Visually- impaired trained to diagnose breast cancer

In a novel initiative, a city- based hospital has trained visually- impaired women to become Medical Tactile Examiners ( MTEs), using their highlydeveloped tactile sense to screen breast cancer cases and identify the slightest abnormalities in the breasts.

Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital ( FHVK), in association with the National Association of Blind India ( Centre for Blind Women), has trained these women in the technique, which is developed from Germany.

“Discovering hands” is a German initiative that trains visually- impaired women to become Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital. In a nine- monthlong training programme, supported by Bayer Crop Science, blind and visuallyimpaired women are trained to screen patients of all age groups and also detect breast cancer.

These MTEs have helped to screen more than 100,000 women in Germany, Austria, and Columbia through the programme, started by Frank Hoffmann in Germany.

According to Mandeep S. Malhotra, head, Department of Surgical Oncology at Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital, “We are putting forward the indigenous breast cancer screening methodology, inspired from Germany, using the superior sense of touch of visuallyimpaired women ( MTE) and integrating with standard methodology of sonomammography and self- breast examination ( SBE) under direct supervision of my team of doctors, and apply it to women across all ages. In this way, we hope to detect breast cancer early.”