Think Pinker

According to Science Daily detecting breast cancer could be much simpler in the future.  The Medical College of Georgia is currently studying a portable device that will use electric currents.

This new technology was developed by Z Tech Inc and currently Georgia is one of 20 centers around the world that are studying it and how it compares to the more traditional mammogram. This new procedure is painless and it is based on the electrical current passing through the cancerous tissue in a different manner than it would pass through normal healthy tissue.

Normal breast tissue is far denser than cancerous tissue. This is especially true in younger women. That’s why cancerous tissue can be hidden by normal tissue. Scientists have known for quite some time that electricity flow more freely through cancerous tissue. The scan developed by Z Tech relies on flower shaped electrodes which are placed over the breast. They send a small amount of electricity pulsating through them. There is no radiation, no compression, and not pain. Dr. Craft says it’s like an EKG for the breasts.

A computer does the calculations, makes its analysis, and instantly provides a report on the condition of the breast tissue. For the study the patients will not be given the results, but will have to undergo a traditional mammogram within 3 months. It’s hoped that this new testing method called HEDA will provide both women (and men) with an alternative to the traditional mammogram.

Why is this alternative to the mammogram so exciting? Because it’s portable, there is no pain a common complaint with mammograms and the squeezing of the breast, and it’s portable. It may not be a replacement for the mammogram but it will certainly be yet another tool in diagnosing breast cancer early.  And there can never be too many tools in the fight against breast cancer.