Breast electrode array and method of analysis for detecting and diagnosing diseases

An electrode array for diagnosing the presence of a disease state in a living organism, the electrode array comprising:

• a) a body;
• b) a plurality of flexible arms extending from the body;
• c) a plurality of electrodes provided by the plurality of flexible arms, the electrodes arranged on the arms to obtain impedance measurements between respective electrodes;
• and
• d) a marker provided along the central axis of at least one of the flexible arms.

A system for positioning an electrode array on a part of a living organism to be diagnosed for the presence of a disease state, the system comprising:

• a) a template having:
• i. an elongate body;
• and
• ii. a mark provided over at least part of the length of the body, and wherein the elongate body has an opening therein and is provided with at least one hole spaced from the opening;
• and
• b) an electrode array having:
• i. a body;
• ii. a plurality of flexible arms extending from the body;
• and
• iii. a marker provided along the central axis of at least one of the flexible arms.

A method of positioning an electrode array on a part of a living organism to be diagnosed for the presence of a disease state, the electrode array positioned using a template, the template having an elongate body and a mark provided over at least part of the length of the body, and wherein the elongate body has an opening therein and is provided with at least one hole spaced from the opening, the electrode array having a body a plurality of flexible arms extending from the body and a marker provided along the central axis of at least one of the flexible arms, the method comprising:

• a) centering the opening in the template about a nipple of one breast;
• b) positioning the template about the nipple until the mark on the template is at the center of the nipple of the other breast;
• c) marking the living organism through the hole in the template;
• d) removing the template and centering the electrode array about the nipple of the one breast;
• and
• e) positioning the electrode array by aligning the marker provided on the at least one flexible arm to the marking on the living organism.

A method of diagnosing the possibility of a disease state in one of first and second substantially similar parts of a living organism, the method comprising:

• a) obtaining a plurality of impedance measurements taken between a predetermined plurality of points encircling a first area of the parts;
• b) obtaining a plurality of impedance measurements taken between a predetermined plurality of points encircling a second area of the parts, the second area at a different topology on the part than the first area;
• c) obtaining a plurality of impedance measurements taken from a predetermined plurality of points between the first area and the second area;
• d) producing at least one pixel plot from a chord plot produced by the impedance measurements taken;
• and
• e) analyzing the pixel plot to diagnose the possibility of a disease state.

An electrode array for diagnosing the presence of a disease state in a living organism, the electrode array comprising:

• a) a body;
• b) a plurality of flexible arms extending from the body;
• and
• c) a plurality of outer electrodes provided by the plurality of flexible arms;
• and
• d) a plurality of inner electrodes provided on at least one of the flexible arms and positioned partway between the body and the outer electrodes,
• and wherein the outer electrodes and the inner electrodes are arranged on the arms to obtain impedance measurements between respective electrodes.

A system for diagnosing the possibility of disease in a body part, the system comprising:

• a) electrode array containing a plurality of outer electrodes and at least one inner electrode capable of being electrically coupled to the body part;
• b) a controller switching unit;
• and
• c) a multiplexing unit,
• and wherein the controller switching unit and multiplexing unit allow a current to flow between any two electrodes and a resultant voltage measurement to be measured between any two electrodes.