John Culatto
A NEW screening machine at Gibraltar’s St Bernard’s Hospital will help find moles and skin cancer easier than ever with its AI function.
The fourth generation Fotofinder Mole Mapping Screening Machine is ‘the most most advanced device for Mole Mapping, Dermoscopy and Lesion photography’ the Gibraltar Health Authority (GHA) said in a statement.
Local lawyer James Levy and businessman Rafael Benaim donated the machine, that maps the total surface of the skin to spot any warning signs of skin cancer.
The GHA said it would help doctors at the Dermatology Department of the hospital help detect the cancers early.
It added that ‘the majority of melanomas arise in clear normal skin rather than in pre-existing moles’.
Dr Jose Ferrera GP for Dermatology said the machine ‘will be most helpful to quickly identify atypical lesions on the skin’.
GHA Director General Patrick Geoghegan thanked Levy and Benaim for the contribution.
“Melanoma skin cancer is the fifth most common cancer – thus diagnosis at the early stages is important,”
But he advised people to ‘please perform self-examination at home to pick up any new or changing moles’.
Card happy
The new machine follows last week’s announcement that residents can now get their new health cards online.
GHA members need only go on the Gov.gi portal or app where most of the details are filled in automatically.
The government boasted in its statement that the whole card can be ordered ‘in five clicks’ without the need for proof of address.
The Register or Renew medical healthcare eService is already one of the most used online services with 3,3000 service requests in the last six months.
“Making the eService simpler, easier and quicker to use is crucial to making eGovernment an integral part of a citizen’s life,” Minister for Health and Digital Services Albert Isola said.
“This has become even easier with the new Gov.gi app, where the eService can be access via a mobile phone.”
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