Breast Cancer Detection Using Low-Frequency Bioimpedance Device

Abstract

Introduction

Early detection of breast cancer saves lives. Existing detecting techniques are invasive. Electrical bioimpedance is a noninvasive technique and has a high diagnostic potential.

Methods

An impedance value different from the normal can predict a physiological abnormality. The idea is to use a designed bioimpedance device to early detect breast cancer. A low-frequency current (1 kHz, 0.9 mA) is injected to each breast to measure the extracellular resistances. The resistances of the two breasts are then measured, and if there is a significant difference, warning is displayed. The performance was tested on a set of reference resistors, and the validation was done in vitro on (Na+Cl-) solutions and in vivo on a group of forty volunteer women.

Results

The results confirm that the electrical conductivity of an ionic solution is proportional to its concentration. The concentration and the resistance are strongly correlated (correlation coefficient of 0.97). The accuracy and the repeatability of the measures were satisfactory. Early detection means that we can detect small extracellular concentration variations into the breast (from 0.6 g/l). In vivo measurements made it possible to set the threshold at 50 ohm. If the difference between the two measured breast resistances is greater than this threshold, we advise the patient to consult a doctor promptly.

Conclusion

The difference between measured resistances of the right and left breast is a pertinent parameter to early detect the presence of a cancer. The lowest resistance value (RR or RL) can provide information on the breast affected by the cancer (right or left). Various improvements in the system are possible but already the results are encouraging. In the future, this system could be integrated into a bra.

Keywords:

• biomedical engineering
• breast cancer detection
• electrical bioimpedance
• FPGA Virtex-5 LX30
• LabVIEW FPGA
• NI PXI-7841R

Acknowledgments

Authors thank the Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University. This project was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University under the research project # 2019/01/10096.

Author Information

Sofiene Mansouri was born in Ain Drahem Village, TUNISIA in 1967. He becomes an engineer in electronics engineering from University Mentouri of Constantine, Algeria and M.S. degrees in biomedical engineering from the University of Technology of Compiegne, France, in 1991 and the Ph.D. degree in electronics from AL-Manar University, Tunis, Tunisia, in 2011. From 2005 to 2011, he was a teaching assistant in biophysics and biomedical engineering Higher Institute of Medical Technologies of Tunis – ISTMT, Tunisia. From 2011 to 2018, he has been an Assistant Professor. Since 2018 he becomes assistant professor with College of medical applied sciences, Prince Sattam bin Abdelaziz University, Saudi Arabia. He is the author of one book, and coauthor of three books, more than 30 articles. Member of the research laboratory in biophysics and medical technologies.

Tareq Alhadidi was born in Jeddah – Saudi Arabia, in 1971. He received his bachelor of Electronic Electricity and Automatic-2005 and M.S. degree in Ultrasonic Acoustic & Signal processing from in 2006 and the Ph.D. degree in Models, Methods & Algorithms in Biology, Health & Environment from University Joseph Fourier, Grenoble 1- France in 2011. From 2013, he was Head of biomedical Technology Dep. and Assistant Professor at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, KSA. He is the coauthor of a book and also author of a book chapter, more than 8 articles and more than 11 communications in international conferences. He was a member of the Technical Committee for the IEEE-HealthCom’ 2013, Lisbon, Portugal and at Natal, Brazil 2014. He was chair of 2nd IEEE International Workshop on Emerging Technologies for Pervasive Healthcare and Applications, IEEE-HealthCom’17, 12–15 October 2017, Dalian-China.

Marwa Ben Azouz was born in Menzel Bourguiba Village, TUNISIA in 1990. She obtained her diploma of applied science in biomedical engineering in 2012 and a professional master on biomedical engineering in 2015 and she obtained M.S. degrees in Biophysics, Medical Physics and Medical Imaging in 2017 from Tunis AL-Manar University, Tunisia.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.