Portable breast scanner enables cancer detection ‘in a second’

WASHINGTON - A new portable breast scanner could soon allow women to test themselves at home.

Professor Zhipeng Wu has invented a portable scanner based on radio frequency technology, which is able to show in a second the presence of tumours - malignant and benign - in the breast on a computer.

Using the technology for breast cancer detection has been proven by researchers in the US, Canada and UK.

However, up to now, it can take a few minutes for an image to be produced, and this had to be done in a hospital or specialist care centre.

Now Professor Wu, from the University of Manchester’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, says concerned patients can receive real-time video images in using the radio frequency scanner, which would clearly and simply show the presence of a tumour.

Not only is this a quicker and less-intrusive means of testing, it also means women can be tested at GP surgeries, which could help dramatically reduce waiting times and in some cases avoid unnecessary X-ray mammography.

The scanner could also be used at home for continuous monitoring of breast health.

The patented real-time radio frequency scanner uses computer tomography and works by using the same technology as a mobile phone, but with only a tiny fraction of its power.

This makes it both safe and low-cost and the electronics can be housed in a case the size of a lunch box for compactness and portability. (ANI)