Earthquake engineering is probably not the first place you’d look for new breast cancer screening techniques.
But that’s exactly where University of Canterbury engineers have found inspiration for a new low-cost device that could make screening quicker and easier.
Dr Jessica Fitzjohn demonstrates a small prototype of a device that could pre-screen for breast cancer. Photo: Katy Gosset / RNZ
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More than 3,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, according to the Cancer Society.
Eligible women aged between 45 and 69 can access free mammograms, which are considered uncomfortable by many.
Senior producer Katy Gosset meets the team behind the new device to find out exactly how it works, and how it could help.
The breast being screened sits inside the hole with the nipple resting on the small white disc, known as the actuator. The actuator vibrates while photos are taken and the movement is analysed to establish if there is stiffer, potentially cancerous breast tissue. Photo: Katy Gosset / RNZ
To learn more:
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Listen to the full episode on Our Changing World.
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Explore other episodes from the Our Changing World catalogue on treating and detecting cancer, including this 2022 episode on new cancer immunotherapies and this 2021 episode on medical detection dogs trained to sniff out cancer.
