Check out the rubber glove that can screen for Breast Cancer- Pressure sensors could make detecting lumps faster and easier

Breast cancer screening could soon become as simple as having breasts massaged using high-tech rubber gloves. 

Researchers have developed a microscopically-thin pressure sensitive material than can detect lumps even when twisted and wrinkled. Although flexible pressure sensors already exist, they can't measure pressure changes accurately once they are distorted

Researchers have developed a microscopically-thin pressure sensitive material than can detect lumps even when twisted and wrinkled.

Although flexible pressure sensors already exist, they cannot measure pressure changes accurately once they are distorted. 

The researchers said it can be folded over a radius of just 80 micrometres, about the same as a human hair, and still measure pressure changes.

The sensor itself is just 8 micrometres thick – one-tenth of a human hair – yet can record pressure changes in 144 locations at once. 

These properties make it an ideal choice for clinical gloves and mean that breast lump detection could become much faster and more reliable.

Researchers said the material (pictured) can be folded over a radius of just 80 micrometres, about the same as a human hair, and still measure pressure changes. The sensor itself is just 8 micrometres thick – one-tenth of a human hair – yet can record pressure changes in 144 locations at once

'Flexible electronics have great potential for implantable and wearable devices' said Dr Lee, 'and I realised that many flexible sensors can measure pressure but none are suitable for measuring real objects since they are sensitive to distortion.'

The device was developed at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Engineering, in collaboration with a team led by Professor Zhigang Suo at Harvard University. 

It consists of organic transistors and a pressure sensitive nanofibre structure.

This was created by adding carbon nanotubes and graphene to an elastic polymer, spinning these out to create nanofibres which were then entangled to form a lightweight, thin, transparent structure.

'We've tested the pressure sensor on an artificial blood vessel and found that it could detect small pressure changes and speed of pressure propagation,' says Professor Lee.

DailyMail