HOW DOES IT WORK?

The patented Tactile Imaging System has two main components: a thin silicone waveguide as a tactile sensor and a charge coupled device (CCD) camera as a detector.

The TIS system utilizes the total internal reflection principle of light inside the flexible and transparent silicone waveguide, which is one layer of a special polymer. The four white LEDs homogeneously illuminate the waveguide. A pressure sensor (force gauge) measures the applied force thus creating standards for physician review.

When TIS is compressed against a breast mass, the waveguide deforms. Due to the deformation, the internally reflected light within the wave guide is scattered and escapes toward the camera. The light captured by the camera forms the tactile image. These images along with the corresponding applied forces are the inputs for TIS calculation algorithm.

In today’s marketplace, there is a need for an intermediary non-invasive, radiation-free, and cost-effective breast cancer screening and detection device.

Disadvantages with current methods for breast tumor screening:

• Mammography: exposure to radiation
• MRI: expensive and with limitations
• Ultrasound: low resolution imaging
• Biopsy: invasive with potential sampling errors

TIS was developed to be a simple-to-use, non-invasive, and risk-free pre-screening device providing early and affordable detection of potentially life-threatening and malignant tumors. The TIS is designed to assist primary care doctors and specialists by quantitatively measuring tumor size, hardness, and risk of malignancy in near real-time.

We imagine the TIS system will become an integral part of every physical exam, providing a fast and

robust early warning system that works alongside conventional radiological imaging.

• Seamless interaction between the TIS and local workstation allows for fast data transfer and an elegant user interface that minimizes mistakes during the measurement process
• Automatic upload to an encrypted (HIPAA compliant) cloud database allows for fast and secure storage
• Remote data processing and analysis creates a lightweight system that anybody can use anywhere in the world
• Computer vision AI models are trained to extract high quality images by detecting image artifacts
• Tumor statistics calculations assist clinicians in their decision making
• Supervised neural network models are implemented via an active learning approach and are designed to improve over time
• Easy integration with hospital record systems allows for comparison of historical results both across and within patients