Medicine understands breast cancer as a neoplasm in the mammary gland caused by the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, so tests are recommended to women who exceed 35 years.
The detail is what type of tests, which can be very varied and expensive: mammography, breast ultrasound, magnetic resonance, biopsy, among others.
For the Peruvian startup Zamenis adds a complementary test through a bra, and the really remarkable thing for its constancy is that this device was born in the classrooms of the San Pablo Catholic University (UCSP), in Arequipa.
“We do not want to replace a mammographer or an ultrasound. What we want is to add a new tool to breast cancer screening, a system that is an early alert so that, after this alert is given, the health system can integrate this case to people who would possibly have some type of anomaly ”explained Ebert San Román, researcher and team member.
Part of the concept of this project is based on San Román’s research, when he did his doctoral thesis.
But why the shape of a bra?
The researcher explains that is due to the portability and comfort of the patient. The most advanced equipment to detect breast cancer can cost more than 1 million dollars, unlike the Mabis bra.
Due to the difficult access to these more complex equipment, it is sought that Mabis can be used in areas away from the country and then have deeper evaluations.
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“We can put our system inside a suitcase, we can arrive, say, to a rural area or another area”said the conversation specialist with Commerce. Therefore, the purpose is to have economic, fast, that do not bother and allow preventive control.
And let’s go back to the first: the most important thing is the early detection of cancer. According to the specialist, that time of anticipation “can really make a difference between a person who is going to die and a person who will survive.”
How does it work?
In technological question, the device acts with the concept of a nearby field radar. That is, it uses the same principle of a radar, but applied to medicine.
For this process, the power has an important role, and what is used is fifty part of what a cell phone requires.
“We emit an electromagnetic wave in the range of 2 to 7 GHz. We use a very low power and then generate a sweep. In this case we have 16 sensors in each woman’s breast. Each of these antennas begins to trace. They are electromagnetic sensors and an antenna has a concept of transmitting information. With these sensors we emit a signal and see if there is any type of dispersion ”explains San Román.
Dispersion is another aspect to take into account. It can be understood how to spray water with a hose and that, when impacting a stone, the jet will have to divert, revive or splash.
Besides…
International recognition
The project has won international awards. In Japan, he won the call for the Boila-Shibuya acceleration program (Building A Startup Ecosystem in Latin America) of the International Cooperation Agency of Japan (JICA), in which countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia and Colombia participated. They can perform tests in that country. On the other hand, the startup Zamenis was one of the winners of LATAM Health Champions 2025. San Román commented that one of the keys is having worked in a group, unfortunately many of the projects that are made in Peru do not flourish. “We have to develop an environment, an ecosystem capable of the initiatives that our researchers have, because they can end in a specific product “he said.
In the case of cancer, San Román explains that it is taken into account that normally cancers are highly vascularized, develops their own blood vessels.
“When I have a type of tumor, some type of cancer, what we are going to see is that there is a very large reflection of the electromagnetic wave Because the woman’s breast, normally, beyond 40 years, 70 or 80% is a fatty breast. Being homogeneous, the electromagnetic wave that crosses the object, if you find the environment, what will happen is to splash up ”detailed about the process.
In the application, the patient uses the bra in a few minutes while the waves evaluate if there is any alteration.
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There are 256 signals that are transmitted from the sensors to a program, which the same team has developed for the generation of a 3D image. Today they are also working on the use of artificial intelligence to improve the results. Of course, the diagnosis is in the hands of the treating doctor.
Born in classrooms
At the beginning of the report it was said that the project was born in the classrooms of the San Pablo Catholic University (UCSP). For that we must go back to 2018, when Ebert San Román, who is part of the radiofrequency group of the electronic engineering and telecommunications program of said house of studies, worked his doctoral thesis.
From 2021 to 2023 an observational clinical study was conducted and in 2024 the startup zamenis was created to boost the device. Alejandro Condori is today the CEO of this young Peruvian company.
“It is born in order for the Mabis system not only to stay in a project, not only is it on a paper, but it can really go on the market, it can be marketed”said Condori in communication with this newspaper.
He indicated that they are currently in phase 2 of evaluation, and are doing preclinical tests. According to the results, a phase may pass in which the device with more patients is evaluated and the device ready.
“We point out what would be for next year, or the end of next year. We should finish a three phase and, probably, even having presented the file to obtain certification as such ”Condori explained, but not before highlighting the patience of the team because in the country the procedures are slow.
The team is also made up of Elizabeth Fernández, who sees the biomedical part, and Kevin Castañeda, an industrial engineer. During the process they have also had the participation of students from that university.
This is how a work that starts in university classrooms has grown until international awards and being about to enter the market. And most importantly, the possibility of saving lives.