An incredible new piece of equipment has landed at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester thanks to funds raised by the Hampshire Medical Fund.
The cutting edge FotoFinder mole mapping machine will radically change the way the dermatology team is able to identify, monitor and treat skin cancer for patients in the region.
Operated by a team of two consultants, the equipment detects moles through rapid screening and taking pictures for patient records. Skin cancer specialists will then compare these images with previous pictures to clinically assess the results and alert the patient to any changes that may be found.
This equipment will streamline the process of checking for moles and comparing records. Through this new technology, patients spend less time in hospital and staff can more easily identify and provide treatment, making it easier and quicker for both the patients and hospital staff.
It uses artificial intelligence to compare any changes when doing follow up scans and will alert the dermatologists to those changes in order that appropriate action can be taken.
Each year, departments across the whole of HHFT (Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) bid to secure funding through the Hampshire Medical Fund for medical equipment outside of NHS scope.
Dr Sam Hunt, consultant dermatologist at HHFT said: “We are really lucky that we were able to bid through the Hampshire Medical Fund to help us provide the best possible care to our patients. This has allowed us to purchase equipment that would otherwise be outside of our budget, and we continue to be really grateful for their support.”
Dr Lara Alloway, chief medical officer at HHFT said: “We are very grateful to have been able to buy this piece of equipment with the support of Hampshire Medical Fund. It will be a huge aid to the skin cancer monitoring services we provide, enabling us to provide outstanding care for our patients due to being more accessible, accurate and easier for our staff to use.”
For more information, click here to watch a short video. For more information about the work of the Hampshire Medical Fund, please go to www.hampshiremedicalfund.org.
