A Mexican 18-year-old has won the 2017 Global Student Entrepreneur Award (GSEA) for his patent-pending invention to detect breast cancer, local media reported on Sunday.

Julian Rios Cantu beat out 56 other student entrepreneurs from as many countries to win this year's award, which was presented on Saturday at a ceremony in Frankfurt, Germany.

Rios, a native of Monterrey, in Mexico's northern state of Nuevo Leon, "became the first Mexican as well as the youngest person ever to win the award," which comes with a 20,000 U.S.-dollar cash prize to develop his invention, the online regional daily Vanguardia said.

Rios, who was driven by his mother's repeated bouts of breast cancer to develop an early detection system, spearheaded the design of "a breast cancer detection bra equipped with tactile sensors to map the surface of the breast and surrounding areas."

Rios is the CEO of Higia Technologies, a company he set up to develop and commercialize the device, which resembles a sports bra.

The GSEA "is the premier global competition for students who own and operate a business while attending college or university," according to its website.

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