Computerized palpation of the prostate: experimental and mathematical modeling of the stress-strain fields

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer among men. There is a great need for new effective tools for detecting prostate cancer and monitoring its treatment. Mechanical imaging (MI) is a promising candidate to fill this gap. MI is a recently invented modality of medical diagnostics and cancer detection. MI is based on the reconstruction of tissue structure using mechanical sensors. Results of laboratory and clinical studies strongly suggest that MI devices may become a new efficient means for mass breast and prostate cancer screening. MI devices are safe, easy to use and inexpensive. A prototype device for MI of the prostate has been developed at Artann Laboratories and is being tested clinically at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, NJ, USA. The clinical testing demonstrated that MI is capable of visualizing mechanical and geometrical features of the prostate and detecting hard nodules.