Steerable shape sensing biopsy needle

A biopsy needle system comprising:

• an outer shell, said outer shell comprising a biopsy needle having an angled tip for penetration through tissue;
• an inner support positioned within said outer shell and removable from said outer shell, said inner support having a central axis and a plurality of elongated grooves located at a substantially uniform included angle with respect to said central axis and to any other said elongated groove, said elongated grooves also located a substantially uniform distance from said central axis, wherein when the inner support is positioned within said outer shell, an external surface of the inner shell is in direct contact with an internal surface of the outer shell;
• each of said plurality of elongated grooves formed into the external surface of said inner support and supporting an optical fiber, each said optical fiber having at least one Bragg grating responsive to a strain;
• said at least one Bragg grating bonded to said inner support using a bonding agent;
• one or more sensing regions, each of said sensing regions located in a particular one of said plurality of elongated grooves and operative over a particular extent of said central axis, each of said sensing regions formed by bonding said Bragg gratings of one of said optical fibers to a respective elongated groove of said inner support;
• and
• a wavelength interrogator accepting reflected optical energy from each said Bragg grating of each said optical fiber, each said Bragg grating having a wavelength associated with a particular said sensing region from the one or more sensing regions, said wavelength interrogator converting a reflected optical wavelength from each said Bragg grating into an estimate of the biopsy needle displacement location.

A biopsy needle system comprising:

• an outer shell, said outer shell comprising a biopsy needle having an angled tip for penetration through tissue;
• an inner support positioned within said outer shell, said inner support having a central axis and a plurality of elongated grooves located at a substantially uniform included angle with respect to said central axis and to any other said elongated groove, said elongated grooves located a substantially uniform distance from said central axis, wherein when the inner support is positioned within said outer shell, an external surface of the inner shell is in direct contact with an internal surface of the outer shell;
• said inner support removable from said outer shell;
• each of said plurality of elongated grooves formed into the external surface of said inner support and supporting an optical fiber, each said optical fiber having at least one Bragg grating responsive to a strain;
• one or more sensing regions, each of said sensing regions located in a particular one of said plurality of elongated grooves and operative over a particular extent of said central axis, each of said sensing regions formed by bonding said Bragg gratings of one of said optical fibers to a respective elongated groove of said inner support;
• said inner support including activation regions formed by a shape memory alloy (SMA) which changes shape upon activation by optical energy coupled from said optical fiber into said SMA, whereby said inner support is configured to deflect away from said central axis;
• and
• a wavelength interrogator accepting reflected optical energy from each said Bragg grating of each said optical fiber, each said Bragg grating having a wavelength associated with a particular said sensing region from the one or more sensing regions, said wavelength interrogator converting a reflected optical wavelength from each said Bragg grating into an estimate of the biopsy needle displacement location.