You Be the Radiologist! Strain Graphs That Reveal Tumors
Students act as radiologistsCopyright Wikimedia Commons http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Radiologist_in_San_Diego_CA_2010.jpg/1280px-Radiologist_in_San_Diego_CA_2010.jpg
In addition to the associated lesson, this activity functions as a summative assessment for the Using Stress and Strain to Detect Cancer unit. In this activity, students create 1-D strain plots in Microsoft Excel® depicting the location of a breast tumor amidst healthy tissue. The results of this activity function as proof of the accuracy and reliability of students' breast cancer detection designs.
Biomedical engineers conducting cancer research have shifted their attention toward tumor classification since finding characteristics common to all types of malignant breast cancer increases the validity in cancer diagnosis. One characteristic that distinguishes breast cysts from cancerous tumors is a dense fibrous area surrounding the lesion. This occurs as the body attempts to ward off the malignant tumor. Benign tumors are found to be much softer. On a very basic level, in this activity, students apply this concept to Young's modulus of elasticity. In generating the strain graph, the malignant region is depicted with a much higher modulus of elasticity indicting a stiffer region with less deformation. This understanding is applied in the generation of the strain graph as well as the brochures generated as part of the associated lesson's assessment.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Model a tumor in normal tissue using a stress strain relationship.
- Depict a tumor using a graph in excel.
- Describe the advantages and disadvantages of this imaging technique.
- Explain how breaking down the problem can lead to an achievable solution.