British scientists are trying to develop a screening device that could slip into bras and help detect the development of cancerous tumors, the newspaper reports The Guardian.
Screen for cancer from home
This technology would work using an electrical current that could scan and detect changes in fluids inside cells in real time. Tumor tissue is in fact denser and contains less water than healthy tissue. With this non-invasive instrument, women could detect the growth of a tumor “from the comfort of their own home”, according to Dr Yang Wei, a member of the research team from Nottingham Trent University, who responded At Guardian.
Researchers say such a device could be inserted into a patient’s bra. They also imagine developing underwear where the sensor would be directly integrated. The patient would thus receive the data collected live on her smartphone, as would her healthcare team. For the moment, scientists have not carried out clinical tests, but plan to do so in the coming years.
While a tumor remains very difficult to detect when it is less than one centimeter, researchers hope to optimize their treatment using this device. It could “improve a patient’s chances of survival,” according to Dr. Yang Wei, an expert in electronic engineering. “Breast cancer can grow so quickly, it can grow by one millimeter in six months or two millimeters in six weeks,” she explains. “This would be a complementary measuring tool to see how quickly tumors grow “.
61,214 new cases of breast cancer in France
Such an advance could also help to better manage tension in hospitals, which are overloaded with work, and prevent patients from having to wait too long before a diagnosis. Yang Wei sees it as a way to “preserve essential hospital resources, while providing an effective solution for detecting the first signs of cancer.”
According to Public Health France, breast cancer is the most common cancer in our country. It also represents the leading cause of death in women. The National Cancer Institute lists 61,214 new cases in mainland France in 2023, noting that the incidence rate has doubled compared to 1990. Around one million women believe they do not need to be screened for breast cancer, since they have no symptoms, according to an OpinionWay survey carried out last August.