aspiration of bone marrow. It was found that with more than 100 ms of ultrasound exposure, bone marrow could be mechanically disrupted with 28.1% less force without inducing bone marrow cell death. This work demonstrates the ability of the ultrasound device to disrupt bone marrow, which can enable higher rates of extraction with the addition of suction.