EvaTech

Evatech (previously Higia Technologies) is a Mexico City based medical device company developing a non-invasive wearable device for breast cancer detection. It is developing a bra-like device fitted with sensors and uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to detect abnormalities related to breast cancer. The device is tissue density agnostic and acts as an alternative to mammograms which are less effective against dense tissues. The device is expected to help detect the early onset of breast cancer without the use of radiation and encourage regular self-evaluation. As of August 2019, the company had sold more than five thousand devices in Mexico and is preparing to sell in other countries.

EVA is a wearable device worn like a bra fitted with heat sensors which detect temperature on the surface on the breast to enable easy screening of breast cancer. The sensors detect thermal patterns for a duration of time and send the information over Bluetooth to an app for analysis. The app uses artificial intelligence algorithms to detect temperature irregularity that relates to the symptom of breast cancer. The devices’ non-invasive method makes it easier for women to evaluate themselves with complete privacy.

Results from the traditional method of detecting breast cancer with mammograms are known to be inconsistent for high-density tissues. 43% of the female population in the USA with over the age of 40 are assumed to have high breast density, and 80% of the female population in Asian countries are in the same demographic. The device performs its evaluation based on analysis of thermal patterns which make it suitable for people with both high or low breast density.

The device has undergone clinical trials with more than 350 patients over the age of 25 in the Mexican Institute of Social Insurance. The device as of March 2019, has a sensibility at 87.9% and specificity at 81.7%.

Julián Ríos Cantú and Jose Antonio Torres founded the company in 2015 and is headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico. Julián started the company after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time. The first screening was unable to find all tumor locations hidden due to high tissue density.