Illawarra scientist and inventor Macinley Butson has been featured by the world's biggest video sharing website YouTube, catapulting the 2018 NSW Young Australian of the Year to global recognition.

Key points: The Wollongong-based scientist is the inventor of the SMART Armour shield for breast cancer patients

The Wollongong-based scientist is the inventor of the SMART Armour shield for breast cancer patients Macinley Butson was named 2018 NSW Young Australian of the Year

Macinley Butson was named 2018 NSW Young Australian of the Year She now needs a hospital to take on her SMART Armour for a clinical trial

Macinley Butson is used to getting interview requests, but not usually from one of the world's biggest tech giants.

The teenager's journey of educating herself in topics not being taught at school was what caught the attention of YouTube.

"In my scientific journey I definitely used YouTube, because looking at scientific journals as a high school student they're pretty much in a different language and they're written with that target audience of experts in the industry," she said.

"Coming from the perspective of not knowing about that was incredibly daunting."

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So she simply researched how to read scientific journals and taught herself.

As her idea for her SMART Armour developed, she watched videos of how radiation therapy works, what patients could expect as part of breast cancer treatment, and heard firsthand accounts of the emotional and physical impact it could have.

Before long, she had a solid understanding of not just the science behind her solution but the human side of treatment too.

"Being able to watch those videos helped me gain an understanding of what they're going through and how that feels. So when I was coming up with a solution, I kept those in mind," she said.

"It wasn't about what was the most effective from a scientific perspective, but psychologically, 'how will this help the patient?'"

Wollongong scientist Macinley Butson is looking for a hospital to take on her SMART Armour with a clinical trial. ( ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale )

Learning from academics and cosplayers

Macinley Butson's SMART (Scale Maille Armour for Radiation Therapy) invention is a device that shields the contralateral breast (the breast not being treated) from excess radiation.

As well as being made from high density copper, the shields are handmade.

A history lesson at school looking at scale maille in armies triggered a light bulb moment — she could make her invention using ancient armour techniques.

Back to YouTube she went.

"I'm obviously not from the medieval ages, so I had no idea what was involved [in making it]," she said.

"It's similar to a lot of knitting — you look at photos and they're written in words and that makes no sense, but when someone's doing it and you can watch them and play it at different speeds, it makes it a lot quicker."

Despite being one of the country's brightest minds, she is quick to point out she is easily distracted once she delves into the video sharing website.

"It has the intellectual side and I used it for school work but, then again, I can be watching funny goat videos when I shouldn't be but I'm enjoying myself," she said.

"It's a form of procrastination I'm well aware of."

Macinley Butson's SMART Armour is handmade using scale maille techniques. ( ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale )

Video to help raise awareness of need for clinical trial

Macinley Butson's SMART Armour is ready to go — it just needs a hospital to take it on.

It has been extensively tested and has approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration for practice.

She has a pile of handmade shields in her workspace at home — packaged and ready for distribution.

"It's at the stage where a lot of the right steps have been done," Ms Butson said.

"We're looking for a hospital to be the first to run a pilot study on it and use it with a patient."