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A laser microscope that could speed up skin cancer diagnosis and reduce the need for biopsies may soon become reality.

The hand-held microscope could help doctors decide if a biopsy is absolutely necessary, cutting down on the number carried out and streamlining the diagnostic process.

Chris Arrasmith, a researcher working on the development of the microscope at Montana State University, said: "Any combination of tools we can provide to enable early detection of any kind of disease is a good thing."

Diagnosis of skin cancer currently requires confirmation with a potentially painful biopsy, where doctors remove a sample of the suspected area of skin for analysis.

Unlike regular microscopes, the proposed device uses lasers to look at the cellular structure of a patient’s skin, allowing doctors to look for tell-tale chemical signs of cancer.

Approximately 1,500 people die each year in England and Wales from malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.

The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with cancer.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Cancer, Medical Developments and treatments.