CoreView imaging on needle: Rapid core-needle biopsy imaging for point-of-care breast cancer diagnosis

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide, with early and rapid diagnosis playing a critical role in improving patient outcomes. Core-needle biopsies (CNBs) are the current gold standard for minimally invasive BC diagnoses. However, in low-resource and rural settings, access to CNB diagnostics is limited by infrastructural constraints, long histopathology turnaround times, as well as financial and geographical barriers. To address these challenges, we developed the CoreView imaging on needle (ION), an affordable, integrated imaging system designed to provide rapid, and point-of-care diagnostic assessment of CNB samples. The CoreView ION integrates microscopy with ultraviolet surface excitation technology, enabling the imaging of tissue biopsy surfaces within 5 min, significantly reducing diagnostic delays. This study presents the design, fabrication, and verification of the CoreView ION prototype operation, including its imaging workflow, staining protocols, and tissue compression testing. Our results demonstrate that the system can successfully generate histology-grade images of porcine and murine fresh biopsies, preserving cellular and nuclear detail of normal and tumor tissue. By streamlining CNB imaging and incorporating mainly manual low-cost components, the CoreView ION has the potential to improve BC diagnostics in low-resource settings, ultimately enhancing early detection and patient care.

Keywords

Microscopy with ultraviolet surface excitation imaging / Point-of-care / Global health / Breast cancer / Diagnostics

Funding

This research was made possible through financial support from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under grants R21CA246359 and R33CA278544, awarded through the Innovative Molecular Analysis Technologies program, as well as grant U01CA269191. The MUSE microscope and camera were purchased from early-phase translational grants (S2019_SEIBEL_7268) from UW Commotion and the Washington Research Foundation, Seattle, Washington.

Conflict of interest

Matthew D. Carson and Eric J. Seibel are co-authors of a patent owned by the UW. They are also the participants in the royalty-sharing program.

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