Skin Cancer Identified Swiftly Using Skinometer

With funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, an innovative device to track the appearance and development of skin cancer using light from the Terahertz part of the light spectrum has been manufactured. Developers have commercialised it as the “skinometer”.

A typical three-hour surgical operation that collects and tests skin samples may be reduced to just 30 minutes using the device.

A portable version of the skinometer has since been created and early trials have begun at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.

Small light pulsations with wavelengths between 3 mm and 30 μm are released, hitting the skin’s exterior before reflecting off.

These reflections demonstrate the extent of the skin cancer’s subcutaneous spread. Having knowledge of this before surgery takes place will enable more effective skin transplant planning and a faster operation. It is also notable that the using the device is both painless and deemed completely safe.

A skin cancer surgeon at UHCW, Professor Joe Hardwicke, explained that “this may give us the ability to diagnose cancers in living tissue in real time and avoid the need for biopsy in the future for certain cancer types. This will speed up diagnosis and could provide a tailor-made treatment for each patient.”

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