British scientists have created a new breast-screening scanner that can detect cancer in seconds, without the radiation risk of conventional mammograms.

The radio-wave scanner uses anti-landmine technology and can be used on women of any age, unlike the current screening methods.

The new system, called Maria, is expected to be in widespread use within five years in GP’s surgeries and clinics.

At present, women under 50 are not routinely screened for breast cancer, partly because of the risk from regular does of radiation from an early age and also because they have denser breast tissue which makes it harder to detect tumours using X-rays.

Using radio waves makes it easier to spot problems and, as the breast is held in a ceramic cup rather than being squeezed between two X-ray plates, it is totally painless.

The Maria technology is based on a landline-detection project that was able to locate non-metallic explosives in soil. In the same way, it can find dangerous ‘hot spots’ in breasts using scanning signals from radio waves.

In pilot studies on 200 women, the system picked up about 80 per cent of tumours and the latest phase of testing took place at Frenchay Hospital’s Breast Care Centre in Bristol and the city’s Southmead Hospital.

Dr Mike Shere, breast specialist at Southmead Hospital, said: “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. This technology uses radio waves which are almost exactly the same as mobile phone frequency – and less energy. It is completely safe, unlike mammography, where there is an increasing cancer risk when women have more X-rays.

“And it’s much more comfortable for women, some of whom may be deterred from screening at present because they find it painful.”

AOL