With our funding, PhD student Marah Alassaf is developing an “electronic skin” patch designed to make breast cancer testing more comfortable and accessible.

The ultra-thin patch sticks to breasts and measures tiny, localised temperature changes that can be an early sign of a tumour.

“The idea is to provide a convenient, non-invasive tool that could one day help detect cancer earlier,” says Alassaf.

Alassaf works in Dr Faezeh Arab Hassani’s research group at the University of Bristol, combining engineering, material science and biology. She hopes the heat-sensing patch will help monitor people at higher risk of breast cancer, reduce invasive biopsies and uncomfortable mammograms, cut down hospital visits, and offer a practical screening option in under-resourced areas.

Why temperature matters

Cancer cells grow and spread quickly. This increases local blood flow and metabolism, causing small rises in the tissue temperature. The change can be tiny, as small as 0.2°C, depending on tumour size and depth, so a very sensitive device would be required to detect it.

Many other factors can also cause a rise in our temperature, like exercise, infections, inflammation and other bodily processes. So, as Alassaf explains, it’s not about detecting a temperature change at a single point, but rather looking for consistent patterns over time.

“The user would wear the patch for an extended time,” she says. “We’d be looking for a pattern of a higher temperature in a particular area. This would give us a sign that further investigation is required,” Alassaf explains.

How the patch works

Alassaf has already developed a prototype. It’s an ultrathin, multilayer device made from a high-tech plastic called polyimide, gold and chromium electrodes, carbon nanotubes and conductive polymers. These materials convert tiny temperature changes into electrical signals, which can be processed into a thermal image or heat map.

“A heat map looks a bit like a chessboard. Each square represents one of the nine ultra-flexible sensors in the patch, so you see exactly which part of the patch saw a temperature increase,” Alassaf explains.

A consistently warmer area could indicate the presence of a tumour and prompt clinical follow-up.

Next steps for the patch

So far, Alassaf has tested the patch on silicone models of breasts that can be programmed to change temperature. The next step is to test the patch on real patients, to see how well it could measure temperature changes and identify tumours.

Alassaf is also working to improve the patch’s accuracy, reliability and usability, by including more sensors and refining the signal processing procedure.

The current patch system is wired to a computer, but Alassaf plans to develop a wireless version that could process the image itself and link to a smartphone application that monitors the data in real time

Then, a doctor could review the results and determine if further tests are needed.

Alassaf expresses that the patch is not intended to replace doctors or current testing methods but to support them.

“It’s an extra tool in the toolbox. It complements other medical diagnostic tools so some of the work can be done in the comfort of people’s homes,” she says.

Meet the researcher: the path to the patch

Alassaf’s journey to this project wasn’t a straight line. Her work combines personal motivations and multidisciplinary training.

When Alassaf was studying for her undergraduate degree in engineering in Syria, two women she knew were diagnosed with breast cancer. Their cancers were caught late and this experience inspired Alassaf to find a solution.

‘‘It really motivated me and made me wonder if engineering could help with early detection,’’ she says.

After her undergraduate, Alassaf completed a master’s degree in advanced microelectronics and then began a PhD in digital health in Bristol with Dr Faezeh Arab Hassani.

“I wanted to combine my passion for medicine with my expertise in engineering. And I knew that I wanted to do something that has to do with cancer. So, I had all the ingredients I was looking for.”

It’s Alassaf’s cross-disciplinary and creative approach that makes this project so special.

If the clinical testing is successful, the patch could transform the way we screen for breast cancer, particularly in places with limited access to traditional diagnostic tools.

Executive Director of Research and Innovation at Cancer Research UK, Dr Iain Foulkes says

“Finding new and better ways to detect cases earlier is key in our mission to beat cancer. This is early-stage research, but this temperature-sensing patch technology could potentially be used alongside screening programmes and other tools to help us catch more cases of breast cancer sooner and save lives. It may also prove valuable in countries where access to traditional breast mammography is limited.”