Last year, a design student at Cornell University designed a garment that can prevent colds and flu and, crucially, never needs washing, CNN reports.
Meanwhile, Textronics, a Delaware-based company, has developed a sports bra which monitors the heart rate and motion of runners. The company has patented stretchy textile electrodes that can be incorporated into the garments.
Perhaps one of the most exciting developments in this field is ongoing work on a breast screening smart bra which could allow wearers to detect breast cancer at the earliest stage.
Professor Elias Siores, of the University of Bolton, England, says the bra can detect cancer before the tumor can develop and spread into surrounding areas. Crucially, Professor Siores says the bra can also monitor the effectiveness of any breast cancer treatment the wearer is undergoing.
The smart bra works using a microwave antennae system device which is woven into the fabric of the bra. The antennae picks up any abnormal temperature changes in the breast tissue, which are often associated with cancer cells.
It is hoped the bra will be on sale in stores in a couple of years.
However, some remain doubtful as to whether the science behind the bra is achievable. There are also doubts whether the bra could replace traditional screening methods, such as a mammogram.
This is because the idea behind the bra supposes that as tumors grow, there will be a higher demand for blood flow. The increased blood flow then produces elevated temperatures around the affected area of the breast, sending a warning to the wearer.
Critics say blood flow rates could be increased for any number of reasons.
There are benign growths and nonmalignant inflammatory changes, which might also increase blood flow," said Anne Rosenberg, a breast surgeon at Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Despite the reticence from some quarters, work in this burgeoning field forges ahead.
Scientists in Europe are at at an advanced stage of developing outfits which they say will be able to monitor the body's vital signs and detect illnesses and infections at their earliest stages.
Would you wear health-check garments like this? Can you really rely on them? Is it better to go to the doctor for a check-up once in a while, or are garments like this necessary in a world where seeing a good doctor and getting decent care feels increasingly difficult? Is the development of this kind of clothing just evidence that we've become paranoid about our health, or a sensible step to looking after ourselves?
Meanwhile, Textronics, a Delaware-based company, has developed a sports bra which monitors the heart rate and motion of runners. The company has patented stretchy textile electrodes that can be incorporated into the garments.
Perhaps one of the most exciting developments in this field is ongoing work on a breast screening smart bra which could allow wearers to detect breast cancer at the earliest stage.
Professor Elias Siores, of the University of Bolton, England, says the bra can detect cancer before the tumor can develop and spread into surrounding areas. Crucially, Professor Siores says the bra can also monitor the effectiveness of any breast cancer treatment the wearer is undergoing.
The smart bra works using a microwave antennae system device which is woven into the fabric of the bra. The antennae picks up any abnormal temperature changes in the breast tissue, which are often associated with cancer cells.
It is hoped the bra will be on sale in stores in a couple of years.
However, some remain doubtful as to whether the science behind the bra is achievable. There are also doubts whether the bra could replace traditional screening methods, such as a mammogram.
This is because the idea behind the bra supposes that as tumors grow, there will be a higher demand for blood flow. The increased blood flow then produces elevated temperatures around the affected area of the breast, sending a warning to the wearer.
Critics say blood flow rates could be increased for any number of reasons.
There are benign growths and nonmalignant inflammatory changes, which might also increase blood flow," said Anne Rosenberg, a breast surgeon at Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Despite the reticence from some quarters, work in this burgeoning field forges ahead.
Scientists in Europe are at at an advanced stage of developing outfits which they say will be able to monitor the body's vital signs and detect illnesses and infections at their earliest stages.
Would you wear health-check garments like this? Can you really rely on them? Is it better to go to the doctor for a check-up once in a while, or are garments like this necessary in a world where seeing a good doctor and getting decent care feels increasingly difficult? Is the development of this kind of clothing just evidence that we've become paranoid about our health, or a sensible step to looking after ourselves?
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- LindseyIndigo
- added this
- added August 05, 2008
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I don't think you could rely solely on this for cancer detection, but I bet this kind of thing would be great for women who have already had cancer and are trying to keep an eye out for a reoccurrence, or women who know their family has a history of breast cancer and know early detection could save them.
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