A grandad from Urmston has become one of the first people in the UK to test a new device that could allow cancer patients to do blood tests from the comfort of their own homes.

Phil Frost, 69, who has five grandchildren and was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2019, has tested a piece of equipment that will analyse patients’ blood samples and send the results directly to the hospital results system.

The results help clinical teams decide whether a patient’s blood counts are sufficient to proceed with further treatments such as chemotherapy.

Phil, a retired business manager, was invited by The Christie cancer centre to participate in a trial of the Liberty device which is a little smaller than a laptop.

To use the equipment patients prick their finger to get a blood sample and then feed it into the machine on a slide.

Phil, who was referred to The Christie in 2019, has his blood tested once every four weeks to ensure he is well enough to continue with his immunotherapy treatment.

The grandad of five hopes that if the trial is successful and the Liberty equipment is licensed for use in the UK this summer, it will be made available for patients to use in their own homes.

He said: "I had absolutely no concerns about using the technology or it being part of a clinical trial.

“If this means that patients in future won't have to come to The Christie to have their blood tested but can do it from the comfort of their own home, then I think that is a wonderful innovation.”

Dr Sacha Howell, a medical oncology consultant at The Christie, said: “We will recruit 60 patients from around England, including 10 from The Christie, to assess how much time and money standard blood tests take compared with home monitoring and whether the patients prefer using the Liberty device.

“Positive results could lead to us implementing this device into our routine services to improve patients’ experiences and treatment pathways in the very near future.”

Dr Toby Basey-Fisher, the founder and chief executive of Entia, which developed the Liberty device, said: "We’ve been delighted to work with so many incredible patients and healthcare professionals from across The Christie and the wider NHS to develop Liberty.

“It’s been a highly collaborative and informative process that will result in an innovation that can support the delivery of more care in the home."

The Liberty device is now awaiting regulatory approval for use in the UK. However, Entia hopes to launch the product commercially in mid-2023.