Now,a scanner that detects breast cancer without radiation!

Women with breast cancer produced different signals on the surface of their skin: Scientists.

Scientists have developed a scanner which they claim could detect breast cancer in women without using radiation,more effectively than the traditional X-ray mammograms.

A team at Real Imaging,the Israeli inventors of the scanner,says that the new device finds tumours in the breast of women by using infra red beams and thermal energy,a daily reported.

In their experiments,the scientists found that women with breast cancer produced different signals on the surface of their skin. The machine can detect this without direct contact with the breast.

In fact,in their trial of 2,500 women,the scanner was 92 per cent effective at detecting breast cancer,compared to 80 per cent for X-ray mammograms. It was also found to be much better at picking up cancers in younger women who tend to have denser breasts.

Dr Reuben Libson at Hadassah University Medical Centre in Jerusalem,who led the team,said: “Mammography is an old- fashioned technology which requires examination by the naked eye. The scanner is hi-tech and doesn’t require a human being to be accurate.”

Further trials are due to be held,but the scientists hope the device will get European Union approval this year,allowing it to be used in the UK. It could also enable more screening of women under 50,say the scientists.