This clever bra designed by an 18-year-old student can detect the early signs of breast cancer

Big props to the 18-year-old engineering student from Mexico who has bagged a top award for inventing a bra that can help detect the early signs of breast cancer.

Julian Rios Cantu was inspired to create the smart bra by his mum’s own battle with breast cancer, which eventually lead to her having a double mastectomy.

The bra, named EVA, has been developed through Julian’s company Higia Technologies, and designed particularly for women with a genetic predisposition to cancer.

It is fitted with approximately 200 biosensors, which allow the bra to monitor any changes in temperature, weight and shape of the breasts, which are all potential early indicators of breast cancer.

If the bra detects a higher temperature in the breast, for example, this could potentially be because there’s a greater blood flow to the area, possibly indicating the growth of a tumour.

“As soon as there is a malformation of the breast or a tumour, there is an excess of vascularisation,” Julian tells Infobae.

“The greater the flow of blood, the higher the temperature.”

The bra is believed to be more accurate than simply checking your breasts yourself, but less invasive than a mammogram.

“EVA is a network of biosensors that goes on the breast of the woman, takes the temperature data analysed and from there sends information to an application or any computer,” says Julian.

And it doesn’t have to be worn 24/7 to detect breast cancer indicators either! In fact you only have to wear the EVA bra for 60-90 minutes a week for it to pick up on any changes.

The genius bra design has now be awarded the top prize at the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA), making the teen the youngest person ever to win the award, which comes with a $20,000 cash prize to develop his invention.

According to Breast Cancer Now Over 50,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK and around one in eight women in the UK will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetime. Early detection is key with experts believing that the earlier it is diagnosed, the better the chance of beating the condition.

So inventions, like the EVA bra, that help to spot early indicators sooner are a welcome addition to the preventative measures of regularly checking your breasts for abnormalities, being breast aware and, if you’re over 50, attending your free breast screening appointments.

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