FDA Approves Magnetic Lymph Node Biopsy Device

The FDA approved an innovative magnetic device for guiding lymph node biopsies in mastectomy patients that doesn’t require an injection of radioactive materials.

The Magtrace and Sentimag Magnetic Localization System can identify specific “sentinel” lymph nodes for surgical removal. Sentinel nodes are the first to which cancer cells are likely to spread from a primary tumor, so lymph node testing indication of whether cancer has spread from the breast.

The device uses magnetized particles to guide the biopsy procedure, with the magnetic particles traveling to lymph nodes and becoming trapped there, allowing magnetic detection of the nodes.