A high schooler from Mexico designed a bra that helps in the early detection of breast cancer. Drawing inspiration from his mother — who lost both breasts to the disease — Julian Rios Cantu set out to find a better means of early detection.
Breast cancer, if caught early, has a survival rate of nearly 100-percent. Despite this, many women still forget to do monthly self-exams that could lead to early detection. Cantu’s solution involves adding technology to an undergarment most women are wearing anyway, a bra. Dubbed ‘EVA,’ the bra uses approximately 200 biosensors to map the surface of the breast and monitor for changes in temperature, size, and weight.
Mapping changes in size and weight is the goal of most breast self-exams. The temperature sensor, Cantu says, is to analyze areas of over-vascularization looking for increased blood flow to a specific area. This blood flow could be feeding a tumor, he says.
Cantu’s design brought an impressive $20,000 prize after being 13 other student entrepreneurs from around the globe at the Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA).
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