The mother died of breast cancer. 20 years later, Leslie invented a way to detect it

Engineer Leslie Holton led a group of college students who created a tool that simulates the detection of breast tumors – who had stolen her mother and grandmother.

For twenty years, Leslie Holton He was a graduate student, studying virtual reality in medicine, when his mother died of cancer from the metastatic breast.

“My mother and grandmother died Breast cancer, ”says Holton, who was 26 years old at the time.

Losing them made Leslie be committed to finding a way that other women could detect breast cancer Before it was too late.

The engineer then came up with an idea: “I wondered, can we create a simulator that can help women learn How to make a breast self -examination, and Help them understand what they are looking for?”

Currently Director of Innovation at, Leslie Holton had the idea for the first time two decades ago, then still a postgraduate student. However, at the time It had neither technology nor financing to advance with the project – and had to archive it.

About 18 months ago, during the Medronic Research Day, a collaboration workshop between academic and industrial institutions, the engineer presented her idea to Krystyna Gielo-PerczakProfessor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Connecticut.

“I told you about my concept, and that with the interfaces of current games and other technologies, It seemed that it was the right time To develop this more, ”recalls Holton, at UCONN.” The simulator could be implemented in medical offices or taken directly to the communities. “

At a time when breast cancer rates are increasing Among young women, Gielo-Perczak expressed immediate interest in moving forward with the project.

With the help of Five engineering finalistsincluding Grace Bonacci and Carrie Nguyen – both now employees from Medronic, Holton and his team have developed a Sophisticated training tool which addresses a critical gap in women’s health education.

The simulator combines virtual reality with haptic feedback technology. Users use a RV helmet and a mechanical glove Equipped with inflatable balloons that create sensations of pressure on the fingertips.

The system uses magnetic resonances processed online databases to create realistic breast models within the virtual environment.

“We see a breast model, and as we move your hand in real life, there hand -detecting software so that we can see it moving within the environment of virtual reality, ”explains Nguyen. The mechanical glove provides tactile feedback – that simulates the difference between healthy and potentially tumor tissue.

The tool addresses significant barriers to breast self-examination. Recent studies indicate that Most women are unaware of adequate self-examination techniques-and tend not to be present the need to perform them regularly.

Although not conceived as a diagnostic tool, the simulator helps users to Develop trust and familiarity with normal characteristics – compared to abnormal – breast tissue.

“The creation of an experience accessible, fun and similar to a game Pemete reduces anxiety around the learning process, ”explains Holton.

The innovative tool, which won the first award in a UCONN senior design contest, in competition against 20 other projects, aroused the interest of students who participated in women’s health technology.

“This project made me even more in love with it, and even more conscious,” says Bonacci. “But there is much more to be done,” he adds. Nguyen.

Holton considers that his tool is a fundamental step, but his ultimate goal is that some non -profit organization adopt and distribute by clinics and hospitals.

“An idea I had 20 years ago is now a reality,” says the engineer – who is sure The mother and grandmother would share her pride In an innovation that can in the future save countless lives.