NSF Award
1306808
Manual breast exams and mammograms are currently the most effective and widely used techniques for early detection of breast cancer. Unfortunately, manual breast exams are limited in their ability to detect tumors since they only produce local information about the site where the force is applied. In addition, mammograms do not quantify tissue stiffness, an identifying characteristic of breast tumors. This project's long-term goal is to develop a system that automates, quantifies, and enhances the resolution of the manual breast exam. An electro-mechanical device will gently indent the tissue surface in various locations, recording the tissue surface deflections. This deflection data will be used with inverse techniques to provide detailed 3D maps of the elastic modulus of the interior of the breast tissue.<br/><br/>Intellectual Merit: <br/>The proposed research takes an approach to early detection of breast cancer that utilizes a fundamental mechanical difference between cancerous and noncancerous tissue via an inverse problem approach. Although this stiffness difference is the basis of breast palpation, it has not been systematically investigated from an engineering point of view. Insights gained in this study may also have broad implications for flaw detection and localization of sparse sources.<br/><br/>Broader Impact: <br/>This system has the potential to significantly increase the early detection of breast cancer with no unnecessary radiation, essentially no risk, and with little additional cost. Nearly forty undergraduate students will engage in interdisciplinary research that can make a difference in someone's life, and develop outreach programs to impact over a hundred middle school students.
