Method and apparatus for detecting very small breast anomalies
First Claim
1. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
- a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a pre-determined force against a tissue resistance; and
c. a controller in communication with the palpation finger and the detection device that records the distance traveled by the palpation finger and determines at least one characteristic of the breast tissue.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A computer controlled apparatus for detecting breast tumors by mechanically palpating a breast in a full scan manner to detect small lumps or anomalies. The patient is positioned on a fully adjustable bed and oriented relative to the apparatus. A detection head mounted for movement in three dimensions is positioned above the bed. A palpation finger is brought into pressure contact with a sequence of small areas across the entire breast, palpating each area to measure tissue density. Concurrent with the palpation scan, a scan of breast color and temperature is conducted. A locator head positions the detector for the scan in a manner that assures repeatability during each of a series of periodic examinations. This system detects very small lumps and allows easy, accurate monitoring of suspicious areas over an extended time period. Several different embodiments of the detection head and location head are described.
73 Citations
53 Claims
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1. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a pre-determined force against a tissue resistance; and
c. a controller in communication with the palpation finger and the detection device that records the distance traveled by the palpation finger and determines at least one characteristic of the breast tissue. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a pre-determined force against a tissue resistance; and
c. a controller in communication with the palpation finger and the detection device that records the distance traveled by the palpation finger and determines at least one characteristic of the breast tissue;
wherein the controller directs the at least one palpation finger in a continuous, automatic scanning pattern to palpate an entire surface of a breast.- View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a pre-determined force against a tissue resistance;
c. a controller in communication with the palpation finger and the detection device that records the distance traveled by the palpation finger and determines at least one characteristic of the breast tissue; and
d. at least one sensor to map the surface of the breast tissue or to positionally locate the at least one palpation finger relative to the surface of the breast tissue;
wherein the at least one sensor includes a camera, an autofocus system, a rangefinder, an acoustic sensor, or an optical sensor.
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27. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a pre-determined force against a tissue resistance;
c. a controller in communication with the palpation finger and the detection device that records the distance traveled by the palpation finger and determines at least one characteristic of the breast tissue; and
d. at least one sensor to map the surface of the breast tissue or to positionally locate the at least one palpation finger relative to the surface of the breast tissue;
wherein the at least one sensor includes a digital camera and grid to establish investigation coordinates for use in comparing measurements made at some other time.
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28. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a pre-determined force against a tissue resistance;
c. a controller in communication with the palpation finger and the detection device that records the distance traveled by the palpation finger and determines at least one characteristic of the breast tissue; and
d. at least one sensor to map the surface of the breast tissue or to positionally locate the at least one palpation finger relative to the surface of the breast tissue;
wherein the at least one sensor measures color, or temperature, or both, of the breast tissue.
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29. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a pre-determined force against a tissue resistance;
c. a location device that provides positional data to align the palpation finger relative to the surface of the breast tissue and produce an image of the breast tissue; and
d. a controller in communication with the palpation finger, the detection device and the location device, to position the palpation finger at a pre-determined location on the surface of the breast tissue, record the location of the palpation finger on the surface of the breast tissue, record a distance traveled by the palpation finger and determine at least one characteristic of the breast tissue for each location thereof.
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30. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a pre-determined force against a tissue resistance;
c. a location device that provides positional data to align the palpation finger relative to the surface of the breast tissue and produce an image of the breast tissue; and
d. a controller in communication with the palpation finger, the detection device and the location device, to position the palpation finger at a pre-determined location on the surface of the breast tissue, record the location of the palpation finger on the surface of the breast tissue, record a distance traveled by the palpation finger and determine at least one characteristic of the breast tissue for each location thereof;
wherein the controller directs the at least one palpation finger in a continuous, automatic scanning pattern to palpate an entire surface of a breast.
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31. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a pre-determined force against a tissue resistance;
c. a location device that provides positional data to align the palpation finger relative to the surface of the breast tissue and produce an image of the breast tissue, wherein the location device includes a white light source and movable lens; and
d. a controller in communication with the palpation finger, the detection device and the location device, to position the palpation finger at a pre-determined location on the surface of the breast tissue, record the location of the palpation finger on the surface of the breast tissue, record a distance traveled by the palpation finger and determine at least one characteristic of the breast tissue for each location thereof.
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32. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a pre-determined force against a tissue resistance;
c. a location device that provides positional data to align the palpation finger relative to the surface of the breast tissue and produce an image of the breast tissue, wherein the location device includes a laser scanner having a laser emitter and focussing system; and
d. a controller in communication with the palpation finger, the detection device and the location device, to position the palpation finger at a predetermined location on the surface of the breast tissue, record the location of the palpation finger on the surface of the breast tissue, record a distance traveled by the palpation finger and determine at least one characteristic of the breast tissue for each location thereof.
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33. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a predetermined force against a tissue resistance;
c. a location device that provides positional data to align the palpation finger relative to the surface of the breast tissue and produce an image of the breast tissue, wherein the location device includes at least one laser diode and light sensor unit and an optical, focussing lens assembly; and
d. a controller in communication with the palpation finger, the detection device and the location device, to position the palpation finger at a pre-determined location on the surface of the breast tissue, record the location of the palpation finger on the surface of the breast tissue, record a distance traveled by the palpation finger and determine at least one characteristic of the breast tissue for each location thereof.
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34. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a predetermined force against a tissue resistance;
c. a location device that provides positional data to align the palpation finger relative to the surface of the breast tissue and produce an image of the breast tissue, wherein the location device is incorporated with the detection device; and
d. a controller in communication with the palpation finger, the detection device and the location device, to position the palpation finger at a pre-determined location on the surface of the breast tissue, record the location of the palpation finger on the surface of the breast tissue, record a distance traveled by the palpation finger and determine at least one characteristic of the breast tissue for each location thereof.
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35. A method for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. depressing a surface of the breast tissue with a probe;
b. detecting a distance traveled by the probe; and
c. determining at least one breast tissue characteristic value based upon the distance traveled by the probe, the value indicative of a presence of an anomaly in the breast tissue. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A method for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. positioning a probe at a predetermined location against a surface of breast tissue;
b. depressing the probe with a predetermined force against the surface of the breast tissue;
c. measuring a distance traveled by the probe;
d. determining a density value for the breast tissue based upon the distance traveled by the probe, the density value indicative of a presence of an anomaly in the breast tissue; and
e. storing the predetermined probe location, or the predetermined force, or the density value, or a combination thereof, to create an examination result, whereby the examination result can be compared to prior or subsequent examination results. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a pre-determined, mechanically applied force against a tissue resistance; and
c. a controller in communication with the palpation finger and the detection device that records the distance traveled by the palpation finger and determines at least one characteristic of the breast tissue.
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52. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a pre-determined force against a tissue resistance, the distance traveled referring to a distance the finger advances along its longitudinal axis; and
c. a controller in communication with the palpation finger and the detection device that records the distance traveled by the palpation finger and determines at least one characteristic of the breast tissue.
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53. An apparatus for detecting anomalies in breast tissue, comprising:
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a. at least one palpation finger that palpates a surface of breast tissue;
b. at least one detection device that measures and transmits a distance traveled by the palpation finger while depressing the surface of the breast tissue at a pre-determined, and sequentially increasing, force until a pre-determined tissue resistance is reached; and
c. a controller in communication with the palpation finger and the detection device that records the distance traveled by the palpation finger and determines at least one characteristic of the breast tissue.
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Specification