# The Happy Pod: The 'privilege' of helping brain tumour patients

- Show: Global News Podcast
- Published: 2026-09-26
- Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/135067274_b046d1270ed8.html
- Audio: http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss-low/proto/http/vpid/p0pck7sx.mp3
- Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary.

A rapid brain tumour diagnostic test developed at Nottingham University Hospitals in England has slashed diagnosis time from up to eight weeks to just two hours. The BBC's Happy Pod also hears about the first baby born on a remote Scottish island in 34 years, and a Ghanaian entrepreneur turning waste plastic into school desks.

## What this episode answers

### By how much can the new rapid brain tumour diagnostic test cut the time it currently takes to reach a diagnosis?

The test cuts diagnosis time from up to eight weeks for comprehensive molecular analysis down to an initial result within two hours, with a full genetic picture available within 24 hours.

### Has the test already been used on patients, and how accurate is it?

Yes, it has already been run in parallel with conventional methods on a number of patients, producing near-identical results each time, giving the team confidence in its accuracy.

### What were the circumstances of the first baby born on the Scottish island of North Ronaldsay in 34 years?

Alice Trailford, who had given birth to her two older children in hospital, chose a home birth this time for her son Duncan, born earlier than expected with two midwives dispatched by coastguard helicopter; he was named after her great-grandfather, once one of the island's lairds.

### What is the Ghanaian entrepreneur doing to turn waste plastic into school desks?

Mackafui Auk's company Mackintosh Africa has set up 300 collection points across Ghana to gather waste plastic drinking-water sachets, which are shredded, then heated and compressed in a hydraulic press into materials used to make school desks.

### Could the test eventually be rolled out to low- and middle-income countries around the world?

Yes, consolidating multiple tests into one could significantly reduce costs for low- and middle-income countries, and enquiries have already come in from around the world, including New Zealand.

## Article

## From eight weeks to two hours: the rapid test transforming brain tumour diagnosis

A new rapid diagnostic test developed at Nottingham University Hospitals in England is dramatically cutting the time it takes to diagnose a brain tumour. Where comprehensive molecular analysis previously meant waits of up to eight weeks, the new test delivers an initial result within two hours, with a full genetic picture available within 24 hours.

The test was developed by consultant neurosurgeon Dr Stuart Smith and consultant neuropathologist Dr Simon Payne, with Professor Matt Loose and PhD student Simon Deacon playing central roles. Dr Payne explains why the advance matters: brain tumours come in many types, and confident diagnosis requires comprehensive molecular testing — something that simply could not be done during surgery. The new test brings those complex genetic analyses together into a single, much faster process.

Dr Smith says the test has already been run in parallel with conventional methods on a number of patients, producing near-identical results each time, which gives the team confidence in its accuracy. Knowing the tumour type in real time during surgery allows surgeons to tailor the extent of resection to each individual patient. Post-operative treatment planning, which once took six to eight weeks, can now be completed within days. "Wanting to know the answer quickly is the same whether the news is good or bad," Dr Smith said. "The weight of uncertainty eats away at mental health."

## 'I couldn't believe it when the answer appeared on the screen'

Dr Payne recalls the moment the test first worked: "As a pathologist used to long waits and complex workflows, watching the answer appear on the screen felt completely unreal. I think the real excitement will come when this becomes routine." Dr Smith described colleagues coming into the operating theatre to watch together as data appeared in the lab within seconds or minutes.

Enquiries have already arrived from around the world, including New Zealand. For low- and middle-income countries, consolidating multiple tests into one could reduce costs significantly. "There is huge potential not just in wealthy nations but everywhere," Dr Smith said. The plan now is to roll the test out progressively to several NHS centres across the UK, building a broad base of clinical evidence.

## A baby on a remote Scottish island — the first in 34 years

The island of North Ronaldsay, the northernmost of the Orkney Islands, has welcomed its first baby since August 1992. The boy, named Duncan, was born to Alice Trailford, who had previously given birth to her two older children in hospital but chose a home birth this time. "Ten years ago I felt safe surrounded by machines in a hospital. Now I feel more secure listening to my body and navigating birth by instinct," she said.

The name Duncan carries deep meaning for the island. The Traill family were once the island's lairds, and Duncan was chosen in honour of Alice's great-grandfather; a photo collage of him and her grandmother hung on the wall in front of the sofa where she sat. "I felt they had been there all along," she said. The birth came earlier than expected, and two midwives were dispatched by coastguard helicopter. Islanders were told the news by a flag raised on the island, and everyone received a miniature whisky bottle decorated with a four-leaf clover and a grotty buckie shell as a toast to the new arrival. Duncan will stay on the island until November, after which he will return with his parents to the Costa Rican jungle, where they run a school.

## Ghana's entrepreneur turning waste plastic into school desks

In Accra, Ghana, entrepreneur Mackafui Auk (マカフィ・アウク) has built a business converting waste plastic into school desks through his company Mackintosh Africa. Ghana generates 1.1 million metric tonnes of plastic waste each year, yet only around five percent is collected and recycled. At the same time, the country faces a shortage of roughly two million school desks.

Auk has set up 300 collection points across the country to gather the small plastic sachets used for drinking water. The material is shredded, then heated and compressed in a hydraulic press. A journalist on site described the machine as resembling "a giant sandwich maker" — a comparison Auk laughed and agreed with. The process can produce everything from a leather-like material to plywood-style tabletops. So far, 600 desks have been supplied to 12 schools around the country, at a cost of around $60 per desk.

## Takeaways

- The rapid brain tumour diagnostic test developed at Nottingham University Hospitals cuts diagnosis time from up to eight weeks to two hours, enabling better surgical decision-making and faster post-operative treatment planning.
- Duncan, born on North Ronaldsay in 1992 — Scotland's first baby on the island since August 1992 — is a descendant of the island's former laird family and has become a symbol of the island's history.
- Ghanaian entrepreneur Mackafui Auk is tackling both waste plastic and a shortage of two million school desks simultaneously, supplying desks made from recycled plastic to 12 schools at around $60 each.