An Ultraminiaturized MEMS Microbiopsy Tool for Trans Blood Vessel Wall Biopsies

We present a new type of microbiopsy tool (MBT) an order of magnitude smaller than commercially available biopsy catheters that, together with a trans-vessel wall catheter (Extroducer) successfully samples soft tissues with significantly less trauma to the tissue than commercial catheters. The MBT is mounted on a Nitinol wire. It features a gripping action that is actuated by the relative motion inside the Extroducer and has demonstrated repeated successful tissue sampling of approximately 500-1000 cells in ex-vivo tissue. This new catheter system can potentially allow super-selective, minimally invasive tissue sampling and transcriptomic analysis from hard to reach areas.