• Randy R Sibbitt, Wilmer L Sibbitt, Sharon E Nunez, Lawrence G Kettwich, Sharon C Kettwich, and Arthur D Bankhurst.
• Department of Radiology, St. Peter's Hospital, Helena, Montana, USA. wsibbitt@salud.unm.edu
• J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2006 Oct 1; 17 (10): 1657-69.

PurposeTo determine the control and performance characteristics of eight different suction biopsy devices.Materials And MethodsPhysician control of the syringe and needle was measured precisely with the validated linear displacement method during the aspiration phase and during five biopsy passes. The visual analog scale was used to measure operator difficulty in the following domains: (i) attachment to the needle, (ii) generation of vacuum, (iii) detection of loss of vacuum, (iv) release of the vacuum, and (v) clearing of the sample from the needle.ResultsPerformance in various phases of the biopsy procedure varied widely among the biopsy devices tested. Unintended forward penetration (ie, loss of control in the forward direction) was significant with the reverse aspiration syringe (31.5 +/- 1.7 mm), three-ringed control syringe (25.4 +/- 4.1 mm), BioSuc-C7 syringe (28.3 +/- 1.9 mm), conventional syringe with a plunger lock (6.1 +/- 1.5 mm), syringe pistol (9.2 +/- 2.4 mm), and conventional syringe (3.8 +/- 2.9 mm) but was significantly less for the reciprocating procedure device (RPD; 0.7 +/- 0.7 mm; P ConclusionsEach of the suction biopsy devices has unique advantages and disadvantages. Suction biopsy devices with the least favorable overall performance were the conventional syringe and the conventional syringe with a plunger lock. The highest overall performance was seen with the RPD and RPD syringe holder.

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