{"id":13005,"date":"2026-02-12T20:16:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T16:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/?p=13005"},"modified":"2026-02-12T21:09:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:09:14","slug":"a-breakthrough-in-breast-cancer-screening-an-interview-with-mit-s-canan-dagdeviren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/a-breakthrough-in-breast-cancer-screening-an-interview-with-mit-s-canan-dagdeviren\/","title":{"rendered":"A Breakthrough in Breast Cancer Screening: An Interview with MIT\u2019s Canan Da\u011fdeviren"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIT scientists have developed a miniature ultrasound system that is radically changing the early diagnosis of breast cancer<\/a>. The new device is so small that it can be used both in a doctor\u2019s office and at home, making the technology especially useful for patients in high-risk groups.<\/p>\n

The device aims for the timely detection of so-called “interval cancers.” These represent the 20%\u201330% of aggressive tumors that develop in the period between scheduled mammograms. When diagnosed at an early stage, the patient survival rate is nearly 100%; however, in cases of late detection, this figure drops sharply to 25%.<\/p>\n

Current ultrasound machines are bulky, expensive, and require highly qualified technicians to operate, which limits diagnostic accessibility for patients. MIT\u2019s new portable system removes these barriers.<\/p>\n

The device’s compact size and ease of use allow for continuous monitoring of individuals at high risk of rapid disease progression. This MIT innovation establishes a completely new standard of diagnostics in medical practice.<\/p>\n

We spoke with the co-author of this breakthrough innovation, Professor Canan Da\u011fdeviren<\/b>.<\/span> Canan Da\u011fdeviren is a physicist and an Associate Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she currently holds the position of LG Career Development Professor of Media Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n

Notably, Da\u011fdeviren made history as the first Turkish scientist to become a Junior Fellow in the Harvard University Society of Fellows. Her work focuses on creating flexible electronic devices that fit the human body perfectly, fundamentally changing our perception of modern medicine.<\/p>\n

An Interview with Canan Da\u011fdeviren<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Canan Dagdeviren, Associate Professor at MIT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Your team focuses specifically on breast cancer diagnosis. What scientific, clinical, or social factors drove the decision to target this specific disease, and to what extent do you see the potential for adapting your technology to other types of tumors or medical conditions in the future?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

We chose to focus on breast cancer because it sits at the intersection of urgent medical need, clear technological gaps, and major societal impact. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide for women, and survival strongly depends on early detection. Yet the most widely used screening tool, mammography, does not work equally well for everyone, especially for women with dense breast tissue. In addition, current screening and follow-up imaging usually require hospital visits, specialized equipment, and trained staff, which makes frequent or timely imaging difficult for many people, particularly those in rural or underserved communities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From a scientific and engineering perspective, breast imaging is also a meaningful challenge. The breast is a large, curved, soft-tissue organ, and imaging it reliably without a skilled operator is difficult. The 3D ultrasound system has a wider angle than conventional 2D imagers, which alleviate the difficulties of screening without operators, and as our system induces less pressure during the operation, highly reducing the tissue deformation which may hinder the interpretation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Importantly, we do not see this technology as limited to breast cancer alone. Our goal is to build a flexible imaging platform. With appropriate adaptation, the same approach could be used to monitor other cancers or medical conditions where repeated, radiation-free imaging is valuable\u2014for example, tracking tumor response during treatment, monitoring organs like the bladder or liver, or even supporting musculoskeletal and rehabilitation care. Breast cancer is our starting point, but not the endpoint.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your miniature ultrasound system allows for real-time three-dimensional (3D) visualization. How accurate is this method compared to traditional screening tools like mammography and standard ultrasound? How effective is it for detecting cancer at early stages or in patients with dense tissue, and what are its sensitivity and specificity rates?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

At this stage, our validation has been conducted in a small number of patients, with the primary goal of demonstrating technical feasibility: real-time volumetric 3D imaging, full-breast coverage with minimal probe repositioning, and consistent image quality without a trained sonographer. These early studies show that the system can visualize a breast cyst, while we have validated that our system can also effectively visualize other phenotypes.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, we want to be clear that large-scale diagnostic performance metrics, such as sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy, have not yet been fully established. A larger, systematic clinical trial is planned in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), where our device will be evaluated. In that study, sensitivity and specificity for lesion detection, particularly in dense breast tissue, will be rigorously quantified.<\/span><\/p>\n

Importantly, device and algorithm development will continue in parallel with clinical evaluation. Insights from the trial will directly inform improvements in hardware, with the goal of progressively enhancing its imaging performance as the technology moves toward broader clinical use.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the main challenges of medical innovation is implementing laboratory achievements into everyday clinical practice. How do you envision integrating this technology into existing healthcare systems, and what regulatory or logistical barriers still need to be overcome?<\/b><\/p>\n

