Watching her aunt die of breast cancer made Kemisola Bolarinwa vow to contribute to the fight against breast cancer.
As part of innovations aimed at detecting breast cancer in its early stage, Nigerian robotics engineer Kemisola Bolarinwa and her team at Nextwear Technology, a wearables firm located in Abuja the capital city of Nigeria, worked on a smart bra for four years. The smart bra detects cancer at its early stage which means it can be easily treated.
Recounting the motivation behind the project, Bolarinwa revealed that her “beloved aunt died of breast cancer in 2017 at the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria because it was diagnosed late.’’ She went further to disclose that while in her aunt’s ward, she saw numerous women of different age groups including teenagers groan due to the pain of breast cancer, a catalyst for her decision to contribute to the fight against the deadly ailment.
The smart bra comes with ultrasound technology alongside mobile/web apps capable of displaying where a tumour is on the breast.
“The result will show if the tumour is benign (harmless) or malignant (harmful)…The smart bra must be worn on the breasts for a maximum of 30 minutes for the result to show. The app also has an interface for the result to be transmitted to a doctor,”the robotics engineer highlighted.
Bolarinwa also disclosed that a local trial conducted by her and her team showed 70% accuracy as they continue working on attaining 95-97% accuracy. With the smart bra, women may no longer have to visit a doctor for breast cancer screening because they would be able to do that from the comfort of their homes.
“If they could detect early that they have cancer, then they will be safe, and many don’t have to die,”
Bolarinwa said.
Source:
Espact
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