Smart Biopsy Device Could Diagnose Breast Cancer Using Miniature Radiofrequency Sensors

Normally, when a physician notices a suspicious mass or lesion on a mammogram, he or she will request an ultrasound to explore it further. Based on those results, a biopsy may be performed to determine whether the mass is cancerous. “Unfortunately, right now, in some cases, physicians either overdiagnose or underdiagnose based on that biopsy, because with ultrasound they can only see so much,” said Lori Chmura, CEO of Dune Medical Devices. “The doctor is essentially going in blindly, trying to see what looks like the most suspicious area, and they’re trying to sample the tissue from there.” The physician will then have to send it to lab for a diagnosis. But Dune Medical is working on a new technology called the Smart Biopsy Device that could provide physicians with very specific diagnoses in just a third of a second. It consists of miniaturized sensors mounted on the tip of the biopsy needle. "When the biopsy needle is inserted into the body, the Smart Biopsy sensor reads the physical properties of the tissue, continuously and immediately, and displays them on a screen” said Chmura. “These properties correlate to tissue types, such as invasive ductal carcinoma, ductal carcinoma in situ, fat, or fibroadenoma. The physicians can see the type of tissue they are about to sample and verify that they are taking out the right tissue sample,”...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Business Source Type: news