Breakthrough in battle to beat breast cancer

British scientists have developed a new screening device which can diagnose breast cancer in just eight seconds – using technology developed for LANDMINES.

Researchers hope the system – called MARIA - will soon be brought into every GP surgery or even high street shops, making breast cancer checks as normal as a dental or eye check-up. It is safer and more comfortable than traditional mammogram X-rays and can be used on women of any age, unlike current technology.

MARIA is made from 60 antennas which create a complete scan of the breast in only eight seconds, searching for areas with a high dielectric constant. In the human body, these areas are rich in blood and water, the hallmark signs of a tumour. The scanning technology was originally made for landmines, which also have a high dielectric constant around them. Patients simply lie on a table with a circular hole cut into it, which their breast hangs through, while the machine is hydraulically moved up to ‘nestle’ against the skin. It then scans the breast to pick up areas with a high dielectric constant - immediately highlighting them in a bright colour such as blue or red.

Roy Johnston, executive chairman of Micrimia - a spin-out group from Bristol University which developed the device - said it could transform cancer diagnosis.

Inexpensive, safe and easy

He said: “It is small, inexpensive, completely safe and easy to operate and read. “It takes eight seconds to create the scan and then you can read the results instantly. “The results are also naturally in 3D, unlike x-rays where they build up a 3D view from lots of different slides. “We don’t want to put women off having mammograms but this is much more comfortable, it simply nestles against the breast and is done in seconds.

“The results are also digital, so a woman could be having a scan in a chemist in Bristol, with a consultant reading it in Nottingham. “The technology was originally developed for landmines, as when they are not metallic you need something more than a metal detector. “Landmines, just like tumours, have a high dielectric constant. We have simply transformed that technology for breast cancer. “For landmines, they might use just one antenna whereas we use 60.”

Mr Johnson and his team began working with the technology in 2006. They have since carried out three successful trials involving more than 300 women at Bristol’s Frenchay and Southmead hospitals. Results from the latest trials, completed this year, showed a diagnostic success rate of 80 per cent, although the team are aiming to boost that to 90 per cent.

They are now planning more clinical trials with the aim of having the device in production within three years. MARIA stands for Multistatic Array processing for Radiowave Image Acquisition Breast cancer is the most common cause of death in women between the ages of 35 and 55 in Europe but it is only the over-50s who are offered regular screening in the UK. This is because X-rays struggle to spot tissues in dense tissue - found in pre-menopausal women - and doctors are reluctant to expose younger women to regular X-rays. It uses radiowaves instead of X-rays, which expose patients to a small burst of radiation.

It is also much smaller than mammograms, at just 18 x 18 x 18 inches, and does not need bulky, expensive, equipment.

Currently, the device sits on a specially adapted table with a hole for the breast, but the team are hoping to adapt it so women could use it sitting upright.

Dr Mike Shere, a breast specialist at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, said the MARIA device was “very exciting” He added: “We are very excited about the potential of this completely new method of breast imaging. “It has none of the disadvantages of the current methods, ultrasound, mammography and MRI. “It is quick, safe, comfortable and cheap, and is already producing good images with high sensitivity.”