Tactile Imaging System for inclusion size and stiffness characterization

We developed Tactile Imaging System (TIS), which measures mechanical properties of tissue inclusions. The functional components of TIS include: a monochrome camera, a soft and transparent silicone probe, and an LED illumination circuit. The deformation of the soft TIS probe is used to evaluate size and compliance of inclusions, which is the inverse of elastic modulus. TIS algorithm development and testing were performed using a fabricated silicone tissue phantom with soft inclusions. We completed validation experiments for size and compliance estimation with TIS using the phantom. The results from these experiments suggest that TIS can be used for characterization of tissue inclusions.