Performing
regular self-exams is a must when it comes to protecting yourself against
breast cancer. And in recent years, the public market has been flooded with
techy innovations designed to help better monitor health. One of the most recent examples is a (super-cute!) bra that actually screens women for breast cancer—but could it be too good to be true (i.e., is it effective)?
Julián Ríos Cantú—whose mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when he was 13 years old—joined forces with three friends to create a product to keep other women from being in the situation his mom endured: discovering cancer late, and almost dying because of it. Now, at 19, the teen's vision has come to life with EVA, an award-winning bra that has 200 cancer-detecting biosensors, PopSugar reports. And you only need to wear it for an hour once a week to get your potentially life-saving stats.
Here's how it works: According to the product website, when you wear EVA—which includes two biosensing patches—the bra detects any abnormalities in thermal patterns and tissue elasticity, two indicators of early-stage breast cancer. The data collected then goes straight to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth, giving you a risk assessment in just minutes that's based on the company's artificial-intelligence algorithms.
"When there is a tumor in the breast, there is more blood, more heat, so there are changes in temperature and in texture."—Julián Ríos Cantú
"When there is a tumor in the breast, there is more blood, more heat, so there are changes in temperature and in texture," Ríos Cantú told El Universal. "We will tell you, 'in this quadrant there are drastic changes in temperature,' and our software specializes in caring for that area. If we see a persistent change, we will recommend that you go to the doctor."
Ríos Cantú recently announced 5,000 available units have already been sold. And according to the company website, bras will be more readily available in early 2019 after the company has "finished the necessary steps to ensure the efficacy of our product."
This passionate and super-smart teen is helping to pave the way for accessible wellness tech to redefine breast-cancer prevention. Talk about an early Mother's Day gift to all women everywhere.
Find out how scientists just took a huge leap forward in understanding breast cancer's causes. Or, get some intel on how to support a friend who has breast cancer, straight from Rachel Platten.
