Close-range radiotherapy technology is at the forefront of a new era driven by imaging navigation, artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing, and robotics. As the physical execution terminal of this technology, the role of close-range treatment needles is evolving from a standardized tool to an important component of an intelligent and personalized diagnosis and treatment system. Forward-thinking manufacturers are actively planning, through technological innovation and interdisciplinary integration, to push implant surgery towards a more precise, efficient, and automated future, thereby playing a more central enabling role in the grand vision of precision oncology.

The most prominent trend currently is the widespread application of 3D-printed personalized templates. Traditional templates have fixed needle channel positions, making it difficult to adapt to the unique anatomical structure and tumor morphology of each patient. Now, based on the patient's CT or MRI imaging data, through 3D reconstruction and reverse design, personalized navigation templates that are perfectly fitted to the patient's body surface contour and with precisely preset needle channels can be 3D-printed. This technological revolution has fundamentally changed the way treatment needles are implanted. Doctors perform punctures under the guidance of the templates, ensuring that the insertion point, angle, and depth of each needle are completely consistent with the treatment plan, reducing the puncture error from millimeter level to sub-millimeter level. The "Radiation Therapy Additive Manufacturing Quality Control Guidelines (2025 Edition)" released by the National Cancer Center is precisely to standardize the production and quality control of such personalized products, ensuring their safety and effectiveness. Manufacturers need to ensure the compatibility of their treatment needles with various 3D-printed templates and optimize the specifications of the needles to adapt to more complex needle channel planning.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automated planning are deeply involved. AI algorithms can automatically delineate the tumor target area and organs at risk, and based on dosimetric goals (such as target coverage, organ sparing limits), intelligently optimize the number, location, depth of the needles, as well as the placement plan of the radiation source. This not only significantly shortens the treatment planning time but also generates implantation plans with better dose distribution that surpass human experience. Future treatment needles may incorporate miniature sensors, which can provide real-time feedback on tissue resistance, needle tip position, etc. during the puncture process. This information will form a closed loop with the AI system, dynamically adjusting the puncture strategy.

Robot-assisted puncture is another important direction. The robotic arm can provide greater stability and precision than human hands, especially for complex cases that require multiple parallel needle insertions or precise angles. The robotic system can drive the treatment needle to perform automatic puncture strictly according to the plan generated by AI, completely eliminating human hand tremors and angle deviations. This requires the design of the treatment needle to be more modular and standardized, so as to quickly and precisely connect with the robotic end effector.

In terms of the design of the needles themselves, the integration of materials and functions is the focus of innovation. Besides the existing stainless steel and titanium alloys, biodegradable materials may be used in the future to manufacture temporary implant needles. After the treatment is completed, these needles will gradually degrade in the body, avoiding the need for a second removal surgery. The concept of intelligent needles is also being explored. For example, a micro-ultrasonic or optical coherence tomography (OCT) probe can be integrated at the needle tip to achieve real-time microscopic imaging during the puncture process, distinguishing the boundary between tumors and normal tissues; or a temperature sensor can be integrated to conduct real-time monitoring when combined with hyperthermia treatment.

The integration of treatment modalities is also giving rise to new demands. For instance, combining close-range treatment with immunotherapy. When the treatment needle is implanted with radioactive particles, can it also carry immunomodulatory drugs or oncolytic viruses? While local radiotherapy triggers immunogenic cell death, can it locally activate a stronger systemic anti-tumor immune response, that is, the "in situ vaccine" effect? This requires the needle to have a more complex multi-channel structure or drug release function.

Therefore, manufacturers of close-range treatment needles are transforming from a single "device supplier" to a "provider of precise radiotherapy solutions." They need to engage in in-depth cooperation with imaging equipment providers, AI software companies, 3D printing service providers, robot companies, and even biopharmaceutical enterprises. The future competition will be an ecosystem competition. Manufacturers will help radiation therapy centers achieve a full-process digital and intelligent closed loop from image acquisition, plan design, needle insertion to dose verification by providing high-performance needles that are compatible with multiple navigation platforms, have intelligent interfaces, and support personalized treatment, and by deeply participating in the optimization of clinical workflow. The fine needle connected to this will be the future of the entire precise tumor treatment.