Breast cancer is an extremely common health condition that affects more than one in eight women in the United States, with more than 250,000 new cases diagnosed every year. Breast cancer accounts for more than 40,000 deaths in the United States every year, but the most significant impact of breast cancer occurs in the developing world.
According to global health estimates released by the World Health Organization, breast cancer accounts for more than 500,000 deaths annually, globally, with more than half occurring in the developing world. Although breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the developing world, in most cases it is diagnosed far too late, with 80% of women in the developing world that suffer from breast cancer not receiving a diagnosis until the condition is too far along to treat.
Part of the reason breast cancer is so frequently left undiagnosed is the attitude toward cancer treatment centers in the developing world. Care units and cancer treatment centers are often associated with a social stigma that causes many women to avoid them, with many women turning to traditional alternative medicine healing practices before seeking medical assistance.
A new breast cancer diagnosis method developed by a Mexican teenager, however, is promising to revolutionize the way in which women around the world are provided with breast cancer diagnosis. Higia Technologies is a new health tech startup that has developed a groundbreaking new wearable breast cancer diagnosis bra that is set to revolutionize the way in which breast cancer is diagnosed.
Who are Higea Technologies?
Higea Technologies is a new health tech startup based out of Mexico founded by Julian Rios Cantu, an 18 year old innovator that has developed, with the assistance of friends and mentors, a new breast cancer diagnosis tool in the form of a high-tech wearable that is able to autonomously detect the key signs of breast cancer in as little as 90 minutes of wear weekly.
Cantu has recently won the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards, a prestigious youth achievement award that is presented in Frankfurt, Germany, for his innovative and unique solution. The inspiration for the Higea Technologies is based in Cantu’s personal experience with breast cancer- Cantu’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when he was just 13, which resulted in his mother requiring a double mastectomy.
In order to help prevent other families from experiencing the stress and hardship his own family went through while helping his mother deal with a breast cancer diagnosis, Cantu devised the core concept behind the Higea Technologies that would eventually become the EVA Auto-Exploration Bra, a revolutionary sports-bra like piece of wearable technology that is able to automatically detect breast cancer without the need for a medical professional.
What is the EVA Auto-Exploration Bra?
The EVA Auto-Exploration Bra is a simple, easy to use wearable that comes in the form of a bra. Able to deliver far more accurate results than self-assessment and more accessible than a dedicated medical professional, the EVA Auto-Exploration Bra is a low cost solution to the problem of breast cancer diagnosis that could potentially save hundreds of thousands of lives every year.
How the EVA Auto-Exploration Bra Works
The EVA Auto-Exploration Bra is a thick-strapped, bright pink sports bra-like wearable that contains a powerful sensor suite. Built into the lining of the EVA Auto-Exploration Bra are two hundred tiny tactile sensors that are able to gather a broad spectrum of biometric data.
The EVA Auto-Exploration Bra biosensors gather texture, color and temperature information on a regular basis, tracking the overall composition and health of breast tissue. By collecting breast tissue health information and comparing it to previously collected data, the EVA Auto-Exploration Bra is able to perform an analysis of the development of breast tissue, and detect any changes that occur.
When breast cancer tumors begin to form in breast tissue, the vascularization, or blood flow, to the breast increases. As blood flow increases, so does temperature, which causes a spike in breast tissue health activity. The EVA Auto-Exploration Bra is able to collect enough information to make detailed, highly accurate assessments of breast tissue health in just 60 to 90 minutes of wear every week.
Using low-energy bluetooth, the EVA Auto-Exploration Bra pairs with a dedicated smartphone app, which collects the information gathered by the device and presents it to a doctor. The team at Higea Technologies haven’t yet presented any solutions that don’t involve expensive smartphone pairing, but as the EVA Auto-Exploration Bra is still in the developmental stage, it’s possible that the device may be able to present biometric data in another fashion.
The EVA Auto-Exploration Bra hasn’t been formally tested in any clinical trials yet, but the concept itself has been compelling enough to the organizers of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards to net it $20,000 USD in funding. While the EVA Auto-Exploration Bra concept is certainly a positive step in the right direction, increased vascularity and higher temperature in breast tissue isn’t a reliable assessment criteria to detect cancer.
The Future of Wearable Breast Cancer Technology
Aside from the EVA Auto-Exploration Bra, there are several other promising solutions that are currently being developed elsewhere in the world to provide a solution to the problem of breast cancer diagnosis. Cyrcadia Health, a Reno-based US health tech company, has recently been approved by the FDA for their wearable breast cancer detection system, the iTBra.
The iTBra predates the Higea Technology solution by more than half a decade, and is currently undergoing clinical trials in the US. With a solid tech platform supporting it, the iTBra has demonstrated a proven ability to provide concrete assessments of breast tissue health, and will soon launch in Asia by the end of Q4 2017.
The EVA Auto-Exploration Bra, on the other hand, is still in a concept stage, with a working prototype yet to be developed. If you’re interested in following the progress of the Mexican research team behind the EVA Auto-Exploration Bra, it’s possible to subscribe to a newsletter on the Higea Technologies website.
