A Highland-based company that has developed a device that will allow women to check for abnormalities in breast tissue at home has had an overwhelming response to national TV and newspaper coverage about the innovation.

Dr David Watmough, chief executive and founder of the Highland Innovation Centre (HIC), has been developing the BreastChecker device since starting the company in March 2000, and now believes he has a product close to being ready for manufacturing and distributing.

"Since the BreastChecker featured in the health pages of a national newspaper and was discussed by Dr Chris on ITV1's This Morning show, I have had over 250 enquiries from people who are keen to get their hands on this device," said Dr Watmough.

"Many of the enquiries I have had come from women who have been affected by breast cancer. This simple-to-use device can be used regularly to check for any abnormalities or changes in the breast tissue. If found, these can then be checked out by a doctor and quickly treated."

Dr Watmough, a former professor of medical physics, has also produced a clinical BreastChecker to be used by doctors to discover whether there is blood flow surrounding any lump picked up by the domestic machine, which is an indicator that it could be cancerous.

Five of the BreastCheckers are now being produced to be sent to evaluation centres in Wales, Portugal and the US.

If the trials are successful, Dr Watmough will be looking to raise the necessary funds to begin manufacturing the devices, which he hopes to do in Inverness or the surrounding area.

"Earlier detection of breast cancer is vital, and this is why we have developed this device," said Dr Watmough. "There are also a lot of women who could be affected by breast cancer, but are outside the 50-65 age range for NHS screening. We expect the BreastChecker when mass produced will cost in the region of £50-£60."

HIC has received assistance from Inverness and Nairn Enterprise (INE) in order to develop the BreastChecker devices as well as three other innovations, which he is currently working on - an angiotracker, radio adaptor and cordless headphones and an electronic ultrastethoscope.

The angiotracker - initially assisted with a Scottish Executive SMART award - from which the hand-held BreastChecker was later derived, is a larger device which is designed to be used within hospitals and is connected to a computer and low light camera to observe the progress of treatments and accurately record changes over a period of time.

The cordless headphones arose from Dr Watmough's own interest in metal detecting, and frustration with the wires connecting the headphones to the detector. This led him to devise a radio link to the detector, which is proving popular with other enthusiasts.

The electronic stethoscope has attracted interest from the UK, France, Singapore and the USA for security and medical use. The British Antarctic Survey took the device out on a recent expedition and was able to use it to monitor the heart rate of seals.

"The benefit of this device is that it works in extreme temperatures and is powerful enough to work through clothing, or in the case of the seals through their fur and the inch of fat that surrounds their bodies," explained Dr Watmough.

The electronic ultrastethoscope, may be useful with medics treating patients involved in mountaineering accidents or burns victims as it does not involve having to undress the patient. It also allows more than one person to listen at the same time, which should be helpful for training purposes.

In addition to the £72,575 grant assistance that HIC has received from INE, the Highlands and Islands Enterprise Network has, through INE, invested a further £95,319 through shares in the company.

Richard Myers, business development manager at INE, said: "HIC is a company that displays strong innovation skills and is addressing several growing markets with new products. INE's association with the company over the past five years demonstrates the Network's support for innovation and confidence in Dr Watmough's work. This forms part of INE's strategy to grow the medical devices industry around the city."