DermoScreen app: a cheap, effective screening for melanoma

Got a funny-looking mole on your skin? That may be a sign of melanoma, a type of skin cancer. Consulting a doctor can be expensive, so why not use a cheaper (and possibly more effective) way to detect skin cancer instead? Meet the DermoScreen app.

The DermoScreen app for iPhone is a project of George Zouridakis, a University of Houston professor. With early tests finding the app to be accurate around 85 out of 100, the app is quite a capable substitute to dermatologists and primary care physicians for screening skin cancer. Rural areas can greatly benefit from this app, especially when the aforementioned professionals aren’t generally available to them. Not every iPhone user can make use of DermoScreen, though, since it requires a dermoscope accessory that costs around $500.

If this cancer-detecting app and the Galaxy S5‘s heart rate monitor are any indication, future smartphones and apps will integrate more health-related features. A sensor for diagnosing medical conditions (a la Star Trek’s tricorder) would be nice.

[Source: Eurekalert.org]