Linz startup develops sensor glove to improve palpation diagnoses

A Linz startup has developed a flexible glove with stretchable sensors designed to provide more objective and comparable information about tissue, ORF reported. The technology, known as DigiPalp, was presented in the journal Science Advances.

Palpation, the manual examination of tissue, organs and joints, is often an initial step in diagnosis. However, the findings can vary considerably between practitioners. This can be relevant when looking for signs of tumours, including through breast examinations.

The DigiPalp system is intended to generate data that can support decisions about further examinations and enable comparisons over time. It was developed by sendance GmbH, a Linz-based startup spun out of research by the Soft Matter Physics department led by Martin Kaltenbrunner at the University of Linz.

The glove contains self-developed touch sensors and magnetic position sensors in its fingertips, developed by an external company. By combining measurements of the pressure needed to deform tissue with spatial data, the system can produce a real-time digital scan of a body part as it is being examined by hand.

In their study, the researchers, led by Vera Pamminger of sendance and the University of Linz, showed that the system could digitally map a manually examined upper body. It detected and displayed six different levels of tissue hardness and identified small simulated nodules designed to resemble tumours.

The system is currently a prototype, Pamminger told the Austrian Press Agency. It could be further developed relatively quickly if a company became interested in a specific application, she said.

Possible uses include measuring body parts for orthopaedic treatment. An orthopaedist could use the system to measure distances around a knee or ankle and determine the positions of bones with little or no use of a tape measure. Clinical studies of the system are not currently planned.