Smart textile in bra would monitor breast cancer growth

A team in Nottingham Trent University’s Medical Technologies Innovation Facility is working to create the device, which it is hoped could help save patients’ lives in future by monitoring tumour growth in real time.

The technology will work via a form of electrical current which can scan and detect tiny changes in fluids inside and outside of the cells.

Because tumour tissue is more dense than healthy tissue it contains less water, so the device will be able to measure tumour changes and growth – down to as little as 2mm.

The hope is that the non-invasive technology – which the researchers say could be used as an insert into a patient’s bra or potentially developed as a new bra incorporating the device – would be used alongside patients’ treatment and other regular checks and scans, such as MRI.

Data would be recorded and fed back to the wearer and clinician via smartphone so that assessments can be made about growth.

The team hopes this could help to reduce the need for so many other checks, such as MRI, ultrasound and mammograms, saving money for health services.

The researchers say ongoing monitoring is important because growth can vary significantly between patients and is very difficult to monitor precisely, particularly under 1cm.

MRI scans for monitoring tumour growth can be months apart, the researchers say, and there could be significant growth between hospital visits.

There is an average of almost 56,000 new cases of breast cancer in the UK every year, with more than 11,000 deaths.

Through increased monitoring and assessment it is hoped that the technology will help provide patients with peace of mind.

“The technology would measure changes in breast tissue and help improve a patient’s chance of survival,” said Dr Yang Wei, an expert in electronic textiles and electronic engineering in Nottingham Trent University’s Medical Technologies Innovation Facility.

He said: “Breast cancer can grow so quickly, it could be 1mm in six months or 2mm in six weeks. This would be an additional measure to see how fast does the tumour grow.

“We are opening the door to the investigation of an alternative breast cancer detection that could be done in the comfort of a patient’s home, conserving essential hospital resources whilst still providing a viable solution to detect early signs of cancer.”

The Nottingham team has honed the electronics functionality and will now proceed to optimising and validating the technology.

The researchers aim is for the device to move to clinical trial, hopefully within the next few years.