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Medicine Idle Technology

Cancer-Detecting Bra Could One Day Surpass Mammograms In Accuracy 110

fangmcgee writes "Reno-based First Warning Systems is working on a new bra that could detect if you are developing breast cancer. Integrated sensors and a data controller regularly monitor your breasts and can watch for irregularities which may signal the growth of tumors. Tests so far are showing that the bra is far superior and may be able to detect cancerous growth up to 6 years sooner than self-exams or mammograms."
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Cancer-Detecting Bra Could One Day Surpass Mammograms In Accuracy

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  • by Eightbitgnosis ( 1571875 ) on Monday October 15, 2012 @02:44PM (#41662073) Homepage
    but the secret is now cancer :(
    • by Rei ( 128717 ) on Monday October 15, 2012 @03:52PM (#41663007) Homepage

      What I'm wondering is, what is the concept here, that you wear the same bra every day? Or do you have a dozen separate anti-cancer bras, and if so, how expensive are these things expected to be? And how do you wash them? And when they wear out, does the data transfer to the next bra? Does it have to be recalibrated? Does it come in different types (for example, some people prefer underwire, some hate them)? Will I have to plug in and charge my bra every day?

      Just seeing some potential real-life challenges here...

      • by aardwolf64 ( 160070 ) on Monday October 15, 2012 @03:56PM (#41663061) Homepage

        From the article, around $1,000 each and only for high risk patients.

        Still, they don't don't have to be worn every day... what kind of granularity do you want? You could wear it once a week and still be way ahead of the game.

        • I was wondering about other forms of Cancer, but I refuse to wear a bra around my rear to check to see if I have Prostrate Cancer!
        • From the article, around $1,000 each and only for high risk patients.

          That's for initial deployment. With Moore's law, economy of scale, and amortization of development and regulatory costs, it could get a LOT cheaper after a few years. Especially if it becomes widely adopted.

          Why stop with breasts? A body stocking could search for hot spots across nearly the whole surface of a person. Knitting machines upgraded to include a distribution of sensors and their wiring could make such a device quite inexpensi

          • by cdrudge ( 68377 )

            That's for initial deployment. With Moore's law, economy of scale, and amortization of development and regulatory costs, it could get a LOT cheaper after a few years. Especially if it becomes widely adopted.

            Or it stays obscenely expensive since it's a "medical device".

      • What I'm wondering is, what is the concept here, that you wear the same bra every day?

        Don't worry, they'll soon develop the whole concept into cancer-detecting breast implants.

      • From the video, [youtube.com] the bra itself is just the housing for the sensors.
        So they could probably have it as a washable insert to the regular bras.

        Regarding the data, it all gets "uploaded to the internet" where it gets analyzed, so it does not depend on one particular bra or insert.

        As for plugging it in, my guess is that it is much more likely going to run on disposable "button cell" batteries, for safety and convenience reasons.
        Being that a Li-Ion, wrapped in cloth and recharged over and over may not be the safes

        • by kryliss ( 72493 )

          Probably tied directly to one's gmail account.

        • by Duhavid ( 677874 )

          For power, they should adapt whatever they were using to extract power from a person walking. Then the bouncing of the breasts would power the detection equipment.

      • What I'm wondering is, what is the concept here, that you wear the same bra every day?

        I'd imagine wearing it once a week or perhaps even once a month would be sufficient.

  • by Sparticus789 ( 2625955 ) on Monday October 15, 2012 @02:46PM (#41662105) Journal

    Please add Bluetooth connectivity. That way, I can figure out my date's cup size without staring at her chest all night.

    • Re:special request (Score:5, Insightful)

      by csnydermvpsoft ( 596111 ) on Monday October 15, 2012 @02:47PM (#41662127)

      If you stopped staring at her chest, maybe she'd eventually give you the chance to examine her bra more closely...

      • "You know, I would love to get naked for you, but my doctor told me that if I take the bra off I might get false breast cancer detection results. No, really, it's not you, it's my bra."

