JERUSALEM - A new device created by an Israeli engineer may make the common breast cancer detection tools obsolete by lessening the need for radiation and discomfort, while increasing cancer detection rates by ten percent, Israel21c news site reported on Tuesday.

Boaz Arnon, the creator of the device and founder of the Lod- based Real Imaging company, began developing it after his mother died of breast cancer seven years ago.

The electro-optical engineer invented the device in 2006 and called it RUTH, in memory of his mother. Arnon wanted the tool to be more efficient than normal breast detection techniques, and suitable for women of any age.

More efficient than common mammography, according to Arnon, RUTH utilizes Functional Multidimensional Infra-Red Analysis to scan images of cancerous and benign breast tissue. The device then provides a diagnosis of the patient's condition.

Although a physician oversees the whole procedure, RUTH eliminates the need for a doctor to interpret the results, therefore eliminating any chance of human error, Arnon told Israel21c.

The device also proved to be 90 percent accurate, he said -- 10 percent better than results from common mammography, which sometimes has even less success in detecting cancerous cells in younger patients.

RUTH is now being tested to see if it meets European Union standards, and next year Arnon plans to submit the device to the United States Food and Drug Administration for approval. Arnon hopes to market it internationally in 2012.