Percutaneous renal biopsy is a fundamental diagnostic technique in uro
logy and nephrology, recently refined by real-time ultrasonic guidance
. The technique described in this article is a biopsy method employing
real-time ultrasonic guidance and a semiautomated device. The new dev
ice has been constructed to improve percutaneous biopsy technique and
to obtain more perfect specimens. This technique was successfully perf
ormed in 20 patients undergoing renal biopsy. Diagnostically satisfact
ory material containing an average of ten glomeruli per specimen was o
btained. The results obtained with the new device Biopty Bard have bee
n compared with the results obtained from the same number of biopsies
performed with the traditional technique.