Human tissue stiffness can vary due to different tissue conditions such as cancer tumours. Earlier studies show that stiffness may be detected with a resonance sensor that measures frequency shift and contact force at application. Through the frequency shift and the contact force, a tissue stiffness parameter can be derived. This study evaluated how the probe application angle and indentation velocity affected the results and determined the maximum parameter errors. The evaluation was made on flat silicone discs with specified hardness. The frequency shift, the force and the stiffness parameter all varied with contact angle and indentation velocity. A contact angle of ≤10° was acceptable for reliable measurements. A low indentation velocity was recommended. The maximum errors for the system were <1.1% of the measured values. It was concluded that contact angle and indentation velocity have to be considered in the clinical setting. The angular dependency is especially important in clinical use for studying stiffness of human soft tissue, e.g. in prostate cancer diagnosis.

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Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common form of cancer among males in Europe and in the USA and the most common curative treatment is removal of the prostate, i.e. prostatectomy. After the removal, the prostate is histopathologically analysed. One area of interest is to examine the perifery of the prostate, as tumours on and near the surface can indicate that the PCa has spread to other parts of the body. There are no current methods to examine the surface of the prostate at the time of surgery. Tactile resonance sensors can be used for detecting areas of different stiffness in soft tissue. Human prostate tissue affected by cancer is usually stiffer than healthy tissue, and for this purpose, a tactile resonance sensor was developed. The aim of this study was to investigate the depth at which embedded stiffer volumes could be detected, using soft tissue phantoms. Methods: With the tactile resonance sensor used in this study, the shift of the resonance frequency and the force at contact with tissue can be measured, and combined into a tissue stiffness parameter. The detection sensitivity of the sensor at impression depths, 0.4 and 0.8 mm, was measured for detection of inserted nodules of stiff silicone in softer silicone and in chicken muscle tissue, mimicking prostate tissue with cancer tumours. Results: Measurements on the silicone samples detected the hidden stiffer object at a depth of 1-4 mm with a difference in the stiffness parameter of 80-900 mN/kHz (p < 0.028, n = 48). At the depth 5-6 mm the difference was smaller but still significant < 30 mN/kHz (p < 0.05, n = 24). For the measurements on chicken muscle, the detectable depth was 4 mm (p < 0.05, n = 24). Conclusion: This model study suggests that, with only a small impression depth of ≤1 mm, the resonance sensor system described here can detect stiffness variations located at least 4 mm in silicone and chicken muscle, mimicking tumours in prostate tissue. A. P. Åstrand et al.

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Energy efficiency investments in existing buildings are an effective way of reducing the environmental impact of the building stock. Even though policies in the European Union and elsewhere promote a unilateral focus on operational energy reduction, scientific studies highlight the importance of applying a life cycle perspective to energy refurbishment. However, life cycle assessment is often perceived as being complicated and the results difficult to interpret by the construction sector. There is also a lack of guidelines regarding the sustainable ratio between the embodied and accumulated operational impact. The scope of this study is to introduce a life cycle assessment method for building refurbishment that utilizes familiar economic performance tools, namely return on investment and annual yield. The aim is to use the introduced method to analyze a case building with a sustainability profile. The building was refurbished in order to reduce its operational energy use. The introduced method is compatible with a theory of minimum sustainable environmental performance that may be developed through backcasting from defined energy and GHG emissions objectives. The proposed approach will hopefully allow development of sustainable refurbishment objectives that can support the choice of refurbishment investments.