Viscoelastic analysis of malignant breast tumors using fractional derivative model based on in vitro test data

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, and if not diagnosed in time, it will lead to the death of the patient. Examining the mechanical behavior of breast tissue helps physicians to diagnose this disease early and treat it. The breast tumors may be benign or malignant, therefore, identification of the tumor malignancy by evaluating the mechanical behavior of the tissue can greatly facilitate the early detection task. In the present study, using a precise viscoelastic model based on nonlinear and time-dependent tissue behavior, the mechanical behavior of breast tissue has been investigated in order to distinguish the behavior of malignant from benign mass tissues. For this purpose, a number of benign and malignant tissue samples have been collected and a ramp-relaxation test has been performed on the samples. The graph of the experimental data of force in terms of time was obtained and the Kelvin-Voight fractional derivative model was fitted on the experimental data curve using a developed MATLAB code, and the model parameters have been well estimated. It was concluded that malignant and benign breast tissues have significant differences in the value viscoelastic parameters. The findings have been evaluated based on the pathology photos taken from the samples and a correlation between the mechanical parameters with cell density has been obtained.

Keywords:

Breast cancer , Viscoelastic , Compression , Kelvin-Voigt fractional derivative model