Researchers in Scotland on Friday launched a new treatment which can be used for treating skin cancer skin cancer that is almost as easy for patients to use, and doctors to regularly administer, as a simple band-aid.

The new treatment involves the application of a special cream on the skin and the 2in (5cm) wide device, which comes with a power source about the size of an iPod, is stuck on top.

After three hours the light switches on for around three hours, resulting in a photochemical reaction that kill the cancer, a process known as photodynamic therapy (PDT).

The light-emitting Ambulight PDT can be worn by patients even while walking; cutting the amount of time they need to spend in hospitals.

It also aims to make treatment more comfortable, making the treatment to leave virtually no scar.

Skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the UK, with rates multiplying in every eight to 10 years.

One of the major promising aspects of the Ambulight PDT, is the scope for further development of the technology, reveals professor, Ferguson.