Skin cancer causes over 36,000 deaths in the EU every year and costs around €9 billion in healthcare and indirect costs. The THz-Skin Pathfinder Open project, starting 1 February 2026 and running for four years, aims to make early detection faster, safer, and more accessible. The project will develop a non-invasive, label-free diagnostic platform enabling real-time, zero-radiation screening without expensive equipment or specialist intervention.

A conceptual breakthrough of the project is to use the body’s natural thermal emission to detect cancer spectral fingerprints in the terahertz (THz) range. The concept was made possible by the recent project h-cube, implemented as ATTRACT Phase II program, that resulted in development broad and narrow-band bolometers providing THz detectors with an unprecedented combination of fast response and high sensitivity. These detectors will be the building blocks for miniaturized, low-cost Multifrequency Pixels (MFPs) sensors, enabling hyperspectral imaging in the 3–25 THz range. Diagnostics will be based on a growing, open-access, spectral fingerprint library and on AI diagnostics to detect subcutaneous cancer signatures.

The project funded by the European Commission is implemented by consortium of academic and industrial partners from Italy, Lithuania, the UK, Finland, and Switzerland. The kick-off meeting took place in Joensuu on 12 February 2026, marking the start of this ambitious collaborative effort.

THz-Skin Pathfinder Open promises to revolutionize skin cancer diagnostics, enabling widespread screening, earlier treatment, and better patient outcomes across Europe.
Successful implementation of the THz-Skin project will enable simple-to-use diagnostic equipment available in a primary-care environment.

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The press release is available for download. 

Our project successfully kicked off in Joensuu, Finland, on 12 February 2026. We look forward to four years of research dedicated to developing more effective and affordable skin cancer screening solutions!