Do you know any women who look forward to getting a mammogram? Hold on. Let me think. Umm, that would be, none! Getting squished, squeezed, pushed into a Panini press while you hold your breath is not high on the "Can't wait to do that" list, instead is relegated to the "I know it's for the best, so let's just get it over with, already." Must do's. Ever wonder if there could be a different way to find breast cancer?
What if there was a comfortable bra or wearable patch that fit into your bra with tiny, painless sensors that could detect barely perceptible temperature changes in your breast tissue? And, what if that bra collected 12 hours of cellular activity, digitized it and then using the Internet of Everything employed advanced analytic processes to pinpoint where a breast cancer might be lurking?
What if the data from this bra helped reassure physicians about normal, healthy tissue helping to limit the number of unnecessary surgical biopsies, women worrying needlessly, and the laundry list of possible side effects that happen when we over treat to avoid missing something?
What if the insights gleaned from this bra -- providing digitized data and the insightful analysis -- instead helped better target the most worrisome spots that need more testing and surveillance?
What if this bra also opened up a brand new window, illuminating the hardest to spot cancers in very dense breast tissue, a condition that not only increases the risk of developing breast cancer but that one-third of women over 40 have?
What if women in places like India or South America, where hospitals and clinics are few and far between, but cell phones reach every corner of every village, could wear a bra for 12 hours to find breast cancer and the technology wouldn't bankrupt their country?
By measuring breast tissue temperature, seven Internet of Everything sensors bring us closer to early detection.
The answer quite possibly could bethe iTBra™, which is already developed, is beginning the journey of clinical trials, and is featured in the documentary film, Detected.
Documentary filmmaker, Seth Kramer, was inspired by the need to look differently for breast cancer and wanted to show the intersection and colliding forces of entrenched practices, innovative developments in wearable technology and how the Internet of Everything could change everything for women around the world.
What if finding breast cancer was as simple as putting on a bra and launching an app? What if fewer women had unnecessary breast biopsies? What if we could overcome the challenges of finding cancers in dense breast tissue?
What if the Internet of Everything provided the same access to breast cancer screening to women in rural villages as women in the suburbs? What if these weren't just dreams but already in process? Stay tuned for more updates on how the intersection of medicine, technology and the Internet of Everything is improving health one Bra at a time.