Researchers from the University of Bristol in the U.K. have developed a device capable of performing clinical breast examinations (CBE), potentially leading to the early detection of breast cancer.

The manipulator can reportedly apply specific forces — akin to those used by human examiners — to detect lumps via sensor technology at greater depths than previously achieved.

Source: George Jenkinson/University of Bristol

To create the manipulator, the team used a combination of 3D printing and other computerized numerical control techniques to perform a series of laboratory and simulated experiments on a fake breast as well as on its digital twin.

Researchers performed thousands of simulations, testing efficiency differences according to the number of sensors used at once. Further, experiments were conducted on the fake breast in lab, demonstrating the accuracy of the simulations.

Going forward, the team expects to marry CBE techniques learned from professionals with artificial intelligence, and to outfit the manipulator with sensors to determine how effectively the entire system identifies potential cancer risks. The developers hope that the combination of the device and sensors will lead to a device that is capable of detecting lumps more accurately and at a deeper range than is achievable manually.

Such a device is envisioned to make CBEs more accessible with the potential to place these manipulators in pharmacies and health centers, for instance.

An article detailing the device, “A robotIc Radial palpatIon mechaniSm for breast examination (IRIS), appears in the journal Sensors.

The device is further detailed in the accompanying video, which appears courtesy of the University of Bristol.