Breast Localization

Abstract

As of 2024, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, with 313,510 new cases and 42,250 deaths in that year alone. Most patients are eventually treated with breast-conserving surgery (BCS). The current treatment paradigm in patients undergoing BCS involves at least three invasive procedures including (1) biopsy; (2) placement of a localization device; and (3) the surgery itself. The most widely used localization method worldwide consists of placing guide wires that extend out of the patient’s body, allowing the surgeon to directly visualize the wires in the operating suite. Traditional wire localization offers advantages of low cost and universal availability, but is associated with patient discomfort, a relatively high rate of wire migration, and logistical complexity related to the need to schedule surgery on the same day as the localization procedure. Newer wireless localization devices in current clinical use overcome these disadvantages but are considerably more expensive and stillrequire an additional invasive procedure for placement. Our device obviates the need for this third invasive procedure by serving as a dual-use biopsy marker and localization device for lesion excision, if indicated. At a conservative estimated retail price of USD $260, our dual-use device generates a market potential of $416 million annually by eliminating the costs currently associated with localization procedures. Current findings show that high frequency RFID tags with advanced reader technology, which determine distance from the tag using relevant models, could be accurately localized in pertinent breast tissue models at clinically relevant depths.

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