Important Issues of Needle Insertion into Soft Tissue

Abstract

Needle insertion procedures have been gaining in popularity with medical communities and patients over the recent years. Currently, their applications span a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and there is still a growing tendency toward integrating needle insertion into other procedures and surgeries. Its less invasive nature, which is performed locally on the body, largely explains this growing trend. This results in less intraoperative tissue damage and shorter post-operative recovery time. Many procedures like biopsy, deep brain stimulation, and cancer treatments are done using needles/catheters. However, despite all the advantages of needle insertion procedures, the inherent complications resulting from them, such as tissue deformation, needle deflection, tissue inhomogeneity, patient variability, and associated uncertainty, can hardly be missed. Therefore, a needle insertion procedure requires that we address promising aspects and associated concerns. Against this backdrop, this paper provides a review of some of the main issues associated with a generic needle insertion procedure.