'Smart bra' to detect breast cancer invention

10:38am Sunday 30th September 2007

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A BRA that can detect if the person wearing it is suffering from early-stage breast cancer is being developed at the University of Bolton.

Experts working on the "smart" bra say it will be able to detect cancer before a tumour can develop and spread.

Professor Elias Siores, inventor of the bra, who works in the Centre for Research and Innovation at the University of Bolton, also says it will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of any breast cancer treatment its wearer is undergoing.

The lifesaving underwear, which will cost £250,000 to develop, will be manufactured within the next two years and is expected to retail at between £20 and £30 more than a conventional bra.

Prof Siores, who has worked at the University of Bolton for the last four years, said: "Early detection gives women more confidence in the preliminary assessment stage and those with breast cancer the highest survival prognosis."

The smart bra, which is being developed by the university along with several international partners, works by using a microwave antennae system, which can easily be woven into fabric. The antennae pick up any abnormal temperature changes in the breast tissue, which are linked to breast cancer cells.

Information about each breast is collected and transferred to a separate controller unit that analyses the data, which sets off an audible or visual alarm if the normal breast tissue temperature is exceeded, warning the wearer to seek medical attention.

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 tissue.

Prof Siores 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 or a pre-cancerous state of the breast. There are no health risks with this form of passive microwave technology."