        (Now they just need to make the cervical cancer detection panty and humanity will never have sex again!)

      • by PPH ( 736903 )
        Protip: Always maintain eye contact [youtube.com].
      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        It was a joke. LOL! Men can estimate a cup size with accuracy. Yeah, once in a while, a girl will surprise you when her lovely sweater puppies pop out, but as a rule it's pretty easy to judge.

        And no, "maybe she'd eventually give you the chance to examine her bra more closely" is a fallacy. A woman knows within five minutes of meeting you if she'll have sex with you or not. Your personality determines her reaction to your checking out her assets: "OMG he really likes me" or "eww pervy". If you're a d

        • My bad, I forgot to put the "Bazinga!" at the end of my comment. Sorry for the confusion.

        • by Rei ( 128717 )

          A woman knows within five minutes of meeting you if she'll have sex with you or not. Your personality determines her reaction to your checking out her assets

          That statement seems contradictory. Either she's made the decision and the personality is irrelevant, or she hasn't and it is. Or are you describing the "meeting" as when conversation begins, rather than when you see the other person?

          I can only speak for myself, but a guy seems a lot more attractive if he has a good personality, and vice versa. The d

          • BTW, am I the only person here who ever made a User's Guide to yourself for potential dating partners? ;)

            No, you're not [catb.org].
            Are you lonely, though? Interested? Pretty? I promise you, I have full Unicode support.....

            • by Rei ( 128717 )

              Haha, skimmed that and most of it is right, although I personally strongly disagree with the "Fact: Women love long hair! It's an instant chick magnet." - to each their own! Got a number of my own comments that aren't in there, too. But in general, looks pretty solid.

              And lol, I'm currently in the middle of playing the Reykjavík circuit, so unless you live in the 101... ;) Oh, and there should be a extra addendum to that guide, just for Icelandic guys: Stop talking about your penis! I get it, it's r

              • Oh, isn't the 101 like the high-class, rich part of Reykjavík? lol

                I am not Eric Raymond. I am more looking for a long-term companionship with someone I love. I've heard all Iceland girls are pretty though, so no doubt you are pretty.
                • by Rei ( 128717 )

                  Oh, isn't the 101 like the high-class, rich part of Reykjavík? lol

                  Lol, I'm not exclusive to the 101, it's just happened to be where most of the people I've dated are from because I usually meet people at concerts or clubs in the 101, and a lot of people walk there. It's not all high class, but it is expensive. But you can live there without lots of money by living in a smaller place, having a roomate, stuff like that. Plenty of people with mundane jobs live there too.

    • Please add Bluetooth connectivity. That way, I can figure out my date's cup size without staring at her chest all night.

      So it's a purely intellectual exercise for you? Stops being interesting once you've figured out the answer?

    • You spend your date nights trying to figure out your date's cup size? Wow sad....who are you Barney Stinson?
    • Who cares really? I mean it's a point to ask of curiosity but let's face it, if she's got nice tits then daaaaaaaaaaamn, get a squeeze or twelve in and suck those sweet pink nubs...
  • I support (Score:4, Informative)

    by Dyinobal ( 1427207 ) on Monday October 15, 2012 @02:47PM (#41662117)
    I support watching breasts.
    • And I like to watch breasts being supported... but then, swinging free is good too... oh heck, I just like looking at boobies!

  • by Anubis IV ( 1279820 ) on Monday October 15, 2012 @02:48PM (#41662131)

    Integrated sensors and a data controller regularly monitor your breasts and can watch for irregularities which may signal the growth of tumors.

    Look, I know I could stand to shed a few pounds, but I don't think I'm anywhere close to the point where a bra would be entering the picture.

    • by mcgrew ( 92797 ) *

      Men get breast cancer, too. If there's breast cancer in your family, particularly in male members, you would probably be wise to wear one of these.

