Percutaneous renal biopsy utilizing real time, ultrasonic guidance and a semiautomated biopsy device

Percutaneous renal biopsy is a fundamental diagnostic technique in clinical nephrology. Since its introduction in 1951 [1], there have been several descriptions of the technique with refinements of the procedure, more recently employing ultrasonic guidance [2–10]. The technique described in this paper is a biopsy method employing real-time ultrasonic guidance and a semiautomated, spring-loaded biopsy needle