Space travel tech will put breast cancer screening on offer at supermarkets

WOMEN will be offered breast cancer screening while they shop under NHS plans that take advantage of technology designed for use in space travel.

Breast screening vans will be sent to supermarkets across the country under a scheme to drive up detection rates, with women able to receive re- sults within days.

Officials hope that making checks more convenient will mean thousands of cases are picked up earlier, when the disease is more treatable.

Technology developed for space travel will enable the scans to be directly beamed from car parks to hospi- tal experts.

Sixteen vans are taking part in pilot schemes in three regions of the country using funds from the UK Space Agency, ahead of a wider roll-out. Sites include branches of Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.

Health officials are keen to make use of mobile services in order to improve uptake of breast screening, with current levels the lowest in a decade. They hope bringing services to shopping centres and supermarkets will boost uptake, saving thousands of lives from the disease – the most common cancer for women.

Until now transporting such scans has relied heavily on the use of couriers and healthcare staff, stymying efforts to roll out mobile schemes.

But the new technology means that, over the next 18 months, 60 vans will be sent across the country, with 45 per cent of the population covered.

Officials said the schemes would give women results far more quickly, with most getting the all-clear in a matter of days, instead of weeks. The use of 4G networks and direct satellite links means images can be transferred in less than five minutes.

The technology will allow clinics to be far more flexible, with women invited for screening able to turn up without an appointment, because their records will always be accessible.

One in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, with 55,000 diagnoses a year.

The plans are part of NHS efforts to use space technology to modernise the NHS. Prof Tony Young, NHS England’s national clinical director for innovation, said: “In the NHS’S 70th year we are using satellite technology to revolutionise breast cancer screening by beaming scans back to hospitals from mobile screening units next to shopping centres and speeding up diagnoses.”

Emily Gravestock, UK Space Agency head of applications, said: “Technology from space is already improving our daily lives, and health is no exception.”

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The number of vans taking part in pilot schemes, using technology to beam results to hospital experts for fast results