New device can tell which moles can trigger skin cancer

London, Aug 4 : Scared if that mole on your face could one day turn out to be skin cancer? Well, then Molemate is sure to allay your fears.

Molemate is a non-invasive, rapid and painless mole-screening device that can enable a medical practitioner to quickly scan one's moles.

It may make it possible to detect the early stages of skin cancer by allowing doctors to screen and evaluate a mole within seconds.

Based on their observations, the doctors may either reassure patients that their moles are harmless or refer them on to a specialist. According to its manufacturers, the hand-held MoleMate device instantly analyses changes in the main components of skin, thus providing an early diagnosis.

Currently, Medicalternative, the Edinburgh private clinic, is the only one to provide such scans, charging 100 pounds for screening and evaluation.

"MoleMate is a non-invasive, rapid and painless mole screening device that enables a medical practitioner to quickly scan your moles, showing information up to 2mm under the skin. This can assist them in making an instant decision on the health of the mole," the Scotsman quoted a spokeswoman at Medicalternative as saying.

This device uses light wave technology to break in two millimetres beneath the surface of the skin.

The researchers can then use the differences in the light waves that return to detect potentially harmful changes in colour, blood flow, the skin pigment melanin and collagen that may signal progression to cancer unless treated.

Dr Lindsey Myskow, a part-time NHS GP who runs the screening clinics, said: "We scan the mole for a number of features to see whether it is suspicious or not. The scanner measures these pretty accurately and helps with diagnosis.

The device has been manufactured by Cambridge-based Astron Clinica, which was founded by scientist Symon Cotton in 1998.

ANI