State-of-the-art microscope will lead to revolution in skin cancer care

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital is the second hospital in the country, and the first outside London, to benefit from a new state-of-the-art microscope to detect skin cancer without the need for a biopsy.

From the left:  Plastic surgeon Marc Moncrieff, Dermatologist Dr Eunice Tan, patient and fundraiser Deborah Cook, fundraiser Maurice Hammond, fundraiser Perry Cook, Dermatologist Dr Jennifer Garioch and Nursing Support Worker Paul Gibson.

The new Confocal Microscope enables dermatologists to view detailed images of the upper layers of skin allowing cancer to be diagnosed without the need for obtaining a sample of skin under local anaesthetic which then has to be sent to the laboratory for analysis. The microscope will be used for research purposes in the first few months before being used to detect skin cancer in dermatology clinics once staff training has been completed.

Dr Jennifer Garioch, NNUH Consultant Dermatologist, say: “We are a leading skin cancer centre in the country and every year we screen over 6,000 people of all ages and backgrounds for possible skin cancer.

“This new equipment is revolutionary and will have huge benefits for patients, providing on-the-spot diagnosis and reducing the numbers of biopsies which are needed.”

The machine uses low-power laser beams that shine through the skin and reflect off tissues below the surface, illuminating the skin cells in question and allowing the doctor to determine if the patient has cancer without surgical removal of skin samples.

Most of the funding for the £170,000 Confocal Microscope has come from a fundraising campaign run by NNUH with donations from local people and organisations to the Skin Cancer Research Fund which is part of the hospital charity and is dedicated to raising funds for the benefit of skin cancer patients. Some of the main contributors have been Norwich City’s Technical Director Ricky Martin and the Norfolk FA raising over £15,000, our Little Friends charity which raised about £12,000 and the Cooke Family who raised in excess of £7,000 after Mr Kenny Cooke was treated by the unit before he sadly died.