EVALUATION OF A TURKEY-BREAST PHANTOM FOR TEACHING FREEHAND, US-GUIDED CORE-NEEDLE BREAST BIOPSY

Rationale and Objectives. Use of a turkey-breast phantom for developin g freehand ultrasound (US)-guided core-needle biopsy skills was evalua ted. Materials and Methods. Thirteen diagnostic radiology trainees wit h varied experience in freehand US-guided breast core-needle biopsy we re given instruction and allowed to practice the technique in a turkey -breast phantom. Three attempts were made before and after instruction and practice, and a questionnaire regarding experience, confidence, a nd anxiety was administered after these attempts. Technique, accuracy, and completion time were evaluated. Results. Confidence related to pr ocedure performance increased (P < .01), but the change in anxiety was not statistically significant. Accuracy improved, with the target bei ng obtained in 87% of passes performed after instruction and practice versus 56% initially. Difficulty with visualizing the core needle sono graphically during phantom biopsy decreased from 49% to 5% of attempts . Needle positioning perpendicular to the chest wall was observed init ially in 38% of passes but was not observed after instruction and prac tice. There were no statistically significant change in time to comple te biopsy. Conclusion. For teaching US-guided breast core-needle biops y, use of a turkey-breast phantom helps improve technique, accuracy, a nd confidence of diagnostic radiology trainees.