AVISIT to hospital for an intimate examination can be distressing, nervewracking and embarrassing for some patients. Now the use of coloured “MoodLight” during breast examinations at Worcester’s main hospital may be the latest way to, quite literally, banish patient blues.

The new machine has been ordered by staff at Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Newtown Road, Worcester, to help put patients at ease.

The machine uses “warm and soothing tones” to reduce patient anxiety during examinations.

It is the first time in the county’s hospitals that the use of colour in technical breast examinations has been used to help relax patients during awkward and sometimes embarrassing procedures.

The lights, which are not part of the scanning process itself, have been designed as part of a new innovative digital breast imaging system. The use of colour has long been associated with stimulating our feelings and emotions.

The tones we use to decorate our homes, the shade of car we choose to drive, even the clothes we pick out to wear, all have deeper meanings that lock into our psychology according to research.

The new digital mammography system from Siemens Healthcare called ‘Inspiration’ emits colours into the examination environment and can be changed instantly to suit different patients.

One of the first hospitals using the system in the UK is St John’s Hospital in West Lothian, Scotland.

Julie Graham, lead mammographer at St John’s said: “The system gives us great flexibility in the choice of colours.

We’ve used the peach colour tones the most as this is warm and welcoming and as we examine one to two men per week, we would certainly avoid pinks or other typically feminine colours at these times as it would be too intimidating.”

The majority of breast examinations take the form of a mammogram, a specialist breast Xray that looks inside the tissue to detect changes in the breast that sometimes can’t be felt but could represent a cancer.

All women between the ages of 50 and 70, due to change to 47 and 73 by 2012, are called for breast screening every three years. For many, removing clothing in front of strangers and having their breast compressed during the examination causes anxiety.

“Many people think that colour is just a matter of vision – essentially cosmetic in its effects – but the truth is that colour affects us physiologically as well as emotionally and aesthetically, every waking moment, whether we are conscious of it or not “It is therefore a crucially important element in healthcare,”

states Angela Wright, a Colour Psychologist.

“Breast examination is inevitably an anxiety-provoking experience, from the actual examination process to the fear of what might be found, so almost any warm, soft colour will help to ease negative feelings.”

Colours themselves give off different moods and selecting the right one can be crucial.

Each colour has very specific properties, so once the clinical staff gauge how a patient is feeling, exactly the right colour can be chosen to actively improve his or her mood.

For example, orange is a mixture of physical and emotional stimulus so is very sensual. It can make you feel surrounded by abundance if you are feeling deprived.

Mixing hues of orange and pink gives you peach which is also psychologically positive and very flattering to the skin.

Green is the most reassuring colour to restore balance and turquoise is the colour of inspiration, which most people find uplifting due to its conscious associations with water and the natural world.

In the breast screening programme, mammography is used to identify problems early, often before they can be felt and it is therefore important that women over 50 and people with family risks are screened regularly.

Samantha Smith, Women’s Health Specialist at Siemens Healthcare and previously a mammographer in the NHS, said: “Over the last 20 years the NHS Breast Screening Programme has done a wonderful job in identifying cancer earlier and improving survival rates.

“With the age range for screening widening and an increasing ageing population, new digital systems will prove their worth.

“If integral calming colours can also reduce anxiety during the examinations we can improve the chances of getting a good quality examination first time and the ladies may be more likely to reattend next time.

“It’s an added plus in the quest to beat breast cancer.”

BREAST SCREENING PROGRAMME

● The UK’s breast screening programme has undertaken over 18 million mammograms since the service began in 1988 leading to the detection of more than 100,000 cancers.

● The service currently uses analogue mammography systems but will look to upgrade all hospital based and mobile centres to digital by 2012, beginning next year. This will further enhance the standard of care provided to women.

● Digital mammography is the same physical process as the current technology in that women’s breasts are placed on the X-ray system, compressed and then imaged one at a time. The advantages of digital is that the process is more automated so there is more time for the patient.

It is quicker and the image quality is better to aid earlier diagnosis.

● Digital mammography is of particular use to women with denser breasts such as younger women and women on HRT.

● The use of colour and its merits in promoting a feeling of well being in the healthcare environment was cited as important in a 2005 Department of Health paper, The Healing Environment.