A novel tactile-guided detection and three-dimensional localization of clinically significant breast masses

Abstract

This paper presents a novel robotic sensory system ‘Robo-Tac-BMI’, which manipulates an indentation probe for the detection and three-dimensional localization of an abnormal mass embedded in the breast tissue. The Robo-Tac-BMI is designed based on artificial tactile sensing technology which is a new non-invasive method for mimicking the surgeon’s palpation quantitatively. The intelligent processor of the device provides an overall stiffness map of the scanned areas. The extracted stiffness parameters provide a decisive factor for certifying the mass existence. Results are validated by ‘gold standard’ tests. Following the mass detection, its 3D localization is of essential importance in the treatment procedures. The planar 2D coordinate is readily available for all points on the tissue surface. Mass depth estimation is achieved by a comprehensive model utilizing the logistic regression algorithm and a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Curve for the highest accuracy. Statistical analysis is performed over 27 cases with 346 scanned areas.

Keywords::

• Artificial tactile sensing
• Robotics
• Mass localization
• Breast tissue
• Stiffness measurement

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Center of Excellence of Biomedical Engineering of Iran located at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering of Amirkabir University of Technology, Trauma Research Center of Baqiyatallah Hospital, and Tehran Breast Research Center for their contributions in conducting this project.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.