UNIVERSITY Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust is trialling a method that could revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancer.
The skinometer is the first of its kind and has been developed at the University of Warwick, with its aim being to detect how far cancers extend under the skin.
This would give surgeons crucial information that could significantly cut operating times.
University Hospital has already begun preliminary testing of the scanner for research purposes, with results not shared with participants.
UHCW skin cancer surgeon Prof Joe Hardwicke said: “Some skin cancers can be below the skin that we can’t actually see, so when we do remove them surgically, occasionally a little bit can be left behind.
“The hope with this technology is that we can be more accurate in our surgery and remove more of the cancers on the first occasion.”
The skinometer produces tiny pulses of light which strike the skin’s surface and bounce off.
The waveforms of the reflected light then show how far the skin cancer has spread.
It also accurately indicates moisture levels and how the skin reacts to different moisturisers, which will help to develop more effective, skin-type-specific sun creams.
The study is also looking at whether the skinometer may be useful in assessing how effectively dry skin conditions are treated.
Professor Emma MacPherson, from Warwick’s Department of Physics, which has led the research said: “Skin cancer rates have increased rapidly in the UK, with more than 16,000 new cases every year.
“My vision is that ultimately the technology can also be extended to benefit detection of a variety of different cancers such as breast and colon cancers.”
