With the creation of a small, reasonably priced tool for early diagnosis, IIT Indore has made a substantial advancement in the detection of breast cancer, which will especially help women living in rural and isolated locations. This project, led by Department of Electrical Engineering Professor Srivathsan Vasudevan, fills a critical void in healthcare accessibility, particularly in areas where high-tech medical equipment is expensive and hard to come by.
The recently created tool uses the Photoacoustic Spectral Response (PASR) principle, which combines acoustic and visual signals to detect aberrant tissue alterations. By distinguishing between malignant and non-cancerous tissues, this novel method improves the precision of breast cancer screening. When a tiny pulsed laser diode (PLD) is used, light is produced that interacts with the tissue; the tissue’s status—normal, benign, or malignant—is then determined by analyzing the resulting response. Through early detection, this approach not only increases diagnostic precision but also bears the potential to save lives.
Its cost is among this device’s most noteworthy features. According to the IIT Indore official, once this technology is put into commercial manufacturing, its cost might be as low as a tenth of that of conventional diagnostic techniques. Given that many of the diagnostic instruments currently in use in India, including MRI and CT scanners, are imported and extremely expensive, rendering them inaccessible to a sizable portion of the populace, this major price decrease is essential.
Suhas Joshi, the director of IIT Indore, stressed the value of this locally made cancer screening tool in addressing the vital healthcare need of underprivileged areas. Offering a trustworthy and reasonably priced breast cancer screening tool can greatly increase detection rates in remote locations with limited access to healthcare services. Early detection of breast cancer is essential since it can result in better treatment options and survival rates.
In addition to focusing especially on breast cancer screening, Professor Vasudevan said that the device accurately differentiates between a variety of tissue types, including malignant tumors and fibrocystic alterations. This lowers the need for expensive diagnostic approaches. This development could change the diagnosis of breast cancer in India, especially in underdeveloped regions where access to modern medical care is limited. This would ultimately benefit women’s health outcomes throughout the nation.
SOURCE :
THE PRINT
