Robotic mechanical localization of prostate cancer correlates with magnetic resonance imaging scans

Purpose: To evaluate the concordance of cancer location of the tissue mapping from a mechanical pressure transducer with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Materials and Methods: A total of 60 indentations were performed on 5 prostate specimens obtained after radical prostatectomy utilizing a robotic indentation system. The mechanical elastic moduli of suspected malignant lesions were calculated and mapped, and their locations were compared with suspicious areas of malignancy on MRI scans. Results: The concordance rate between the location mapping from the robotic indentation system and MRI scans results was 90.0% (54/60). The sensitivity and specificity of the robotic indentation system were 87.9% (29/33) and 92.6% (25/27), respectively. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 93.5% (29/31) and 93.1% (27/29), respectively. Conclusion: The locations of malignant lesions derived from our robotic indentation system correlated strongly with the locations of suspected areas of malignancy on MRI scans. Our robotic system may provide a more targeted biopsy of the prostate than conventional non-targeted systemic biopsy, possibly improving the diagnostic accuracy of prostatic biopsies for cancer.