A short time ago, in a hospital not too far away from Melbourne, a group of doctors found they were better at picking up on the signs of bowel cancer while they were listening to music from Star Wars.

The endoscopists found that when they were listening to the epic scores from the films during the 20 minutes it took to perform colonoscopies, they had a slightly higher rate of detecting disturbances in the bowel.

Listening to the score from the Star Wars movies improved the chances of doctors detecting polyps during bowel cancer screenings. Credit:Screen shot

These disturbances took the form of polyps (growths) or benign tumours in the lining of the bowel, which can lead to cancer if they are left to grow unchecked.

The tongue-in-cheek study suggests that listening to the music during the procedure reduced the stress on the endoscopist and heightened their powers of observation.