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Editor’s note: Mechanical imaging, also known as tactile imaging, strain imaging, and elasticity imaging, may sound like an absurdity that merges two different senses – touch and sight. Yet psychometric studies have shown that the two senses combine to provide more accurate information for estimating the properties of an object. In cancer diagnosis and staging, though visual imaging is the predominant assessment tool, touch plays an important role. The presenting symptom of breast cancer is often palpation of a lump or perception of a change of texture in the breast. In the past, the difficulty has been how to quantify and convey this tactile information. With the development of haptic technology, tactile feedback is finding its way into everyday appliances such as mobile phones. During the last 10 years, several laboratories have investigated the display of pressure sensor information for medical diagnosis.