A High Tech Bra for Early Breast Cancer Detection

Mixing technology with a bra is not a new idea. Perhaps you are familiar with the sports bra that keeps track of your pulse, a bra that can be used as an emergency mask for you and a partner, as well as the Japanese conceptual bra that helps husband hunters get a ring on it. But now for something completely different. This bra may save your life! The Breast Self Exam (BSE) bra, acts as a constant sentry to ensure you are aware of the first signs of breast cancer. First Warning Systems has developed this bra with cup-integrated temperature sensors to check for the earliest signals of tumor growth.

When a cancerous tumor begins to grow in the breast, blood vessels form to supply the new tissue with blood. According to First Warning Signs, these blood vessels give off a particular heat signature that can be used to recognize breast cancer at its earliest stage, even before it can be detected by more conventional testing methods such as a mammogram or an MRI.

Three clinical trials have been run involving 650 participants and have revealed a 90 percent accuracy rate, which is far better than the accuracy of a mammogram and is also far less invasive. The built in device sends data from its continuous monitoring system to a computer or even a mobile device via a wireless module in the BSE.

While we do not yet know the price tag on this new technology, we do know that it will be available in Europe in 2013. The US can expect to see the BSE available by 2014, assuming it is cleared by the FDA.