Using passive microwave technology, British researchers are developing a bra that will sense heat gradients within the breast, which might be signs of developing breast cancer.
CMRI [University of Bolton’s Centre for Research and Innovation – ed] director Professor Elias Siores, who is developing the bra, said that early detection will give women more confidence in the preliminary assessment stage and those with breast cancer the highest survival prognosis.
“The cancer detection is based on the principle that metabolic activity and vascular circulation in both pre-cancerous tissue and the area surrounding a developing breast cancer is almost always higher than in normal breast tissue,” he said.
“This process results in an increase in regional internal and external temperatures of the breast.
“The microwave antennae has high sensitivity and can detect these temperature variations, which are the earliest indications of the breast cancer and/or a pre-cancerous state of the breast.”
Prof Siore added that the cost of the cancer-detecting bra is not expected to be much more than the average cost of a traditional bra and said there were no health risks associated with this form of passive microwave technology.
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