Now, an '' intelligent bra'' with sensors

Women who are sick and tired of their ill-fitting bras can now breathe a sigh of relief, for scientists in Australia have developed an ''intelligent bra'' with sensors.

It is thought that as many as 80 per cent of women wear the wrong bra, which increases the risk of pain and nerve damage caused by bra straps, particularly during exercise.

Experts had found that even the minority in the right size bras could still be at risk of long-term injury because much of the support is given by the straps that bear down on their shoulders.

The researchers from the University of Wollongong used a special fabric with in-built sensors to detect movement as women walk and jog, which was used to design the revolutionary bra.

The fabric was tested on two women, aged 30 and 39, with size 36D and 38DD bra sizes respectively, as they walked on a treadmill at 4mph and jogged at 6mph.

Movement of the chest during walking ranged from 0.4 inches to almost one inch.

But the study found that as they ran, the larger their chest moved by up to 2.7 inches compared to the smaller woman''s which moved up to 2.1 inch.

"A consequence of current bra design is that the brassiere straps bear much of the load generated by breast momentum during physical activity," Telegraph quoted the researchers, as saying."As breast mass increases, breast bounce momentum also increases, placing large loads on the straps and, in turn, excessive pressure on the wearer''s shoulders.

"Apart from strap-related pain, many females, particularly large-breasted women are restricted from participating in physical activity due to exercise-induced breast pain associated with excessive vertical breast displacement," the researchers added.The researchers said that the new fabric could help manufacturers produce more comfortable bras.

"Our results show that the fabric sensors are suitable to monitor breast motion and brassiere function," the study''s authors said.

"Brassiere designers will have the ability directly to assess the effects of changes to each brassiere component," they added.

The study will be published in the Journal of Biomechanics. (ANI)

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