Analysis: Claims of a cancer-detecting bra are premature, but promising

mHealth is working its way into breast cancer awareness month.

A company called First Warning Systems is marketing a new bra that uses embedded sensors to detect temperature changes in breast tissue, and thus indicate the presence of breast cancer cells. Officials of the Reno, Nev.-based company say the bra, worn for 12 hours, can create a thermal image that can detect the presence of cancer cells with a 90 percent accuracy rate.

In an article written by Time correspondent Alice Park and carried on CNN, experts at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas say those claims may be too good to be true. Therese Bevers, medical director of the cancer prevention center, told Park the idea of detecting malignant tissue by temperature changes is hypothetically possible, but not accurate enough. Yet.

"We see some thermograms come back as abnormal, and we do all kinds of imaging with mammogram, ultrasound and MRI and we follow the women and nothing develops," Bevers told Park. "And we have women with breast cancers that are not seen on the thermograms. It's not perfect, and needs to undergo much more rigorous testing to understand what role temperature readings can play in cancer screening."

"We really need to have more solid data before we start adding on tests, especially when we have tests (like the mammogram, MRI and ultrasound)," Bevers concluded.

While the First Warning bra may not be the next big thing in breast cancer detection, its very presence is testament to the power of mHealth. Researchers and healthcare entrepreneurs are seeing the value of embedded sensors that can be worn on the body or in clothing, and are coming up with methods for collecting vital signs and other physiological data. They're testing this technology in a wide variety of situations, from the sports field (monitoring athletes during competitions) to the hospital room (taking continuous vital signs) to the home (monitoring those with chronic conditions).

The concept of creating mHealth products that can be worn or used at home takes on one of healthcare's bigger concerns: The costly and time-consuming visit to the hospital or doctor's office. If those encounters are unnecessary, they're wasting time, money and resources. If someone can address a medical concern at home, with technology on hand that creates a link to the appropriate clinical resource, the savings and likely clinical benefits would be enormous.

In this case, instead of taking time off from work and perhaps hiring a babysitter in order to have a mammogram done at the doctor's office, a woman could wear a device at home (or work) that would conduct that diagnosis, with the results transmitted back to the doctor. The device might not necessarily diagnose breast cancer, but it would perhaps be the first phase or a more thorough examination, should it detect abnormalities. It wouldn't eliminate mammograms altogether, but phase out the routine, uneventful ones.

So while the First Warning bra might not be the cancer-detecting undergarment its creators want it to be, it is a step in the right direction. It's concept well worth further investigation.

Eric Wicklund

Editor of mHIMSS.org

Follow Eric on Twitter @eriwick