Generally, intimate apparel is designed to provide support and comfort. But now a bra for women, and eventually briefs for men, could have some real health benefits by detecting cancerous cells.
The undergarments could serve as monitoring and early warning systems to alert at-risk patients of a problem years before a tumor forms.
"It could emit two warnings, audible or visual or both," said Elias Siores, director of the Center for Materials Research and Innovation at the University of Bolton in the U.K. "If the warning persists, you would see a specialist."
Siores and his team are focusing initially on the concept of the bra to detect breast cancer, but think that the device could work in briefs to spot prostrate cancer as well.
The device is built on technology called microwave radiometry, which measures small temperature changes in internal tissue. Cancerous tumors are known to have a different temperature than the surrounding tissue, often because of inflammation, changes in the blood supply to the area, or increased metabolism in the cells.
Some doctors already use microwave radiometry for breast cancer detection, but the equipment is elaborate and far from portable.
Siores’s idea is to shrink the technology down to cup size. Tiny, fiber-like antennas would be woven into each side of the bra. The antennas would pick up the thermal signals coming from tissue inside the breast.
Conducting polymers in the fabric would transmit the signals to a small computer chip that would filter the information. Specialized software would evaluate the information and sound an alarm if conditions indicated the likely presence of cancerous cells.
Such a device could monitor the tissue all day, but that would require a lot of power and isn’t necessary. Rather, said Siores, a more efficient way might be to wear the device while plugged into a power supply for a few minutes during diagnosis.
"This is a truly innovative idea to use some pretty advanced electronics for the detection of breast cancer," said Brian McCarthy, director of TechniTex Faraday, Manchester, U.K., a private company that promotes scientific development.
And in terms of challenges, McCarthy doesn’t think they are big. "There is already a route to market," he said, because leading bra manufacturers are keen on developing garments with novel technology and would be able to address any issues associated with mass production.
Siores and his team aim to have a first functioning prototype in one year.
Via: Discovery
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