A biological sensor for detecting foreign bodies using a balloon probe

For effective medical treatment, sensors that can find foreign bodies such as tumors in early stage are required. This paper describes a new sensor for foreign body detection utilizing the fact that the property hardness of foreign bodies differs from that of normal tissues. It consists of a balloon probe, which is constructed with a thin rubber membrane inflated with compressed air, and an optical deformation analyzing system. Experiments are carried out using samples in which single hard balls are embedded to model single tumor in soft tissue. It was confirmed that this sensor can detect the existence of the hard ball and can also distinguish the inequality of size and hardness of the ball. Furthermore, experimental results detecting multi-objects showed that this sensor has the ability to detect the existence of multi objects and their relative positions simultaneously. By measuring the consistence of the arm and the abdomen of human body, it is proved that the sensor is also suitable for consistence measurement of human anatomy.