Radiation-free breast exam
Drexel University biomedical engineer Wan Shih and surgical oncologist Ari Brooks have developed a hand-held, radiation-free device that can do what human fingers do: feel lumps in a breast.
Drexel University biomedical engineer Wan Shih and surgical oncologist Ari Brooks have developed a hand-held, radiation-free device that can do what human fingers do: feel lumps in a breast.
More exciting, the probe can find lumps too small to be felt by fingers, and can differentiate between malignant and benign lumps - a feat that could transform breast cancer detection in poor countries.
"I think it's destined to be on a Jeep in Africa or India, where a mammogram machine is rare," Brooks said.
The physics is arcane, but basically, the device converts mechanical stress into an electric signal that indicates the elasticity of breast tissue.
A decade in the making, the patented prototype is still being improved. While it reliably detected actual cancer in a study of 40 women, it incorrectly flagged nine women as having suspicious lumps.
But the device doesn't have to be perfect.
"I don't want this to replace a mammogram," said Brooks. "I want it used in addition to a mammogram, or where a mammogram isn't readily available."
Shih also sees the device as a potential boon for women too young for routine mammograms, and for thin, small-chested women, like her. In 2009, she underwent a series of the breast-squishing X-rays to help diagnose a very early-stage breast cancer.
"It was painful and difficult to breathe," recalled the native of Taiwan.
Other pluses of her device: It's expected to cost under $5,000, and does not need a specially trained operator.
"Maybe there will even be a home-use version, like a blood-pressure cuff," she said.
- Marie McCullough
