Mobile skin cancer screening with iPhone

FotoFinder presents the handyscope, a new device for mobile skin cancer examinations with the iPhone. This digital handheld dermatoscope allows doctors to capture and save microscopic pictures of moles using the iPhone, the handyscope device and the corresponding handyscope App. The handyscope is launched at the 69th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology in New Orleans on February 4, 2011. The handheld dermatoscope is a common device for mole examination using epiluminescence microscopy close to the patient. Now, FotoFinder invented the handyscope, a tool giving a magnified, polarized view on the skin like handheld dermatoscopes. Additionally, it enables doctors to capture and save pictures of the skin. For the first time, doctors can keep distance during the skin examination to see and evaluate moles on-screen. They are enabled to save diagnosis results or communicate with other doctors. The handyscope is attached to the iPhone and works with the corresponding handyscope App. The use of the widespread smartphone in medicine bridges the gap between a simple examination tool towards a connected dermatoscope. The flexible use makes home visits comfortable: The seen impression is saved. Afterwards doctors communicate and share their pictures with colleagues. Thus, even non-specialized doctors in rural areas can conduct an initial skin cancer check with handyscope. The handling is self-explanatory: The handyscope device is attached to the iPhone and directly put on the patients' skin, illuminating it with polarized light. The shape of the lens always ensures the same distance for a sharp and consistent picture quality. The high resolution mole images are directly captured in the password protected App. With an up to twentyfold magnification, the photos show important details at a glance. The doctor can enhance communication by showing the result to his patient. ?We developed the handyscope for all doctors who want to have the possibility to take pictures of the skin and work with them later. It is an alternative for those who miss the ?capture-and-save-function' when using conventional handheld dermatoscopes,? explains Andreas Mayer, chief executive officer of FotoFinder. These possibilities in mobile dermoscopy are appreciated by renowned dermatologists: "For many years we have been speaking and publishing on ?mobile teledermoscopy - melanoma diagnosis by one click?' And now ...I envision that the handyscope will do the job,? confirms H. Peter Soyer, MD, FACD, professor and chair of the Dermatology Research Centre at the University of Queensland, Australia. The App is using the iPhone's connectivity features, thus allowing to e-mail the mole photos or to upload them to a teledermatology platform which provides handyscope users with a second opinion on suspicious moles. Pictures can be sent to histologists immediately to improve diagnostics. Furthermore, the pictures are managed in the password protected App and labeled automatically with shooting date and time. Patient data, localization and comments can be added as well.