By
Catriona Harvey-Jenner, Dr Oz The Good Life
An 18-year-old boy from Mexico has wowed scientists with his recent invention: a bra that he claims is able to detect breast cancer symptoms.
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Student
Julian Rios Cantu won first prize at the Global Student Entrepreneur
Awards (GSEA) for his design. He hopes the bra can alert women to the onset of breast cancer before it gets too far along and becomes life-threatening.
The bra, which he named EVA, is fitted with approximately 200 biosensors that monitor any changes
in temperature, weight, and shape of the breasts — all potential
indicators of breast cancer. If the bra detects a higher temperature in
the breast, for example, it could suggest that there's been an increase
in flow to the area, possibly because of the growth of a tumor.
"As
soon as there is a malformation in the breast, or a tumor, there is an
over-vascularization; so the more [flow of] blood, the higher the
temperature," Cantu explained to El Universal.
The bra doesn't have to be worn 24/7, either.
"[It]
allows us to have the breasts in the same position [so it can detect
change], and it doesn't have to be worn more than one hour a week," the
teenager said.
Cantu explained that he was inspired to create the bra after his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to have both her breasts removed.
The
student beat 13 other young entrepeneurs at the GSEAs and took home a
prize of $20,000 following his win. Cantu hasn't yet said whether this
money will be used to further develop the EVA, but many people are
hoping larger companies might take notice of the invention and invest in
it — if it could save lives, it's certainly worth it.
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