Braster
Breast cancer diagnosis device for home use
Braster is an innovative e-health medical product which allows women to perform regular self-examination for breast cancer from the comfort of their homes. The most common method for breast cancer examination is mammography. This method is painful and requires women to visit the hospital. With Braster, women can perform the examination themselves at home. The collected data is communicated automatically to a back-end where the data is analyzed by AI and doctors . The feedback is provided through the Braster mobile app.
- Project scope
- Main challenges
- What we did
- Sectors
Project Scope
- Design
- Implementation
- Industrialization
Main challenges
- Medical device class IIa (60601 compliant)
- Time to market within one year after start project
- Image sensor design
- Efficient image acquisition and data communication
What we did
- Electronics engineering
- UX/UI design
- Embedded Software
- DFM/DFA/DFT
- Test design and engineering (FCT & EOL)
- Sourcing
- Certification (Medical Class Ila)
Sectors
- Medical devices
- Consumer electronics
Zign Innovations was contracted to design the electronics and embedded software for the device based on an existing laboratory model. In this project, we worked closely together with the customer, the mechanical design company and the app development partner to fulfill the requirements and realize the integrated proposition.
Project Scope
- Design
- Implementation
- Industrialization
Design
The Braster device collects multiple images through a camera which are processed and sent to the backend over Bluetooth, leveraging the internet connection of a nearby phone. The main challenge was to create a cost-effective design based on a microcontroller which could perform these data intensive functions simultaneously. During the design phase, we have designed an efficient software architecture to work with the cost-effective hardware design.
Implementation
The core of the device is an STM32 MCU which manages all peripherals, such as the Atmel (ATWINC1500B) WiFi controller, camera and battery management system.
The recorded images are stored in a local flash memory and communicated with the back-end through the Atmel controller.
The camera was carefully selected to meet the specific requirements for angle, distance and output quality.
Industrialization
In the industrialization phase, the product was prepared for mass production with a target production volume of 10.000 pieces per year. This phase includes DFM, DFA and DFT for the electronics, where the designs are being analyzed for manufacturability, assembly and testing. All test engineering for electronics (FCT) was done by Zign Innovations, and together with the manufacturer, we developed the test jigs to be used during manufacturing.