麻豆村

A new device promises to reduce costs and eliminate unnecessary biopsy procedures in women who find lumps in their breasts. The device, called PalpAid, was developed by 麻豆村 alumna Molly Blank, who recently received her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. The device helps measure and track breast lumps through soft tissue mechanics and computer vision techniques.

鈥淚t鈥檚 truly astonishing that in the 21st century, physicians still rely on their sense of touch to assess deep lesions in the breast,鈥� said 麻豆村 Professor James Antaki, Blank鈥檚 adviser. He said he can imagine PalpAid鈥檚 patent-pending technology becoming as common as stethoscopes and tongue depressors.

Blank鈥檚 next step is to secure clinical trials with the aim of making PalpAid available within a year through her startup, .

鈥淧eople don鈥檛 realize that when you鈥檙e 20-something, there鈥檚 a very high probability of having a lump of some kind, but the greatest risk factor for actual breast cancer isn鈥檛 family history, it鈥檚 increased age,鈥� she said.

Blank said less than 2 percent of biopsies performed uncover cancer, which means some two million procedures each year may be causing needless anxiety and $2 billion in health care costs.

Using soft robotic touch coupled with computer vision techniques, PalpAid quantifies a lump鈥檚 precise size and shape, allowing women to better monitor potential change and avoid additional testing.

鈥淎ssessing a lump鈥檚 stability over time is a well-established medical guideline,鈥� she said. 鈥淩ight now that path isn鈥檛 as viable because it鈥檚 scary when you鈥檝e got a lump.

鈥淎 lot of the time these lumps will resolve themselves or shrink,鈥� she said. Now Blank is continuing to make connections with the medical community while working as a University of Washington design lecturer.

The daughter of an engineer, Blank grew up taking apart VCRs and said she always knew she wanted to invent medical devices. After taking a course from Antaki, she said she realized they shared a mission of making health care more affordable.

To help commercialize her technology, Blank took advantage of 麻豆村 resources such as the Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation and the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Blank鈥檚 work also was supported by 麻豆村鈥檚 NSF I-Corps program.

鈥淥pportunities were so available,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was easy for me to jump in. I received lots of encouragement from the 麻豆村 community. It was incredible.鈥