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Percutaneous Transhepatic Cholangio-graphy (PTC) is a vital interventional radiology technique for diagnosing hepatobiliary diseases. The core instrument enabling this procedure-the PTC needle, more commonly known as the Chiba needle-owes its inception and evolution to developments that profoundly shaped the entire field of minimally invasive intervention. For PTC needle manufacturers, understanding this technical origin is not only valuable for brand storytelling but also serves as a historical reference for product development direction.

The concept of PTC was first proposed by Huard and Poppel in 1937. Early attempts employed semi-blind punctures using thick trocar needles of 18G–19G, which caused severe complications-bile leakage, bile peritonitis, and massive hemorrhage-at rates as high as 5%–12%, hindering the widespread adoption of PTC. The turning point came in the early 1970s when Professor Kunio Okuda's team at Chiba University in Japan, addressing this clinical pain point, designed a long, thin, thin-walled, highly elastic puncture needle with a removable stylet-the now globally renowned Chiba Needle. Its typical specification ranges from 20G to 23G; the commonly used 22G has an outer diameter of only about 0.7 mm and a length of 150–200 mm, with a long bevel tip (usually 20°–30°) engineered for precise penetration while minimizing tissue tearing.

The introduction of the Chiba needle into PTC procedures revolutionized the technique. The "fine-needle trial injection method"-injecting a small amount of contrast while withdrawing the needle to observe reflux opacification-elevated the biliary visualization success rate from 70%–80% in the coarse-needle era to 90%–97%, while reducing major complications to below 3%. PTC thus transitioned from a high-risk exploratory procedure to a safe, repeatable first-line diagnostic method. Subsequently, manufacturers such as Cook Medical (USA), TSK Laboratory (Japan), Hakko (Japan), and Hakkou (Japan) industrialized and standardized the Chiba needle, propelling it onto the global stage. Modern PTC needles gradually acquired features such as centimeter markings, color-coded gauge identifiers, removable blunt stylets, Luer-lock hubs, and ultrasound-hyperechoic tip markers-all results of iterative optimization by manufacturers.

For today's PTC needle manufacturers, the underlying logic of product design still follows the original philosophy of Chiba University: ultra-fine outer diameter to reduce trauma + thin wall with large lumen to ensure drainage/contrast function + moderate flexibility to avoid violent penetration. Modern manufacturers have superimposed additional process upgrades-electropolishing, hydrophilic coatings, Nitinol alloy shafts, ultrasound-visible etching-yet the core design philosophy remains unchanged. Understanding this history helps manufacturers establish a professional brand image of "originating from the classic Chiba University design and conforming to modern ISO 13485 standards," while also helping clinical users comprehend why the 22G Chiba-type PTC needle remains the gold-standard preferred choice for biliary intervention.

As interventional radiology permeates multiple departments, the application of Chiba-type PTC needles has expanded beyond PTC alone to include initial tract establishment for PTCD, nephrostomy, cyst aspiration, and fine-needle aspiration (FNA). Manufacturers accordingly offer multi-specification product lines (primarily 15–30 cm, 20G–23G, some extending to 18G), multiple materials (SUS304/SUS316L/NiTi), and customizable OEM series to meet the procurement needs of hospitals across different countries and levels. Arguably, a manufacturer's PTC needle product catalog represents half the evolutionary history of interventional puncture technology.