Figure 1.

A 3D rendered image of a right thyroid lobe solid tumor about to be pierced and probed manually with a fine needle. Haptic force feedback cues generated by the probing needle were used to characterize and classify a solid tumor into two groups. Tumors exhibiting haptic cues that evoked the perception of cutting through an unripe pear [hard and gritty] were placed in Group 1, while those with the perception of cutting through jelly [soft and spongy] in Group 2. The results were dramatic: 64% of Group 1 tumors were cancerous while 95% of Group 2 tumors were noncancerous.