Official Release of Achievements

As an in‑depth developer of Chiba needle applications, we have systematically built a Chiba needle product matrix based on precision matching with clinical scenarios. Breaking the conventional perception of Chiba needles merely as biopsy needles, we have developed highly specialized Chiba needle series with differentiated lengths, rigidity, tip configurations and lumen designs for various interventional procedures including drainage, angiography and ablation assistance. For instance, we have launched reinforced drainage needles, side‑hole angiography needles and coaxial guide needles. Evolving a simple puncture needle into the core of a standardized toolset for solving specific clinical problems, we have greatly improved the efficiency and safety of interventional surgery.

R&D Background and Key Pain Points

In complex interventional radiology practice, surgeons often need one needle to serve multiple purposes. However, compromised designs of standard Chiba needles often fail to meet extreme requirements for all scenarios. For example, standard fine needles are prone to clogging when draining thick pus; single end‑holes may cause contrast medium jet‑induced mucosal injury or inadequate opacification during cholangiography or pyelography; repeated punctures increase risks and patient suffering when multiple tissue samplings or placement of multiple ablation electrodes are required.Surgeons are forced to modify needles manually intraoperatively (e.g., bending shafts, self‑drilling side holes) or use suboptimal instruments, raising operational uncertainty and risks. Clinically, there is an urgent demand for a series of ready‑to‑use, tailor‑made Chiba needle variants for specific procedural steps.

Core Technological Innovations

Our innovation lies in clinical procedure decomposition and pre‑functionalized needle design:

• Reinforced Drainage NeedlesFor draining thick contents such as liver abscesses and pancreatic pseudocysts, we adopt thicker‑walled 316L tubing to enhance collapse resistance. Tips feature steeper bevel angles (e.g., 25°‑30°) to improve penetration performance against tough fibrous tissues. A key innovation lies in internal tip design: we optimize the fish‑mouth‑shaped opening on the dorsal side of the bevel to reduce clogging by tissue debris under negative pressure.
• Multi‑Side‑Hole Angiography NeedlesSpecially designed for opacification of hollow viscera such as bile ducts and renal pelves. Two to four symmetrical side holes with diameters of approximately 0.3 mm are precisely laser‑machined on the shaft 3‑5 mm from the tip. Side‑hole edges are electropolished into smooth flared shapes. This design enables gentle multi‑directional flower‑shaped dispersion of contrast medium, avoiding damage to fragile mucosa from high‑pressure single‑beam jets. It also fills target lumens faster and more evenly for high‑quality imaging.
• Special‑Purpose Needles for Coaxial Guidance SystemsDesigned for coaxial techniques including microwave / radiofrequency ablation and radioactive seed implantation. Core strengths include ultra‑high dimensional accuracy (outer diameter tolerance ±0.01 mm) and excellent straightness. We ensure a sliding‑fit (rather than interference‑fit) between the outer diameter of the needle and the inner diameter of subsequent guiding sheaths, enabling smooth passage without obvious clearance wobble and providing a stable initial channel for precise placement of therapeutic instruments. Needle shaft rigidity is also enhanced to maintain trajectory through dense tissues and pave the way for sheath insertion.
• Length‑and‑Stiffness MatrixWe offer a full range of lengths from 10 cm (for superficial thyroid and lymph node procedures) to over 25 cm (for deep percutaneous transhepatic interventions). Through thermal treatment adjustments, we provide standard‑stiffness and enhanced‑stiffness options (for cirrhotic livers or fibrotic lesions) to meet personalized clinical needs.

Mechanisms of Action

The core mechanism of scenario‑based design is to optimize physical performance and workflow of specific interventional steps via pre‑integrated instrument functions.Reinforced drainage needles ensure unobstructed channels under high‑viscosity fluid conditions through structural reinforcement and opening optimization. Their armor‑piercing‑style tips reduce shaft bending when puncturing tough tissues such as abscess walls, enabling one‑step precise access.Multi‑side‑hole angiography needles alter the hydrodynamic behavior of contrast medium, transforming high‑pressure water‑gun‑like jets into gentle shower‑like dispersion. This not only protects tissues but also helps flush minor adhesions via multi‑directional flow, achieving more complete opacification and accurate diagnosis.High‑precision coaxial needles establish an irreplaceable primary baseline for subsequent therapeutic procedures. Their precise dimensions and straight trajectories form the foundation for all subsequent stereotactic therapies; minor deviations are amplified in sheaths and final therapeutic instruments, highlighting their critical foundational role.

Efficacy Verification

In clinical comparisons, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography performed with our multi‑side‑hole needles showed reduced incidence of contrast medium reflux into blood vessels and higher success rates of full biliary tract opacification compared with single‑end‑hole needles.Our reinforced drainage needles were proven effective in draining thick necrotic material during treatment of large pancreatic pseudocysts, lowering drainage tube clogging rates.In clinical studies of coaxial microwave ablation for liver cancer, our specialized guide needles achieved a 100 % one‑puncture success rate for establishing working channels. Postoperative CT re‑examination showed high consistency between ablation zone morphology and preoperative planning.Ultrasound interventional radiologists commented that this tool‑oriented needle portfolio enables many complex interventional procedures to be performed as smoothly and predictably as standardized workflows.

R&D Strategy and Philosophy

We follow the design philosophy: Instruments shall adapt to tasks, not the other way around.Our R&D strategy involves deep integration into interventional operating rooms. Together with surgeons, we decompose complex interventional procedures into basic procedural units and design optimal specialized tools for standardized steps with clinical pain points.Instead of pursuing a universal‑purpose all‑in‑one instrument, we commit to building a toolbox of precision‑engineered needles, allowing interventional radiologists to select the most suitable one effortlessly for any complex clinical challenge.

Future Outlook

In the future, we will develop procedure‑integrated, diagnosis‑and‑therapy‑integrated needles. Research directions include: developing combined biopsy‑marking needles that inject non‑absorbable markers along the same puncture tract after tissue sampling for subsequent surgical or radiotherapy localization; designing puncture‑imaging verification needles integrated with miniature pressure sensors or optical coherence tomography probes at tips to provide real‑time feedback on tissue types (vessel, bile duct or parenchyma); engineering ultra‑fine cell‑enrichment needles for liquid biopsy with structural optimizations to harvest higher‑purity circulating tumor cells.Our goal is to evolve Chiba needles from simple sampling/injection tools into miniature interventional platforms integrating diagnosis, localization and therapeutic guidance.