Scientists have developed a new high-tech “electronic skin” that can detect small breast lumps better than many self-breast exams. The e-skin monitor is comprised of nanoparticles and polymers that can detect tiny suspicious abnormalities and provide images of them, which could help doctors identify tumors early.
The device, described in the American Chemical Society journal
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, might also be refined to screen patients for early signs of melanoma can other cancers, said the e-skin’s developers, Ravi F. Saraf and Chieu Van Nguyen.
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To test the device, the scientists embedded lump-like objects in a piece of silicone designed to simulate a human breast. The test found the e-skin monitor was able to detect lumps about an inch deep and as small as one-twentieth of an inch wide.
Knowing the precise size and shape of a lump could allow for earlier identification of breast cancer, which could save lives, they said.
Small masses of cancer cells are not always easy to catch, which is why mammograms are often unreliable, while MRI and ultrasound tests expensive. Clinical breast exams performed by medical professionals typically don't find lumps until they're about four-fifths of an inch in length.
The researchers said detecting lumps and determining their shape when they're less than half that size improves a patient's survival rate by more than 94 percent.
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The e-skin device was developed with funding from the National Institutes of Health.
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