SkinBall

The SkinBall project — “Skin Tumour Detection by using a Millimeter-Wave Photonic Spectroscopy System” — was a two-year innovation project (January 2020 to December 2021) funded under the INTERREG VA ROCKET Reloaded programme, co-financed by the European Union and the Interreg partners across the Dutch-German border region.

The project’s starting point was the recognised potential of millimetre waves (mm-waves) in the 30–300 GHz range for detecting pathological changes in the skin layers where most tumours originate. With squamous cell carcinoma being the second most common malignant non-melanocytic skin tumour and its incidence rising continuously, there was a clear medical need for a non-invasive, contactless alternative to conventional biopsy. SkinBall set out to address this by developing a mobile, high-resolution photonic Ka-band (26.5–40 GHz) imaging system capable of operating across an extremely wide bandwidth while providing sufficient contrast for reliable tumour detection.

Microwave Photonics GmbH coordinated the project and led the development of the photonic system, drawing on its core expertise in RF photonic components and photonic-electronic integration. The consortium further included Dutch partner Mintres BV, the Centre for Semiconductor Technology and Optoelectronics (ZHO) at the University of Duisburg-Essen, and the University Hospital Essen, which contributed essential dermatological expertise. Together, the partners successfully developed and demonstrated a photonic Ka-band skin sensor and a complete imaging system capable of resolving refractive index differences of up to 0.4 between healthy and cancerous tissue — a result supported by expert medical review. The project laid the groundwork for future THz near-field scanners for the medical sector and established lasting cross-border collaborations between all partners that continue to inform subsequent research and innovation activities.