Effective Removal of Transbronchial Parenchymal (TTBx) Biopsies for Clinical Diagnosis

To help pulmonologists achieve better diagnostic results from transbronchial lung biopsies, we have designed OPZItrieve – a device that is able to pass through the working channel of a therapeutic bronchoscope and collect tissue samples. When used in conjunction with an existing foreign body retrieval tool known as a cryoprobe, OPZItrieve will be capable of retrieving tissue samples (~5mm in diameter) that are nearly 200 percent larger than those obtained with the current standard. By applying a 40 percent compression to tissue samples retrieved via cryoprobe, OPZItrieve is able to successfully remove samples that were previously too large to fit through the working channel of a bronchoscope, allowing pulmonologists to retain visual acuity of the target region and monitor for bleeding as is done with the current standard. Testing is ongoing to demonstrate the efficacy of the OPZltrieve.