SINGAPORE – For some women, mammograms are such a painful, dreaded experience that they avoid doing it.

But these screenings remain the most reliable way to detect breast cancer early, so Mr Luke Goh, 25, spent about one year looking into how the procedure can be made more comfortable.

And the industrial design graduate’s invention might just encourage more women to make a mammogram appointment when it is eventually adopted by hospitals and clinics.

Currently, radiographers in the screening room will typically ask the patient to stand still while a compression plate presses down on each breast to flatten it on a special X-ray machine.

This is repeated several times as each breast is repositioned in turn, in order to capture X-ray images from various angles. The radiographers rely on their experience to estimate the compression force needed on the breast, often resulting in over- or under-compression.

Mr Goh developed Mammosense as a tool to guide radiographers conducting personalised breast compressions, and thus reduce women’s discomfort during mammograms.

Early trials have shown that his prototype is able to reduce force exertion by 34 per cent, says Mr Goh, who worked closely with healthcare professionals from National University Hospital (NUH). He has co-patented the technology with NUH and National University of Singapore.

He conceived the idea as his final-year project in 2023 when pursuing a degree in industri...