Translating this technology into everyday clinical practice has been a central design goal from the start. Rather than asking clinicians to adopt an entirely new workflow, we envision the system fitting naturally into existing care pathways as a complementary imaging tool. In the near term, it can be integrated into settings such as mobile mammography vans, outpatient clinics, and oncology practices, where it provides immediate supplemental imaging, particularly for women with dense breast tissue or patients undergoing treatment monitoring.<\/span><\/p>\n

From a regulatory standpoint, ultrasound is already a well-established, non-ionizing imaging modality, which lowers the barrier compared to entirely new imaging technologies. However, for demonstrating clinical performance, reliability, and safety at scale remains essential. Larger clinical studies will establish sensitivity, specificity, and repeatability, and these data will form the basis for regulatory engagement and reimbursement discussions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Logistically, key challenges include ensuring consistent image quality across users, integrating data into existing clinical systems, and managing large volumetric datasets in a clinically usable way. We are addressing these barriers through continued miniaturization, robust hardware design, and AI-assisted image interpretation tool that simplifies clinical decision-making. By tackling usability, validation, and deployment in parallel, we aim to shorten the gap between laboratory innovation and real-world clinical adoption.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your device is portable and can be used outside the clinic. How will the possibility of home monitoring change the strategy for fighting cancer, and how will this help patients in the long term?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Even in the United States, access to breast ultrasound for screening and follow up is not always immediate. Patients often wait weeks for appointments, and imaging is tied to hospital based workflows and specialist availability. Our portable volumetric system is designed to shift imaging closer to the patient, enabling faster access to diagnostic information at the point of care rather than requiring long delays or multiple referrals.<\/span><\/p>\n

For early detection, the impact is less about increasing screening frequency and more about reducing friction in the system. When imaging is available immediately in outpatient clinics, mobile units, or community settings, suspicious findings can be evaluated sooner, which shortens the time from concern to diagnosis. This can be particularly important for women with dense breast tissue who are often referred for supplemental ultrasound after mammography.<\/span><\/p>\n

In long term patient management, the value is especially strong in the context of neoadjuvant therapy. Because our system is radiation free and volumetric, it can be used to monitor tumor response during treatment without burdening the ultrasound specialist. This allows assessment of whether a tumor is shrinking as expected, identify non responders earlier, and adapt therapy strategies before surgery. In this way, imaging becomes an active part of treatment decision making rather than only a tool for initial diagnosis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Countries like Georgia and developing healthcare systems in general often face challenges regarding infrastructure for early cancer screening. How can portable ultrasound technologies help bridge this gap, and what conditions are necessary for their successful implementation in such regions?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In many developing healthcare systems, advanced imaging is concentrated in major urban hospitals, leaving rural populations with limited access to early cancer screening. Through our own field engagement, we have seen this gap firsthand. One of our students traveled to India and conducted surveys with oncologists, visited rural screening camps, and observed community level care delivery. A consistent finding was that mammography itself is not reaching the end population. Population based mammographic screening is often not economically viable in these settings, and as a result, early detection infrastructure remains limited outside major cities.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is where portable, low cost, and accessible ultrasound technologies can play a transformative role. By decentralizing imaging and bringing it into community clinics, mobile health units, and primary care centers, screening no longer depends on large hospital installations. Ultrasound is non-ionizing, relatively affordable, and well suited for scalable triage and early detection in low resource environments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Importantly, ultrasound is already widely used in obstetrics and gynecology, so it is a technology that many women are familiar with. This familiarity reduces stigma, fear, and aversion to imaging, making it more acceptable as a screening tool for breast health. With the right partnerships, training programs, and integration into local healthcare frameworks, this approach enables a shift from centralized, opportunity based screening to community level, patient centered population based screening. In that way, low cost volumetric ultrasound can help decentralize screening efforts and reach populations that are currently underserved.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MIT scientists have developed a miniature ultrasound system that is radically changing the early diagnosis of breast cancer. The new device is so small that it can be used both in a doctor\u2019s office and at home, making the technology especially useful for patients in high-risk groups. The device aims for the timely detection of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1594,1665,1587,1657,1659,1703],"tags":[2480,4366,4047],"class_list":["post-13005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-public-health","category-research","category-science","category-technologies","category-tematicum","tag-breast-cancer","tag-canan-dagdeviren","tag-mit"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13005"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13011,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13005\/revisions\/13011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medscriptum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}