The first gateway to the detection of potentially cancerous tumors or lesions often occurs during the physical exam at the doctor's office, which is performed through touch. As one might imagine, conclusions made from such a test could be very subjective, depending on the physician's experience and training. Now, researchers are hoping to take a little bit of that uncertainty out of the equation, by quantifying the information acquired through touch. A tactile imaging sensor has been developed that not only emulates human tactile sensation, but also quantifies that sensation into data that could aid doctors in making a decision when they feel lesions, lumps, or tumors.
The prototype of this tactile imaging sensor, developed at Temple University , can be attached to any desktop or laptop computer that has a Firewire cable port. It is equipped with four LED lights and a camera, and has a flexible transparent elastomer cube on the end, into which light is injected. The sensor's camera captures the lesion or tumor images caused by the reflected light; they are processed with a novel algorithm, developed by the inventors, that calculates the lesion's mechanical properties.
Studies have shown that cancerous lesions and tumors tend to be larger, more irregular in shape, or have harder elasticity. This device could help doctors quantify any irregularities they encounter in the typical physical exam, which could aid them in deciding whether to monitor the irregularity or send the patient to a specialist.
Also: Read about a screening device developed for the 25 percent of women with denser breasts, for whom mammograms may be ineffective.
