SCIENTISTS in Malvern have come up with a groundbreaking computer system that will catch breast cancer more quickly and could save the lives of thousands of women.

The QinetiQ base in St Andrew's Road has devised a system that can grade cancer as effectively as a human pathologist, only at a faster pace.

Pathscore, as it has been named, is based on defence technologies and analyses breast tissue samples.

A stand-alone system, it produces consistent and reproducible results around the clock and can be used with existing computers, microscopes and cameras. Evaluation shows that its performance is comparable to that of a human expert.

Alun Williams, managing director of QinetiQ's health business, said: "This is the world's first automated breast cancer grading system and the speed and reproducibility of Pathscore's analysis will hasten the diagnosis on which a patient's treatment is based.

"In turn this will provide objective prognosis for many of the women who are diagnosed with breast cancer.

"Pathscore also has the potential to reduce hospital costs and ease pressures caused by a worldwide shortage of pathologists and should result in improved patient outcomes."

Qinetiq has joined forces with Zi Medical, a medical technology company, to commercialise the technology in a £3.6m deal.

A spokesman for Zi Medical said tests were also under way to see if it can be used for prostate, bowel and cervical cancers too.

If the tests are a success, it is hoped the system will be on the market in 18 months.

The news was welcomed by Worcester resident Marilyn Waghore, who had a health scare earlier this year when she discovered a lump on her breast.

While the hospital was quick to get her in for tests, she had to wait a long time for the results.

She said: "Anything that can speed up the process of test results has to be a good thing. I had to wait more than four weeks when this could be almost instant.

"This technology sounds wonderful and should make a huge difference."

'This will help so many people'

Carol Little was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2002. At first her specialists told her the disease was not that widespread, but three operations later it was discovered she needed a mastectomy.

She believes technology like that developed by scientists at QinetiQ could have helped to make her ordeal less frightening and mentally challenging.

The 53-year-old, of Hogbrook Farm, Claines, said: "I was training to be a nurse at the time and the day after I went for a routine mammogram, I noticed a lump. My daughter, who is a nurse, told me to go directly to my GP, which I did, and I had a biopsy.

"The results showed cancer and I had a lumpectomy and then I had to go back in for more tissue to be removed. They thought it was clear, but when I went back later I was told I needed a mastectomy.

"The waiting was the worst part and it was psychologically damaging as well as physically.

"I went from being told there was nothing to worry about to having a breast off. Any automated technology that can grade cancer and get results back quicker has to be good news and will help a lot of people."

Mrs Little gave up the idea of becoming a nurse after her ordeal. She later had reconstructive surgery in 2004. She is now an assistant physiotherapist at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, is a member of the Worcester breast cancer support group Breast of Friends.

She said many of the sufferers she knew had suffered from waiting and thought Pathscore sounded a good idea.

She added: "There are stories of pathologists wrongly grading the cancer, from telling people not to worry, like they did me, to going to the other extreme, telling them the cancer is worse than it is.

"Technology that can work through the clock would hopefully not only be accurate but would speed up treatment.

"I hope we see Pathscore, or something similar to it, in hospitals soon."