metabets He invented a tool to make mammograms less painful: ‘You can’t go for a screening that you hate’

Updated:2024-10-08 04:29    Views:184

A mammogram is a potentially lifesaving screening tool that can help with the early detection and timely treatment of breast cancer. Unfortunately, many women also rate it as one of the most unpleasant and uncomfortable health screenings.

During a mammogram, which takes an X-ray of the breast, the woman stands in front of a machine and the breast is placed on a flat plate. Another plate presses down from above to flatten the breast to get a clear image. This is repeated on the other breast.

Up to 46 per cent of women in Europe and the United States chose not to go for subsequent mammogram screening after experiencing the pain of breast compression, according to one study in Elsevier, which publishes peer-reviewed scientific literature.

However, “most of the pain from breast compression is actually avoidable by applying the right amount of force,” said Luke Goh, a 26-year-old industrial design graduate from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

The young inventor explained that it is hard for radiographers to accurately estimate the compression force required for each individual to get a clear readingmetabets, so they usually end up over-compressing the breast.

Luke Goh showing his mother his invention, Mammosense, which is placed at the mammography unit. (Photo: James Dyson Foundation)

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