Skin Scan: An App To Prevent Skin Cancer

Could an app really save your life?

According to the maker of Skin Scan - an app designed to help detect skin cancer - it can.

Skin Scan offers a digital diagnosis of moles on the body ? using the same markers doctors look for ? asymmetry, border, color and diameter. The app is easy to use ? just snap a photo, upload, then wait for the app to analyze the image.

After checking out the app on his own?and doing several?trial readings, Dermatologist Dr. John Sowell found it was ?set up to be pretty sensitive.? He added that ?[It picked up] slight irregularities in brown lesions, even benign brown lesions.?

Sowell thought that sensitivity could lead to some false scares. He also noted that the app itself ?doesn?t account for recent changes, recent growth, or if a mole has begun to itch or have some symptoms.? It?s up to each user to remember to monitor any suspicious lesions.

Still, Sowell saw Skin Scan as a great tool for awareness. The American Cancer Society reports Melanoma ? the most serious skin cancer ? will account for more than 75,000 cases in 2012. An app like Skin Scan could prompt them to be more agressive in looking for problem spots on the body because it's so easily available.

Only a biopsy can detect skin cancer at the microscopic level ? detect changes in the cells of the body ? so no app can ever completely replace a doctor?s skill.

When?combined with visits to a dermatologist?though, Sowell sees strong benefits for the public.

?I would say that if something looks odd enough that you want to photograph it and scan it into your app I would always call a physician as well.?

If you?d like to try out Skin Scan, you can download it in the App Store on your Apple device. It?s optimized for iPhone and costs $4.99.

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(WHNT Reporter Michelle Stark contributed to this story.)

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