Digital Oncology: Developing wearable nanofibre-based temperature sensors for early diagnosis of cancer

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Breast cancer (BC) is one of the leading causes of death in women worldwide [1]. According to WHO,it is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world contributing to 12.5% of the total number ofnew cases (2.3 million BC cases) and about 685,000 deaths in 2020 [2]. Early detection of BC is vital toimprove the 5-year survival rate of the patient for up to 98% [3]. The existence of breast tumors canbe detected using a variety of imaging techniques such as mammography, ultrasound, and MRI.However, these methods are impractical to be used as personal monitoring devices due to their highcost and uncomfortable procedures for the patient. Mammography is currently the gold-standardscreening method for BC at its initial stage, however, it has a number of drawbacks [4]:the necessity of compressing the patient's breasts increased cancer risks due to ionizing radiation exposureresults may be less accurate for women with dense breast tissue or breast implants.There is a correlation between breast skin temperature and cancerous breasts, and it is measurable[5]. This has prompted the development of thermography which is now used as an additional modalitywith a high potential for early BC detection. It uses an infrared camera to detect heat patterns andblood flow in body tissues [6].Non-invasive, radiation-free & painless.Detects changes in breasts with dense tissue and implants.A skilled medical professional must perform the screening in a hospital or thermography centre,therefore even though the technology has been proven to be a possible complementary tool, it isimpractical to use as a personal healthcare device (PHD).The goal of this research is to develop a low-cost, real-time, flexible, and breathable wearable patchfor continuous temp monitoring for early BC detection based on the theory and mechanism ofthermography. It will consist of:A nanofiber-based wearable patch containing temp sensors.A Bluetooth interface circuit for the patch to transmit the temp data to a mobile application.A mobile application to display temp data from the wearable patch for an enhanced userexperience.This device will effectively serve as a PHD that monitors breast health to:Improve detection of fast-growing tumors between mammogram intervals and whenmammography is not indicated by screening guidelines for women under 50.Alert the user to changes that may need further investigation.Reduce healthcare cost burden, barriers to health services, and user anxiety.The wearable patch should be able to identify specific features of breast heat patterns over time todetect BC:A. highly asymmetric temperature distributions between the left & right breastsB. localised hot spots indicating anomalies & variations in heat patterns in the areolar andperiareolar regions.2Methodology1st Phase, Fabrication of Wearable Patch:Fabricate the nanomesh base layer using the electrospinning tool.Fabricate the active sensing layer.Comparative analysis: use an existing infrared thermal imaging camera to verify the result obtainedfrom the newly developed patch.2nd Phase, Sensor Interface Circuit: use an off-the-shelf Arduino circuit and equip it with a Bluetoothtransmitter to deliver real-time temp-sensing data to cell phones for remote monitoring.3rd phase, Mobile Application: develop an app that is compatible with both iOS & Android to readtemp data from the patch.Testing the Full System:Testing of the developed patch on dead animal skin to optimize the conformability & adhesionproperties.Design a breast phantom embedded with a heater to mimic a woman's breast & tumorrespectively and use it to test the patch in-vitro.In-vivo test of the full system.