'Cancer breathalyser' inspired by premature death wins Britain's engineering award

A man whose firm has scooped Britain's top engineering award for its ‘cancer breathalyser’ says it was inspired by his wife’s late diagnosis and death from the disease.

Billy Boyle, a Cambridge University graduate, lost his wife Kate to colon cancer on Christmas Day 2014, moments before their twin sons, Isaac and Oscar, woke to ask him if it was time to open their presents.

His company has since created a breathalyser for disease and last night (WED) it won the MacRobert Award, the UK’s most prestigious prize for engineering that boasts the CT scanner among its previous winners.