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 MammaCare offers certification courses for health care professionals, an NCI sponsored program for better breast examination. MammaCare is the recognized standard for performing and teaching examinations. MammaCare Certification assures that the professional has met MammaCare’s rigorous standards for proficient skill-based examination.
MammaCare is know for their patented, tactually accurate model that teaches your fingers to feel the difference between natural human tissues and potentially harmful changes. The model, which contains simulated cancerous lumps, is used with an educational video by medical professionals.
The Task: Improving Current Sensor Sensitivities and Reducing Manufacturing Costs
Mammacare's current silicon model with simulated lumps had no electronics at all.
They were experimenting with an electronic touch pad placed under the model
that would detect a person's fingers and grade medical professionals on finger coverage and pressure.
In the first attempt - before
coming to SSI - MammaCare had attempted to use a sensor vendor whose touch pad
was not sensitive enough, had too much bleedover to actually see where
fingers were placed, and kept breaking.
Issues with current sensor sensitivities and high manufacturing costs for the model were the top concerns. In addition, the lack of current sensor support and source code was slowing down progress.
Mammacare approached SSI.
The SSI Wireless Solution Included
A Modified Bootloader and a DLL for Improved Data Retrieval and Diagnostics
 The complete solution included a new sensor pad (Tekscan), sensor electronics, hardware, firmware, and
Window drivers. The ideal solution also included no changes to the existing PC application and silicon models. A full-featured product was delivered that helped keep costs within their budget.
A well-defined user interface to configure and poll values from the hardware device was a first step. A DLL was created with a specific protocol for improved configuration, data retrieval and diagnostics. The end result was an easy-to-use Windows API that reliably controls the firmware on the embedded device.
The bootloader was also modified to fit future needs. New firmware updates using SSI's proprietary protocol can be performed by simply providing a downloadable firmware file.
During the project, MammaCare decided to support both old and new products with the same Windows application. Initially, it was a challenge including SSI's DLL (Windows DLL) to the Borland C application. This was quickly resolved by providing a C-type interface for the API.
"Work is spectacular. More exceptional than I thought it would be. Sensors work great.
They can detect the slightest pressure accurately. It is WAY beyond my expectations."
M. G., Mammacare
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