It’s well known that a patient has the best chance of beating cancer if it’s detected early. So why not make screening a part of our everyday lives?
That’s the idea behind an ingenious new invention created by an 18-year-old in Mexico: a bra that lets women wear a cancer screening device wherever they go.
Julian Rios Cantu, the high school student behind the invention, became inspired to design the bra after his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when he was 13. Cantu’s mother, who ended up having a double mastectomy, was originally told that lumps she found were not cancerous. Six months later, a mammogram showed otherwise.
The experience got Cantu thinking about better ways to detect cancer. After coming up with the idea, he filed for a patent and asked friends to help him with the venture, which he has turned into a company called Eva.
(Image credit: Higia Technologies video)
The bra works by mapping the surface of breasts and monitoring texture, temperature, and color. It uses biosensors that log data into an app designed to send alerts if there are alarming changes. According to a report in BBC, women would have to wear the bra 60-90 minutes a week in order to work properly.
Currently, the bra is in the prototype phase of development. The BBC reports that the bra has yet to undergo medical trials and win approval from cancer experts.
Cantu estimates that it will be about two years before it is certified and available to the public.
According to the American Cancer Society, about 41,070 women die every year from breast cancer.
