The first question arises in every woman's mind when it comes to an at-home breast exam – Do I really need a breast self-exam?

The answer is yes!

A self-breast exam helps women identify their breast health.

What’s more, it also helps in detecting the changes or abnormalities that can be an early sign of breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a major crisis across the globe and in the UK alone, 31 women die every single day due to breast cancer!

However, identifying breast cancer at an earlier stage can save the lives of almost every woman.

And the self-breast exam is the key to accomplishing that.

But, almost 64% of women (18-35) admit that they are not performing breast self-exams regularly.

So, what are the reasons?

• Lots of different techniques

• Conflicting information

• Self-breast examination guidance is limited to tutorials and templates

So, we are going to share how women can avoid all these hassles and can perform self-breast exams at home.

At-home Breast Exam Method that Won a UK James Dyson Award in 2022!

“The James Dyson Award is an international design award that celebrates, encourages, and inspires the designers of new problem-solving ideas”.

Dotplot won that award!

Dotplot assists women to perform self-breast exams accurately by using an at-home breast monitoring tool and breast cancer app.

Here is how it works.

1. The user needs to build a map of her torso by entering breast shape and bra size data in the app.

2. Now the user has to slide the breast monitoring tool to the baseline.

3. Once it is done, the breast cancer app guides the women to perform a breast self-exam by showing the region that is not covered.

4. The user needs to perform a self-breast exam regularly with the same procedure.

5. If there are abnormalities in the tissues, the app notifies the user to visit the GP or healthcare professional for further check-ups.

This way, Dotplot is helping women in detecting the earlier stage of cancer along with maintaining their breast health.

Is It Right to Put Trust in Breast Cancer Apps and Monitoring Devices?

Non-technical perspective:

Let’s understand it with a simple example.

You have seen the weight scale, right?

Or possibly you already have it at your home.

It not only measures your weight but also counts water level and body fat. 

What’s more, you can also monitor and share the previous month's data from your smartphone.

Just like the weight scale, the breast monitoring tool works the same way.

It measures the user’s breast condition and shows the data in the breast cancer app.

Technical perspective:

Let’s continue with the same example.

Both weight scale and at-home breast monitoring tools are one type of IoT (Internet of Things) device.

The ultimate goal of any IoT is to analyze and share real-time data in the IoT-enabled app.

The only difference here is one is wellness IoT and the other one is healthcare IoT.

Dotplot’s at-home breast monitoring tool uses ultrasound signals to identify the tissue composition in each area and sends the reading directly into the app.

Its breast cancer app compares the previously recorded readings with real-time ones using AI algorithms.

And if there are abnormalities in the data, it notifies the user about it. 

So, the answer is –

One who believes in the accuracy of the weight scale should also consider Dotplot’s at-home breast exam method as life-saving.

Will the Idea of an IoT-enabled Breast Cancer App Address the Global Breast Cancer Scenario?

We have been working in the healthcare industry for the past 8+ years.

We strongly believe that IoT can change the world just like the internet did.

The traditional method of self-breast examination is never going to help in detecting breast cancer at an earlier stage.

And the prior reason is that – there is no universal technique to perform an at-home breast exam.

Thus, women are not certain whether they are performing the method correctly or not.

This leads them to not conduct the self-breast examination regularly.

And remember, whether it's breast cancer or other healthcare issues, patients feel exhausted when they feel a lack of convenience and support.

But, technology has all the answers to it.

It comes up with the extra layer – accessibility.

With just a handpicked monitoring device and breast cancer app, women can perform their self-breast exam in a matter of time and can share the reading with the gynecologist or GP.

So, now you have the answer.

The combination of tech and an ideal method brings clarity, ease, and confidence to at-home breast exams!