Wearable Ultrasound Tool Detects Early Breast Cancer

The survival rate for breast cancer in its initial stages is almost 100%. However, that incidence lowers to about 25% for tumors found at a later stage.

MIT researchers have created a wearable ultrasound gadget that might enable individuals to find tumors when they’re still in the early stages in an effort to increase the overall survival percentage for breast cancer patients. Patients with a high risk of breast cancer in particular may find it helpful between routine mammograms.

The tool is a stretchy patch that can be fastened to a bra and allows the user to move an ultrasound tracker along the patch to view the breast tissue from various perspectives. The new study’s authors demonstrated that they could produce ultrasound images with resolutions that were on par with those of ultrasound probes used in medical imaging facilities.

“We changed the form factor of the ultrasound technology so that it can be used in your home. It’s portable and easy to use, and provides real-time, user-friendly monitoring of breast tissue,” says Canan Dagdeviren, an associate professor in MIT’s Media Lab and the senior author of the study.

The work, which is published in Science Advances, was written by Wenya Du, a graduate student at MIT, Research Scientist Lin Zhang, Emma Suh, and Professor Dabin Lin of Xi’an Technological University.

A wearable diagnostic tool

Dagdeviren was inspired to create this initiative by her late aunt Fatma Caliskanoglu, who, despite receiving routine cancer screenings, was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer at age 49 and lost tragically six months later. A crude design of a diagnostic tool that might be put into a bra and would enable more frequent screening of women at high risk for breast cancer was drawn out by Dagdeviren, a postdoc at MIT at the time, at her aunt’s bedside.

20 to 30% of all breast cancer cases are interval cancers, which are breast tumors that appear between regularly scheduled mammograms and are typically more aggressive than those discovered during normal screenings.

“My goal is to target the people who are most likely to develop interval cancer,” says Dagdeviren, whose research group specializes in developing wearable electronic devices that conform to the body. “With more frequent screening, our goal to increase the survival rate to up to 98%.”

Dagdeviren created a miniature ultrasonic scanner that could be used to perform imaging at any moment in order to realize her concept of a diagnostic bra. The ultrasound scanner utilized in this device is based on the same ultrasound technology used in medical imaging facilities, but it has been scaled down thanks to a unique piezoelectric material.

The researchers created a flexible, 3D-printed patch with honeycomb-like holes to make the gadget wearable. This patch can be fastened to a bra with openings so that the ultrasonic scanner can come into contact with the skin using magnets. The entire breast can be photographed using an ultrasound scanner that fits inside a tiny tracker that can be adjusted to six different settings. The scanner does not need to be operated by a specialist and may be rotated to capture photos from various angles.

“This technology provides a fundamental capability in the detection and early diagnosis of breast cancer, which is key to a positive outcome,” says Anantha Chandrakasan, dean of MIT’s School of Engineering, the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and one of the authors of the study. “This work will significantly advance ultrasound research and medical device designs, leveraging advances in materials, low-power circuits, AI algorithms, and biomedical systems.”

Early Cancer Detection

The MIT Center for Clinical and Translational Research helped the researchers test their gadget on a 71-year-old lady with a history of breast cysts as their lone human subject. The researchers’ new tool allowed them to identify cysts that were as small as 0.3 millimeters in diameter, or about the size of early-stage malignancies. They also demonstrated that tissue could be scanned up to 8 centimeters deep and that the device’s resolution was comparable to that of conventional ultrasonography.

“Access to quality and affordable health care is essential for early detection and diagnosis. As a nurse I have witnessed the negative outcomes of a delayed diagnosis. This technology holds the promise of breaking down the many barriers for early breast cancer detection by providing a more reliable, comfortable, and less intimidating diagnostic,” says Catherine Ricciardi, nurse director at MIT’s Center for Clinical and Translational Research and an author of the study.

The researchers now have to connect their scanner to the same kind of ultrasound machine used at imaging centers in order to view the ultrasound images. However, they are currently working on a miniature imaging device that would resemble a smartphone in size.

The wearable ultrasound patch may be worn repeatedly, and the researchers hope that those who are at high risk for breast cancer and who would benefit from routine screening will use it at home. Additionally, it might aid in the cancer diagnosis of those who lack frequent access to screening.

“Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, and it is treatable when detected early,” says Tolga Ozmen, a breast cancer surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital who is also an author of the study. “One of the main obstacles in imaging and early detection is the commute that the women have to make to an imaging center. This conformable ultrasound patch is a highly promising technology as it eliminates the need for women to travel to an imaging center.”

The goal of the study is to create a methodology that would allow artificial intelligence to examine how photos change over time once data on a person have been collected. This approach could provide more accurate diagnostics than depending on a radiologist’s evaluation of images taken years apart. They also intend to investigate modifying ultrasound technology to scan different bodily sections.

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