Risk Score Based Pre-Screening of Breast Tumor Using Compression Induced Sensing System

A pre-screening device that quantifies mechanical properties of tumors will be used as an early stage breast tumor warning system. In this paper, a compression induced sensing system (CISS) is developed, which determines the mechanical properties of tumors. The optical sensing probe of CISS is made of transparent elastomer and works on the total internal reflection principle. 3-D interpolation method and deformation index computation method are developed to estimate the size of the tumor and deformation of the sensing tip due to the applied pressure. After having satisfactory phantom tests using CISS and the developed algorithms, in vivo clinical studies of twenty-one patients were performed. Based on the estimated mechanical properties, a risk score range is developed which can be used to pre-screen or classify breast tumors as malignant or benign. The quantified results were correlated with the pathology report of the test cases. The developed system showed an accuracy of 90.5% in classifying the breast tumor cases.