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MIT researchers have created a wearable ultrasound system that can be integrated into a bra. The objective is to detect breast tumors very early, in particular those occurring between two mammograms.
Fatma Caliskanoglu is diagnosed with advanced breast cancer at 49, despite regular screenings. She dies six months later. At her aunt’s bedside, Canan Dagdeviren, then a post-doctoral student at MIT, set herself the task of developing a way to fight against these interval cancers (which occur between two mammograms). She then develops a rough diagram of a diagnostic device that could be integrated into a bra and would allow more frequent screening of women at high risk of breast cancer. It has now become reality.
Interval cancers: more dreaded cancers
Despite the usefulness of breast cancer screening, some cancers can appear between two mammograms, so within 24 months of a “normal” screening. According to data collected in 5 departments between 2002 and 2005, these so-called “interval” cancers represent 18% of breast cancers, a far from negligible rate. “The study published in 2009 reports 15 interval cancers per 10,000 women over 50, out of an incidence of 80 cancers per 10,000 women screened.“, specified Brigitte Séradour, radiologist in Marseille and coordinator of the organized screening program for breast cancer in the Bouches-du-Rhône. Other studies put forward figures even going up to 20 to 30%.
About a third of these interval cancers occur in the 12 months following the mammogram, the remaining 2/3 occurring in the 2nd year. They seem to be more frequent in women with dense breasts, are more often invasive lobular cancers than in situ cancers, with an often poorer prognosis.
Wearable diagnostics that fit into your bra
To achieve its vision of a diagnostic bra, CananDagdeviren designed a miniaturized ultrasound machine that could allow the user to perform imaging at any time. This scanner is based on the same type of ultrasound technology used in medical imaging centers, but incorporates a new piezoelectric material that allowed researchers to miniaturize the ultrasound scanner.
To make the device wearable, the researchers designed a flexible 3D-printed patch with honeycomb-shaped openings. Using magnets, this patch can be attached to a bra that has openings that allow the ultrasound scanner to come into contact with the skin. The ultrasound system fits into a small tracker that can be moved to six different positions, allowing the whole breast to be “checked”. The mini-probe can also be rotated to take images from different angles and does not require any special expertise to operate.
Quality equivalent to a traditional ultrasound scanner
A new study shows that it is possible to obtain ultrasound images with a resolution comparable to that of the ultrasound probes used in medical imaging centers. “We have changed the form factor of ultrasound technology so that it can be used at home. It is portable and easy to use, and provides user-friendly, real-time monitoring of breast tissue.explains Canan Dagdeviren, associate professor at MIT’s Media Lab and lead author of the study.
In collaboration with the MIT Center for Clinical and Translational Research, the researchers tested their device on a 71-year-old woman with a history of breast cysts. Using the new device, the researchers were able to detect the cysts, which measured just 0.3 cm in diameter, the size of early-stage tumours. The device achieved a resolution comparable to that of traditional ultrasound scanners and tissue could be “scanned” to a depth of 8 cm.
To view the collected images, researchers currently need to connect their device to the same type of ultrasound machine used in imaging centers. But they are currently working on a miniaturized version that would be roughly the size of a smartphone.
For whom should such a device be intended?
Which women could benefit from such devices? According to the MIT release, the wearable ultrasound patch could be used at home by people at high risk for breast cancer, providing frequent screening. It could also help diagnose cancer in women who have little/no access to screening.
A connection with an AI for ultra-early diagnosis
The researchers continue their work with the objective of being able to automatically collect images from patients so that this data is processed by an artificial intelligence capable of analyzing the evolution of the images over time. The goal is to offer more accurate diagnoses than a radiologist’s assessment comparing images taken years apart. They also plan to develop new devices for other parts of the body.