X-Rite, Incorporated and its wholly owned subsidiary Pantone LLC, and their supplier Spectromatch, announce today that their eSkin technology has been successfully adopted by Royal Preston Hospital, part of the UK’s LancashireTeaching Hospitals network. Royal Preston Hospital uses the specially designed eSkin spectrocolorimeter to measure skin colour and create maxillofacial prosthetic devices that exactly match the patient’s skin tone. Because these prosthetic devices are worn on the face, providing the exact color match means the patient is more likely to feel good about their device and wear it regularly, making a positive difference in the patient’s well being.

The Royal Preston Hospital has a special focus on oral and maxillofacial surgery. Its Maxillofacial Laboratory has adopted some of the most advanced techniques in the country for accurately creating maxillofacial prosthetics for patients who have had severe facial damage due to cancer or traumatic injury. For these patients, the ability to wear a facial prosthesis can be life-changing. But the process to create maxillofacial prosthetics that exactly match the patient’s skin tone can be exacting and time consuming.

The Hospital’s Consultant Maxillofacial Prosthetist & Technologist Brendan McPhillips had been looking for a better way to match skin tones when making these devices. He notes, “The hardest part is getting the skin tone right. Previously, we had to match colour by eye. But color can vary depending on the lighting, the time of day, and how people see color. This was a challenge because we can spend hours getting the shape and fit right, but if the colour is wrong, the patient won’t wear the prosthetic, so it’s all is for nothing.”

To solve this challenge, the hospital turned to Spectromatch eSkin, powered by X-Rite. Spectromatch uses a digital library of more than 20,000 skin tones to match patient skin for prosthetic applications. Each entry in the digital library has a matching colorant recipe. Once the skin has been measured with the eSkin spectrocolorimeter, it instantly retrieves and displays on its screen a matching colorant recipe. Clinicians can then quickly and accurate weigh out the formulations required to make the prosthetic.

This process takes away the need to evaluate color by eye. “Now, we are measuring by the numbers,” says McPhillips. “There is no chance for error.” “This partnership with X-Rite has been very exciting,” said Charlie Carroll of Spectromatch. “I can’t begin to explain what a difference this colour-matching technology is making for our customers and their patients. It is quite heartwarming to hear their stories and to realize your company’s product is driving a very important revolution in the prosthetics business.”

Matthew Adby, Market and Product Marketing Retail Market Manager at X-Rite agrees, “There are a range industries who rely on X-Rite’s expertise in color matching. Yet for all of the industries we serve, none feels as positive as the way our partner Spectromatch uses our technology to expertly match patient’s skin color with their prosthetic devices. This perfect match helps to make a difficult time a bit easier for these patients, and X-Rite is proud to be part of that solution.” The clinic was able to fund the Spectromatch equipment with a donation from the Rosemere cancer charity.