Tactile Sensation Imaging System for Inclusion Characterization

摘要

Characterizing and locating sub-surface tumors will greatly enhance the detection and treatment of breast cancer. In this paper, a novel tactile sensation imaging system, that is capable of detecting and characterizing the subsurface object, was designed, implemented, and tested. A multi-layer Polydimethylsiloxane optical waveguide has been fabricated as the sensing probe. The light was illuminated below the acceptance angle to totally reflect within the flexible and transparent waveguide. When a waveguide is compressed by an external force, the contact area of the waveguide deforms and causes the light to scatter. The scattered light is captured by a high resolution camera and saved as an image. Using the salient features of the captured image, we estimated inclusion characteristics such as size, depth, and Young's modulus. To test the performance of the proposed system, we use a realistic tissue phantom with embedded stiff inclusions. The experimental results showed that the proposed system can detect inclusions and provide the relative values of inclusion's mechanical properties. Using these relative values, we can discern malignant and benign tumors.