A connected bra to detect breast cancer

Screening for breast cancer using a connected bra, an innovation that could revolutionize screening for the disease. Swiss students from the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (Switzerland), in collaboration with the start-up IcosaMed, have developed SmartBra, to detect women with breast cancer as early as possible in order to reduce the number associated deaths. “The purpose of this smart textile is to prevent and detect cancers at their earliest stages, via a frequent, non-invasive and painless monitoring method”announces Hugo Vuillet, one of the students who participated in the manufacture of the bra.

Marketing planned for 2021

The objective of this “intelligent textile” is to prevent women from having to resort to X-rays for mammography, the only screening method. This bra uses an ultrasound system generated by piezoelectric sensors that are activated by simple pressure. “This solution makes it possible to miniaturize the detection part in the SmartBra in order to guarantee maximum comfort and almost absolute discretion”, contextualizes Hugo Vuillet. This system replaces the gel applied during ultrasounds with a plastic interface containing the ultrasonic emitters. If an abnormal mass is detected, the patient concerned will be offered to visit a specialist for a diagnosis.

#SmartBraa bra developed by EPFL students in partnership with the startup @icosameduses ultrasonic waves to perform ultrasounds and detect possible cancerous masses. https://t.co/hCPJsB4JCI

— EPFL (@EPFL) April 3, 2020

The marketing of this connected bra is scheduled for 2021 and already promises a small revolution in the diagnosis of breast cancer. “Current care is expensive and has many side effects, which greatly degrade the quality of life of patients.describes Hugo Vuillet. In addition to being a detection tool, the solution that we propose intends, in the long term, to act preventively on the development of cancerous masses thanks to the controlled distribution in a quasi-continuous manner of low doses of ultrasound to restore apoptosis. (process by which cells trigger their self-destruction in response to a signal, editor’s note).”

More smart underwear should follow

The first products on the market will first be intended for women who have already been diagnosed to allow them to follow the evolution of the disease on a daily basis before being offered to women with a genetic heritage at risk and, finally, to all women. . If all goes as planned, these smart bras should give rise in the years to come to other promising products – such as panties or even bodysuits – for detecting and preventing different types of cancer.