2535 Development of an active palpation sensor for detection of prostatic cancer and hypertrophy

Abstract

This paper is a study on the development of an active palpation sensor wearable on a doctor's finger for detecting the prostatic cancer and hypertrophy. The receptor of the sensor is a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film placed on a rubber base. For convenience, the structure is made up of two parts, sensor and vibro-machine. The sensor is worn on a doctor's tip of a finger and the vibro-machine is attached to the base of the finger. First, it is confirmed that the output strength of the sensor is dependent on the stiffness of a flat object. Next, the stiffness of the apophysis of the hand and the root of the thumb were measured. The results showed that the sensor is effective to measure the stiffness of sphere-shaped objects.