Scientist develops wearable ultrasound scanner

ISTANBUL

A new ultrasound device that can identify breast cancer at the earliest stages of the disease has been developed by a Turkish scientist and her colleagues in the U.S.

Canan Dağdeviren, a Turkish scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has designed a bra-mounted ultrasound scanner that can detect breast cancer in the early stages.

To realize her vision of a “diagnostic bra,” the scientist and her team designed a mini ultrasound device that allows a person to perform imaging at any time.

The scanner uses well-established ultrasound technology but is considerably smaller as a result of the addition of a novel piezoelectric material. The wearable component of the device was created using honeycomb-like holes.

The wearer of the device can observe breast tissue in different angles with high-quality images. Additionally, using the tiny ultrasound equipment doesn't require any special knowledge.

Speaking to local media, Dağdeviren said her inspiration behind this project was the tragic death of her aunt Fatma Çalışkanoğlu, who was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer at the age of 49 and died six months after the diagnosis, despite undergoing regular cancer screenings.

Stating that she had drawn the blueprint of a diagnostic device that could be incorporated into a bra while she was accompanying her aunt on her deathbed, the scientist said that the device would enable people at high risk of interval breast cancer to get more frequent screenings.

“My goal is to help people who are most likely to develop interval cancer and to increase the survival rate up to 98 percent with more frequent screening.”

Known as “interval cancers,” breast tumors that develop between regularly scheduled mammograms account for 30 percent of all breast cancer cases.