To quote Mean Girls, “On Wednesdays we wear pink.” Pink is the color for breast cancer, and seeing as how it is October this means it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The BSE (Breast Self Exam) bra is here to help women out. The cancer society always advocates for women to do a self-examination to check for any possibility of breast cancer. The real question is do most women try to participate in that? While the answer isn’t always clear, First Warning Systems has decided to take matters into their own hands…err rather, bra and help women.
First Warning Systems has called their smart bra the BSE bra. It acts as a very early detector of any sign of breast cancer. But how does a bra do such a medical examination? Well, it uses sensors that measure the variations in temperature of the surface of the breasts, which indicate a potential tumour. The company has been awarded with many USA patents for its technology that measures the breasts surface temperature. It works well in their BSE bra because it is constantly being worn, so any slight change in temperature would be detected as soon as possible. The sensors pick up on the temperature change because blood vessels create a distinctive heat signature to go to the growing tumour. This technology allows the tumour to be detected years (that’s right, years) before an MRI or mammogram could possibly detect it.
The trials that the company has run have been incredibly successful. They stated that their success rate is about 90 per cent accurate on their 650 participants (all ranging in age) in three clinical trials. The BSE bra constantly monitors any potential changes in the breast surface temperature, which can be sent to the user’s computer or mobile device.
The company plans to have the BSE bra commercialized in Europe over the next year or so. They also plan to have it in the USA market (in about 2014) pending their FDA approval. While it does have a sports bra type look, one can’t help but smile at the many possibilities ahead and how many lives that this smart bra will save. It’s pretty much the greatest thing to happen in women’s undergarments since Victoria’s Secret.
Via Gizmag
