A method using superconcentrated gelatin and a novel phantom suspension system for ultrasound-guided thyroid biopsy training.

Ever since their inception, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), the American Thyroid Association (ATA), and the Endo-Society ultrasound courses use turkey breasts as a media for demonstrating ultrasoundguided thyroid fine-needle aspiration (FNA). Animal tissue is used in other subspecialties for breast biopsy training (1,2). Currently, there is no cost-efficient neck model for thyroid biopsy training available. The AACE Needle me neck model and the Blue Phantom are prohibitively expensive for most fellows and training programs to use. Animal meats carry the risk of transmitting food-borne diseases and can be unappealing to participants. Turkey breasts are thawed overnight in order to facilitate the insertion of the phantoms and remain at room temperature for several hours, facilitating bacterial growth. Even though no known illnesses have been reported by trainees, elimination of any risk is ideal. Gelatin is processed from cartilaginous tissue of animals and supplied as sterile powder. Gelatin is used for ballistic testing because it mimics human tissue in certain concentrations. Food-grade gelatin is purified for consumption. The suitability of food-grade gelatin in ‘‘ballistic concentration’’ for ultrasound-guided FNA was studied. Ballistic-grade gelatin was also studied.