Breast cancer is an actual problem of all medicine. All due to the fact that the tumor is diagnosed too late, when treatment is no longer appropriate. Scientists have long been thinking about developing a method or apparatus for detecting tumors at the earliest stages, when the size of the neoplasm is very small. In the case of such a diagnosis, cancer treatment can be more effective.
American scientists have created something that can detect the appearance of breast cancer in the early stages. This is an "electronic skin" that is able to feel and reproduce the silhouettes and images of the smallest nodules in the mammary gland, which cannot be detected by palpation of the breast.
Methods for diagnosing breast cancer
Specialists recommend that women over 40 have a screening examination - mammography every year, and also examine their own breasts - after 20 years. Women with a positive family history should be given an additional examination plan.
At the moment, there are several methods for diagnosing breast cancer, which have their limitations. The most common method for diagnosing cancer is mammography, which has been criticized for its ineffectiveness in examining dense breasts, as well as for incorrect readings.
Clinical breast examination by a healthcare professional is a popular method for screening and diagnosing cancer. It is not expensive and can be done on an outpatient basis. The main drawback in such an examination is the inability to detect a small tumor, up to 21 mm in length.
When is the diagnosis of breast cancer considered early?
Early diagnosis of breast cancer is the detection of nodules up to 20 mm in size. The new technology is able to detect breast cancer with a tumor size of no more than 10 millimeters. This increases the survival rate of women diagnosed with breast cancer by 94%. This project is still under development and funded by the US National Institutes of Health.
The e-Skin is a thin-film tactile device developed by the University of Nebraska Lincoln. They described testing their device.
The device is made from polymers and nanoparticles that can mimic tissue features. The device is designed in such a way that the optimal level of sensitivity provides good image quality. At the same time, the pressure level does not increase and discomfort is not created.
The devices that were previously used for this purpose did not provide such a high-quality image. In addition, they could not determine the shape of the nodules in the breast, and this is a decisive and important factor in the diagnosis of breast cancer.
Testing a new method for diagnosing cancer
In order to test the e-skin for cancer diagnosis, the scientists examined objects in a piece of silicone that mimics breast tissue. Then the device was combined with pressure, which is similar to the pressure that the chest is subjected to during palpation. During the control test, the device successfully detected nodules in silicone with a diameter of up to 5 mm and at a depth of up to 20 mm. With such a small size of the tumor, it is impossible to detect it on palpation.
Early diagnosis of tumors is very important and Dr. Saraf is confident that the machine will be useful in the early detection of melanoma and other cancers.
Specialists hope that very soon this method of cancer diagnostics will become widespread and will be used for every woman at the appointment with a gynecologist or mammologist. In this case, mortality among women due to breast cancer will be significantly reduced. But it is this pathology that is the first cause of female mortality.
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