The trial of a former doctor accused of obtaining money from cancer patients by falsely pretending they would be cured has heard that the therapy he provided at his clinic was different from the conventional treatment.
Paschal Carmody of Killaloe, Co Clare, denies the charges.
The charges in this case arise from the administration of a treatment known as photodynamic therapy, or PDT, which was provided to six terminally ill patients between September 2001 and October 2002 at the East clinic in Killaloe run by Paschal Carmody. All six patients have since died.
Relatives of three of those patients have already told the trial that they believed Mr Carmody promised the treatment would cure cancer.
Today the court heard from English consultant Dr Colm Hopper, who is an expert in PDT treatment. In 2002 he visited the East clinic in Killaloe and reviewed three patients who had received a series of alternative treatments, including PDT.
He said the type of PDT used there was different from the conventional treatment, and this concerned him. Under cross examination he agreed that the three patients he reviewed did not have any adverse effects from PDT treatment, but could not say if it offered them any particular benefit.
Mr Hopper said Paschal Carmody was running a reputable practice and the loyalty of his patients was undiminished.
But Mr Hopper also accepted that terminally ill patients are very vulnerable and said they should not be treated as guinea pigs.
The trial is due to continue for at least another two weeks.
