Development of a Static Tissue Sampling Probe

在肌肉疼痛、子宫内膜异位症、硬皮病和牛皮癣等疾病中，临床炎症期间发生的体内事件尚不清楚。我们与CC康复医学部和NICHD生殖内分泌学分会的研究人员合作，设计并制造了一种基于32号针灸针灸的微创样本采集针。这种静态取样针能够从特定的解剖部位(如皮肤或肌肉)获取组织液样本，而不会引起针灸相关的进一步不适。这种针基于标准的日式针灸针灸，在距离针尖约0.2毫米的地方有一个直径50微米的激光钻孔。这个洞里塞满了冷冻干燥的水凝胶。一旦针被放入组织中，凝胶就会重新水化，将局部组织液吸入凝胶中。拔出针头，取出凝胶，放入免疫亲和毛细管电泳管中进行进一步分析。这种仪器的主要优点是可以获得多个样品，而对患者的不适最小。此外，使用深度计的改装可以将针尖准确地放置到所需的目标组织中，从而确保在定义的解剖区域内进行采样。除了人体样本，这种针头还有可能从动物身上提取组织样本。

In diseases such as muscle pain, endometriosis, scleroderma and psoriasis, in vivo events occurring during clinical inflammation are unknown. In collaboration with investigators within the Rehab Medicine Division of the CC and the Reproduction Endocrinology Branch of NICHD, we have designed and fabricated a minimally invasive sample procurement needle based on a 32-gauge acupuncture needle. This static sampling needle is capable of obtaining tissue fluid samples from a defined anatomical site, such as skin or muscle, while causing no further discomfort than that associated with acupuncture. The needle, based on a standard Japanese-style acupuncture needle, has a 50-micron diameter laser-drilled hole approximately 0.2 mm from the tip. This hole is filled with lyophilized hydrogel. Once the needle is placed in the tissue, the gel rehydrates, drawing local tissue fluid into the gel. The needle is extracted and the gel is removed and placed into immunoaffinity capillary electrophoresis capillaries for further analysis. The major advantage of this apparatus is that multiple samples can be obtained with minimal discomfort to the patient. Additionally, modification with a depth gauge can accurately place the needle tip into the desired target tissue, thus ensuring that sampling occurs within a defined anatomical region. In addition to human samples, the needle has potential for recovering tissue samples from animals.