A smart bra featuring ultrasound technology can detect early signs of breast cancer.
The prototype contains small ultrasound sensors that scans the breasts to reveal indications of tumours.
The bra is synched to a mobile app, which then transmits results to a doctor.
Nigerian developers Nextwear Technology hope the device could be used to improve breast cancer diagnosis in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Women currently face long journeys to access breast cancer screening appointments.
The wearable device would enable women to be assessed from home.
Kemisola Bolarinwa, a robotics engineer who developed the smart bra, said:
“My beloved mother died of breast cancer in 2017 at the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria because it was diagnosed late.
“In her ward at the hospital, I saw women of different age groups, even teenagers, groaning in the pain of breast cancer.
“That was when I felt I needed to contribute my part to fight the disease.”
The bra must be worn for at least 30 minutes in order for the scan to work, Bolarinwa said.
The scan will reveal whether a tumour is benign or malignant.
Nextwear has been working on the bra for four years and hopes to bring it to market in the summer.
“If they could detect early that they have cancer, then they will be safe, and many don’t have to die,” Bolarinwa added.
“We have conducted a local trial and got about 70 per cent accuracy. We are working towards 95-97 per cent accuracy.”
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the region, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
A WHO spokesperson said:
“In this region, estimates for 5-year survival are near or below 50 per cent.
“One in two women diagnosed with the disease have died within five years after diagnosis, compared with fractions in the USA of one in five for Black women and one in 10 for White women.”
