2023-10-06 18:15:21
A tactile examination of the breasts, to detect lumps or other abnormalities, can be vital to achieving an early diagnosis of breast cancer. But this recognition is not always easy to make.
Taking this into account, a team of scientists from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom has designed a robot that has a kind of hand with five long fingers. The robot uses these fingers to palpate a breast, applying very specific mechanical forces to various points on it, in a similar way to what the hand of an expert human examiner does. Using its sensors, the robot can detect lumps, even if they are subtle, and can notice them at a deeper depth than previously achieved.
This could revolutionize the way women monitor their breast health, making this kind of breast exam almost as easy as weighing yourself on a scale. For example, pharmacies, which usually have a scale, could also have such a robot.
The team of George Jenkinson and Antonia Tzemanaki prepared the robot using 3D printing and other advanced techniques, and used a series of laboratory experiments with a fake (silicone) breast and its digital twin, both modeled after the breasts of a volunteer at Imperial College London, United Kingdom.
The simulations allowed the team to perform thousands of palpations and test a multitude of hypothetical scenarios, in order to calculate, among other things, the difference in effectiveness when two, three or four sensors are used at the same time. In the laboratory, experiments with the silicone breast showed that the simulations were accurate and allowed us to determine the best way to palpate breasts.
The robot, with its five fingers. (Photo: George Jenkinson)
The research team has presented the technical details of their robot at the IEEE RO-MAN 2023 conference, under the title “A robotIc Radial palpatIon mechaniSm for breast examination (IRIS)” (Source: NCYT from Amazings)
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