What type of medical exam might be outsourced to robots?

Breast exams are a good way to potentially catch breast cancer early, and it turns out that robots could be quite good at it. Researchers at the University of Bristol in the UK have designed a prototype robot that can conduct clinical breast exams (CBEs) and might be able to improve early detection of breast cancer.

The robot, called IRIS for robotic radial palpation mechanism, was 3D printed. Researchers tested IRIS both with simulations of a digital breast as well as lab experiments with a silicone one. “The first question that we want to answer as part of this is whether a specialized manipulator can be demonstrated to have the dexterity necessary to palpate a realistic breast size and shape,” said George Jenkinson, lead author of the study.

They found that the device was able to replicate specific forces similar to human medical professionals when conducting CBEs. It was able to detect lumps, even deep in the breast tissue, using sensor technology. “We hope that the research can contribute to and complement the arsenal of techniques used to diagnose breast cancer and to generate a large amount of data associated with it that may be useful in trying to identify large-scale trends that could help diagnose breast cancer early,” Jenkinson said.