Development of A Low-Cost Wearable Breast Cancer Detection Device

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in women worldwide. It happens when cells grow out of control and invade nearby tissues. Early detection of breast cancer is important to improve the survival rate of the patient. Common modalities used in the detection are mammography, ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). However, these methods are impractical to be used as personal monitoring device due to its high cost and uncomfortable procedures on the patient. Therefore, this study proposes the use of multiple thermal sensors positioned on brassiere cloth covering all four quadrants to provide continuous monitoring of temperature changes on the breasts. To test the reliability of the developed device, breast phantom and heater were used to mimic women breasts and the tumor respectively. Thermal imaging camera was used to verify the changes of surface temperature on breast phantom. Result obtained shows that the reading of thermal sensors on each quadrant with a tumor to have higher temperature compared to the rest. Comparative analysis shows that there were no significant differences on the reading obtained by the thermal sensors and thermal imaging camera which indicates that this low-cost wearable device can be potentially used as breast cancer monitoring tool.