A teen whose mother almost died of breast cancer has designed a bra that can help detect the disease in its early stages.
Julian Rios Cantu, an 18-year-old student from Mexico, won the top prize at the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards for his potentially life-saving invention, which he calls “Eva”.
“When I was 13 years old, my mother was diagnosed for the second time with breast cancer,” Rios Cantu said in a company video for his new invention.
“The tumour went from having the dimensions of a grain of rice to that of a golf ball in less than six months. The diagnosis came too late and my mother lost both of her breasts and, almost, her life.”
It is very convenient to use as the bra needs to be worn only for an hour in a week so you don’t have to be uncomfortable. There are about 200 sensors fitted on the bra that analyse the surface of the breast and map the texture, colour and temperature. All the data is processed by artificial intelligence and then relayed to a computer or a smartphone app. The heat sensors used in the bra can detect the blood flow which may indicate that it is feeding the cancer cells.
As of now, a biopsy is the only way to know for sure that it is cancer. It is a procedure a small part of the tissue is removed to check if it is malignant. Before that, the patient may have to go through mammograms, imaging tests, or physical examination to detect lumps or any abnormality in the breasts. The American Cancer Society recommends that women should get yearly mammogram screenings starting from the age of 45. (Agencies)