Mela-Know-More: Leveraging tissue mechanics to transform the melanoma screening pathway
Program:
Biomedical Engineering
Project Description:
Melanoma, the fifth most common form of cancer in the United States, is presented as pigmented lesions due to cancerous pigment-producing skin cells. Despite over 100,000 new cases predicted in 2024, the screening process remains inefficient. Dermatologists visually inspect suspicious lesions for subjective characteristics to determine whether to take a biopsy, which introduces racial bias into the examination process and results in 83.3-96.7% of skin biopsies being unnecessary. This leads to heavy burdens for patients, dermatologists, and healthcare systems in terms of time, cost, and associated physical risks. Hence, there exists a substantial need for an objective screening method for melanoma to reduce the rate of unnecessary skin biopsies performed. Various studies have shown a well-established correlation between melanoma lesions and higher tissue stiffness. Here is proposed a method of quantifying skin tissue stiffness in situ to aid in objectifying melanoma screening process.
Team Members
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Project Mentors, Sponsors, and Partners
Course Faculty
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