Presenting Author:

Solomiya Grushchak, B.S.

Principal Investigator:

Beatrice Nardone

Department:

Dermatology

Keywords:

total body digital photography (TBDP) , skin lesions, smartphone application, self-monitoring

Location:

Ryan Family Atrium, Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center

C12 - Clinical

A novel smartphone application to detect and monitor skin lesions

Background Modern advances in total body photography (TBP) have enhanced the ability to detect new or subtly changing skin lesions. Decreasing the time to discovery of these changes can improve melanoma survival rates, partly due to decreased depth of invasion at time of discovery. Issues with in-office TBP include staff training and/or hiring a photographer, the duration of each TBP session and the equipment cost. Although there are applications (apps) that currently allow patients to conduct TBP remotely from home, there are very few TBP apps that can specifically detect new or changing lesions between TBP sessions. The aim of this study is to assess the sensitivity of a new and novel TBP application, self-administered by patients, to detect new lesions and/or lesion changes over time. Methods Twenty-five subjects underwent one study visit where 2 sets of photographs were taken by the research team. Three anatomic region areas of the body were chosen where artificial skin markings were made to the skin surface and/or a natural skin lesion was enhanced by using a black, brown or red marker. The lesions ranged in size from 1mm up to 10mm. A first set of photographs recorded the anatomic location of the lesions prior to placement of the artificial skin marking and a second set of photographs were then taken of the same areas in order to determine the sensitivity of the app. Result Of a total of 262 evaluable skin markings, the smartphone app detected 241 new/changed skin markings (sensitivity 92%). Conclusion The preliminary sensitivity in this feasibility study indicates that this smartphone app as utilized for TBP is both a reliable and convenient approach to monitoring and detecting skin lesions of various sizes and colors. This approach allows for ongoing self-monitoring and detection of change in size and color, as well as detection of new skin lesions.