      • by sconeu ( 64226 )

        Definitely true. My stepfather died from breast cancer.

      • If there's breast cancer in your family, particularly in male members

        If there's breast cancer in male members, wouldn't it be called penis cancer?

        • Well, I can't comment on where specific things are attached on your body. But no. It wouldn't.

          • Have you ever clicked preview and then submit (after reading parent post and reply twice over) only to get the joke immediately after that? Ignore me, I'm up without caffeine...

  • by rot26 ( 240034 ) on Monday October 15, 2012 @02:49PM (#41662159) Homepage Journal
    At first I thought it said "bro". My bad.
  • by Anonymous Coward

    I don't have time to figure out the wording, but it's something about how I like breasts. Just thought I'd let you know I thought it was pretty funny.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15, 2012 @02:58PM (#41662349)

    This machine has a fatal flaw which will decrease it's maximum possible accuracy to only 96.8% (3.2% undetected): It will only be worn by women.

  • In all honesty... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by zakkudo ( 2638939 ) on Monday October 15, 2012 @03:00PM (#41662365)
    If in high school guys were taught how to detect breast cancer, the detection rate would probably be quicker than even these bras. No joke. Everyone wants to protect the things they love ;-;
    • by fermion ( 181285 )
      Seriously, we do need to learn to take care of each other and not constantly be afraid that someone, somewhere, might be doing something we object to. It is like the HPV vaccine. There is a battle not to give it to young people because they might have sex. Might, really? I think that was the reason we give it to them. It is not like there are not already multitudes of excuses. When I was growing up it was that the bible commanded us to go forth and procreate. Who needs an excuse beyond this?

      I must a

    • If in high school guys were taught how to detect breast cancer, the detection rate would probably be quicker than even these bras. No joke. Everyone wants to protect the things they love ;-;

      Because women don't have hands?
      If you want to practice your love with women all over this country, you should become an ObGyn.

  • Why is this tagged as idle? It looks like a great idea for at risk women. I didn't realize this was /. - news for 6th graders.
    • It is just a little fluff piece, important and good news but what you can't get into a heated debate about this. Nobody could be against this, so it is for Idle because all the comments will be either jokes or praise.

      And as someone who lost all members of his family to cancer. Good news everyone!

  • by BradyB ( 52090 ) on Monday October 15, 2012 @03:29PM (#41662735) Homepage

    I for one welcome our under wire overlords.

  • Oh, please don't tell me what device they'll use to monitor my prostate 24x7....

  • I took too long checking her for breast cancer.

  • Anyone else feel like men get the sort end of the stick in cancer research? Yes, I could technically get breast cancer. But I am a lot more likely to get prostate cancer. Yet everyone from the NFL to the WWE have their pink ribbons on and I've never seen a benefit for prostate cancer. While I am happy for the funding and interest, I just wish money were allocated according to reason, not just "I like boobies".

    • Re:Men (Score:5, Informative)

      by MyLongNickName ( 822545 ) on Monday October 15, 2012 @03:44PM (#41662889) Journal

      A little more info

      * Breast cancer is the second leading cancer killer of women, behind lung cancer
      * Prostate cancer is the second leading cancer killer of men, behind lung cancer
      * Death rate for prostate cancer is slightly higher in men than breast cancer is for women
      * Median death age for breast cancer is 68, median death age for prostate is 80
      * Prostate cancer tends to be detected later and develops slower.
      * Prostate cancer is likely underreported because men don't go to Doctor as often.

      • I was going to suggest a brown ribbon for prostate cancer awareness.

        Interestingly though, I see someone already picked light blue ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostate_cancer#Society_and_culture

      • Stats are a little misleading here.

        If you're a male and you make it to age 80, you are virtually guaranteed to have prostate cancer. It may or may not be the eventual cause of death but since human males don't usually make it much past 80 (for a variety of reasons) 'early' deaths due to prostate cancer are less common. Since breast cancer affects a younger age cohort, it is responsible for many more 'early deaths'. Could you push the average male age out by eliminating prostate cancer? Probably, to some

    • by curunir ( 98273 ) *

      ...and I've never seen a benefit for prostate cancer.

