A Preliminary Study to Possibilities for Improving Mammographic Breast Cancer Screening with the Implementation of a Local Pressure Sensing System

-Introduction Mammography is the main screening method in early breast cancer detection in most civilized countries. Although the breast cancer mortality rate decreased with 25% since the introduction of mammographic population screening, the method still displays relatively high false negative and false positive rates, resulting in missed tumors and unnecessary stress for recalled women. The objective of this research is to explore the possibilities for optimizing mammographic breast cancer screening with the implementation of a local pressure sensing system. In this approach the differences in stiffness between cancerous tissue and healthy breast tissue are used as a biomarker. -Methods to explore the influence of a tumor surrounded by healthy breast tissue, a breast model was made. The stress distribution along the contact area of the breast with the compression plate is examined performing a numerical and experimental study. Three main input parameters which influence the stress around an inclusion were de fined; the size, the position in depth and the relative elasticity of the tumor. The influence of those parameters were evaluated using finite element analysis. The experimental setup contains a tensile tester used to compress silicone tissue phantoms, with or without a stiffer inclusion representing a tumor. An array of 16 pressure sensors is used to explore the abilities to measure fluctuations in stress distribution caused by the tumor. -Results & Conclusions The presence of a tumor produces a peak in the stress-distribution along the contact surface of the tissue phantom. Tumors embedded in a cylindrical tissue phantom having a diameter of 10mm or larger are detectable using simple pressure sensors. The influence of the elasticity of a tumor is only noticeable up to a stiffness which is 20 times higher than the surrounding tissue. The stress peak grows exponentially by increasing the size or decreasing the distance from the tumor to the surface. The ability to use differences in the stress distribution for detecting a stiff inclusion surrounded by an elastic material looks promising. Additional research must be performed in order to find a suitable local pressure sensing system.Precision and Microsystems EngineeringMechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineerin