GB2241815A - Breast palpation teaching aid - Google Patents

BREAST PALPATION TEACHING AID This invention relates to an improved breast palpation teaching aid.

Female breast self-examination is an important part of health-care education and screening programs for breast cancer. Women need to be taught the most effective way of self-examination; doctors, nurses and other personnel involved in breast clinics also have to be reliably trained and should be able to convey their skills to patients.

A variety of soft plastic or rubber breast palpation teaching aid devices have been proposed which comprise a uniform body of soft plastic or rubber modelled in a stylised representation of a female breast and which includes a number of hard lumps of material simulating tumors. The value of these devices is limited because the appearance and texture of the model are very different to that of a natural breast - partly because of the material used and partly because the model is not, as a natural breast is, mounted on the chest wall which has a relatively complex surface shape, and secondly the lumps are in a fixed configuration so that once the examiner has identified the lumps, the teaching value of the device is diminished.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a breast palpation teaching aid comprising a flexible and deformable outer part modelling a female breast and attached to a base over at least one lump of material which is harder than that of said outer part, and is mounted on the base and movable to different positions on the base.

With this aspect of the present invention therefore the value of the teaching aid is not diminished with repeated use because the construction adopted allows the position of the lumps to be changed.

The lump may be eccentrically mounted on a rotatable mount attached to the base and, to provide further flexibility in positioning, can be formed by a replaceable insert received by the mount. The lump may also be mounted such that its height above the base can be varied, again to vary the feel of the lump through the flexible outer part modelling the breast.

According to a second aspect the present invention provides a breast palpation teaching aid comprising: a first part modelling a female breast and comprising a flexible envelope containing a deformable material and at least one lump harder than said material, and a second part forming a base to which the periphery of the envelope is attached.

The base may be an assembly of parts fabricated from perspex or other suitable supportive material.

This type of construction has a significantly improved appearance and texture over the previously proposed teaching aids and thus it gives pupils a more realistic impression of breast examination.

Part of the central region of the first part may be left unattached to the base whereby can hang away from the base when supported at a convenient angle to better model the shape and deformability of a natural breast. This may be achieved by means of a stand which supports the teaching aid at an appropriate angle. Further, the volume of deformable material in the envelope may be only 90 to 99%, or more preferably 95 to 99% or yet more preferably 97% or 98% of the volume of the envelope. This further improves the texture and appearance of the breast as compared with the prior art devices.

The deformable material inside the envelope may be silicone and the first part may conveniently be a breast prosthesis modified by removal of an amount of silicone for instance 1 to 10% or more preferably 1 to 5% or more preferably 2 to 3% of the original volume of silicone. A typical breast prosthesis have a volume of between 250 and 600 cm3 and so typically 5 to 15 cm3 will be removed.

The first and second aspects of the invention may be combined in the single device which has the advantages of a better texture and appearance and whose value is not diminished by long term use.

With either aspect or in a combined device at least part of the base may be shaped to represent the chest wall, eg, by being shaped to model the exterior surface of the rib cage.

The teaching aid may also include a light to illuminate one of the lumps and the light may be operable in response to palpation of the lump. This feature enhances the value of the device as a teaching aid by indicating to users that lumps are present in the model and can also indicate the precise position of the lump when it is palpated.

The invention will be further described by way of non-limitative example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a view of the base unit of the embodiment of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a view of part of the base unit of the embodiment of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a cross sectional view of part of the base unit of Figure 1.

As shown in Figure 1 the device comprises a base 1 made of a rigid material such as perspex to which is attached a flexible part 3 which models the female breast.

The flexible part is attached to the base around its periphery by adhesive cement (or other means) to a perspex flange 7 which is, in turn, mounted on the base 1. The bulk of the breast model protrudes upwards through the flange 7 to present a breast form having a natural appearance.

The flexible part 3, in this embodiment, is a modified breast prosthesis. Protheses are known which comprise a flexible outer envelope having the texture of skin the envelope being filled with silicone. The filled envelope is flexible and is shaped to have a hollow back so that when in the vertical position it hangs in the manner of a natural breast. For the purposes of the present invention the prosthesis is modified by the removal of 5 to 15 cm3 of silicone, this being in the region of 1 to 5%, or about 2 to 2.5%, of the entire volume of silicone in the envelope and this gives the device a more realistic feel when used as a teaching aid (in the original prosthesis it is the appearance rather than the feel which is the primary consideration).

The breast prosthesis is further modified in that it contains a number of soft rubber lumps (or lumps made from another similar material) which remain in fixed positions within the silicone. A light 23 is provided in the base unit for illuminating one of the fixed position lumps in the prosthesis. In this embodiment the light 23 can simply be switched on and off as desired though in an alternative embodiment the light can be arranged to be switched on when the lump above it is palpated. The positioning of the light in the base unit below the prosthesis means that the illuminated lump appears as a dark shadow in an illuminated region in the breast which assists the student in locating the lump or confirming his inspection.

Figure 2 shows the base unit with the perspex flange and flexible breast model removed. Mounted on a topplate 17 bolted to the base 1 is a shaped insert 9 formed from wax, plastic, rubber, perspex or acrylic or the like which has its upper surface shaped into the form of the rib cage with several "ribs" 11 extending across it. As is apparent from Figure 1 this part is covered, in use, by the flexible breast model but because of the construction of the flexible part can still be felt through it and gives an accurate impression of the feel of a natural breast.

Attached to a rotatable mount 21 (shown in Figure 3 and 4) is a replaceable insert 13 of roughly circular shape with a lump 15 of material harder than that filling the envelope of the model breast. This protrudes through a circular hole 19 in the top plate 17. The lump 15 can be felt through the flexible part under correct palpation to give an impression of the feel of an abnormal breast. By rotating the mount 21 (or the insert 13) the position of the lump 15 can be changed. The insert 13 is made from rubber though plastic, perspex or acrylic or the like can be used.

The model therefore includes one movable lump (though more than one may be provided) mounted on the base unit and a number of fixed-position lumps within the prosthesis.

The base unit 1 is shown in more detail in Figures 3 and 4 and comprises a base part 31 provided at one end with a raised platform 33 which surrounds one edge of the rotatable wheel 21 mounted on spindle 29 which extends from the base part 31. The rotatable wheel 21 carries on its top surface a seat 35 for the replaceable insert 13.

The rotatable wheel 21 in this embodiment is freely rotatable around the spindle 29. In an alternative embodiment the spindle and wheel 21 are threaded so that rotation of the wheel not only changes the position of the lump 15 but also its height above the base and thus its feel through the flexible part 3.