      Watch baseball instead of football. Every year, they do a whole day [mlb.com] around prostate cancer awareness and fundraising.

    • Because cures for breast cancer don't work for prostate cancer of course.

      But the main reason you don't see the same public attention is that the color for breast cancer is pink. The color for prostate cancer would be?

      If you said brown, your the reason there are fewer public benefits, people snicker about the prostate to much. But cancer research isn't split on just curing breast cancer and leaving other cancers be. It is just that if you want to save the jungle, you focus on the fluffy cuddly animals that p

      • You are rude. The title of your post is 'Idiot'. I can assure you I am not, but you are in fact a very rude, narrow mined person.

        You make an idiotic comment about the color of a ribbon, which I have no idea what it has to do with prostate research. Then you make another idiotic comment about focusing on "fluffy cuddly animals". So basically, women and their breasts are cuter and therefore more worthy of being saved. That is just wrong.

        And yes, there may be some carry over from one type of cancer research to

  • I offer my manual breast examination services to the control group, and promise to spend far more time fondling da boobies than medically necessary.
  • I'm thinking, "Kon-Kup"

    This [wikia.com] Kon, for our non-anime fans out there.
  • 6 years sooner to get on the per-existing condition list under the GOP plan.

    Up next DNA testing.

  • by sandytaru ( 1158959 ) on Monday October 15, 2012 @03:51PM (#41663001) Journal
    Seriously. It's a sports bra. You know when I wear sports bras? NEVER. Because they are uncomfortable, ugly, and offer little actual support for anyone bigger than an A cup. For ladies with higher letters in the alphabet, it'd be a useless tank top. I'm glad TFA says it probably just needs to be worn a few hours a day. Maybe when I sleep at night (although my husband will probably grumble about that.)
    • Yeah, I guess the fact that it could save your life is not that important compared to the concerns you raise.

      • I'll be a bit forgiving because it is just a prototype, but if they want women to actually wear it, it needs to look less like a life vest and more like modern lingerie. Perhaps they could hire a designer from one of the big bra companies to come tidy it up for them?
    • It's not likely to fit, anyway.
    • I can just imagine THAT task, your the techie at the hospital and have to sew sensors into a piece of lady clothing. What would you pick? A relatively harmless sports bra that looks like it could be worn as over-clothing or a frilly lacy bra?

      Every single female on the staff would make your life a living hell.

      Oh and this sports bra could mean you are alive in ten years with both bra's attached. Has you husband seen a loved one with massive surgery trauma, poisoned by chemo and still dying slowly until finall

  • by RogueWarrior65 ( 678876 ) on Monday October 15, 2012 @04:20PM (#41663395)

    And teenage boys will still have trouble unhooking them.

  • Just do a search of #SCCAbc for what's really going on with breast cancer research.

    First: self-exams do work. In fact, they're the most useful thing young women can do, due to the density of their breast tissue.

    Second: mammograms before age 40 and after age 70 are at best problematic in terms of risk/reward ratios. If you're in the 40-70 year range, get periodic exams at the schedule determined by your physician or nurse. If you have BCRA1 or BCRA2 genetic risks, this may mean Annual exams. For other wome

  • So they say that it is effective in 90% of women and that it detects up to 7 years earlier than a mammogram. How did the 3 clinical trials prove that this is effective? Talking to my wife (an Medical Imaging Professional) Mammograms are the Gold standard. Thermography has been refuted for years as ineffective and a sham... From http://sunleitehealth.ca/breastthermography.html [sunleitehealth.ca] which is a proponent of similar technology "Does thermography have the ability to show exactly where there is a tumor? Thermograph
  • Imagine a Beowulf cluster of those!?!?!

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