Development of mechanical models of breast and prostate with palpable nodules

This paper describes development of mechanical models of breast and prostate mimicking tissue hardness, an important tissue characterization parameter capable of differentiating normal and diseased conditions, revealing tumors and other lesions. Various materials are analyzed and the technique for fabricating mechanical models of soft biological tissue is developed. The models of breast and prostate having Young's moduli varying from 1 to 20 kPa, with and without inclusions mimicking cancer lumps are fabricated. The models are used in testing mechanical imaging devices, a new technology of medical diagnostics in which internal structures are visualized by sensing patterns of mechanical stresses on the surface of an organ.