Evaluation of potential tissue heating during percutaneous drill-assisted bone sampling in an in vivo porcine study

Abstract

Background Minimally invasive, battery-powered drilling systems have become the preferred tool for obtaining representative samples from bone lesions. However, the heat generated during battery-powered bone drilling for bone biopsies has not yet been sufficiently investigated. Thermal necrosis can occur if the bone temperature exceeds a critical threshold for a certain period of time. Purpose To investigate heat production as a function of femur temperature during and after battery-powered percutaneous bone drilling in a porcine in vivo model. Methods We performed 16 femur drillings in 13 domestic pigs with an average age of 22 weeks and an average body temperature of 39.7 °C, using a battery-powered drilling system and an intraosseous temperature monitoring device. The standardized duration of the drilling procedure was 20 s. The bone core specimens obtained were embedded in 4% formalin, stained with haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and sent for pathological analysis of tissue quality and signs of thermal damage. Results No significant changes in the pigs’ local temperature were observed after bone drilling with a battery-powered drill device. Across all measurements, the median change in temperature between the initial measurement and the temperature measured after drilling (at 20 s) was 0.1 °C. Histological examination of the bone core specimens revealed no signs of mechanical or thermal damage. Conclusion Overall, this preliminary study shows that battery-powered, drill-assisted harvesting of bone core specimens does not appear to cause mechanical or thermal damage.

Analysis of the influence of surgical robot drilling parameters on the temperature of skull drilling based on Box–Behnken design

“…When taking a bone flap, the skull needs to be drilled, and a lot of heat will be generated during the drilling process. 1 Moreover, due to the large diameter of the drill bit, the large heat-generating area, and the long drilling time, it is easy to cause thermal damage to the bone tissue. 2 Therefore, it is necessary to study the effect of different drilling parameters on the bone drilling temperature.…”