Smartphone apps: Can they help identify skin cancer? Several
versions are on the market but researchers say accuracy varies
widely Saturday, January 19, 2013 According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, over 61,000 people in the U.S.
were diagnosed with melanomas of the skin in 2009, and in that
same year a total of 9,199 people died from the disease.
Researchers have been trying to find better ways to catch the
disease in its early stages, when it's more treatable. Recently
we reported about a new handheld skin cancer detector called the
Molemate, which allows doctors to run a device along a part of
the body to test for cancer, without having to cut a piece of
the skin off. Now, pushing technology even further, there's a
smartphone app called UMSkinCheck, one of several apps that
claim to be adept at identifying dangerous skin conditions. For
some, it may be hard to think of an app as something one can use
for skin cancer detection, but since most consumers have become
extremely comfortable u