Dermatologist in the cell phone delivers information within 24 hours

Capture any skin problem with your cell phone’s camera and submit it via iDoc24’s iPhone or Android app, and let a dermatologist look at it within 24 hours. iDoc24 is an anonymous health information service for anyone who has a visible skin condition that can be captured with a digital camera phone. In 2012, the service was used in a skin cancer triage project funded by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions. The postive results were reported in a recently published report.

Rashes, blisters, eczema, suspected skin cancer, or anything visible to the eye and can be captured with a digital camera can be sent anonymously to Swedish licensed dermatologists via iDoc24s website or smartphone apps. The service is currently expanding it’s reach beyond Sweden and is available in English, Italian, Spanish, and French. The cost is approximately $30 (€25) and can be paid via credit card or a smartphone account. The most common cases that are submitted are of intimate skin problems, general skin problems such as insect bites, rashes in children and adults, and suspicious skin cancer lesions.

“Our service provides first hand access to dermatologists within 24 hours, which normally can take several weeks in the public healthcare system. We hope to reduce patient anxiety and unnecessary visits to a healthcare center. Furthermore, you can ask us any time of the day and from anywhere; while traveling abroad or when you are far away from medical services.” says Alexander Börve, medical doctor and founder iDoc24.

Out of a population of 9 million people, 40,000 Swedes suffer from skin cancer each year, and shortening the time from discovery to treatment is essential for patient care and survival. In the skin cancer triage project that was funded by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, family doctors have been using iDoc24’s mobile iPhone app along with an adapted dermascope (a special magnifying glass with polarized light) for the diagnosis of suspicious skin lesions. The project could reduce waiting times for family doctors’ patients for diagnosis and treatment of suspected skin cancer.

“The results of the pilot study are fantastic and we look forward to further collaborate with both medical and pharmacy chains.” says Alexander Börve.

The image quality from the digital cameras in today’s popular smartphones is sufficent to capture relevant details of a skin lesion for the use with the iDoc24 service. In healthcare, the dermascope attached to the phone, assures the quality of the digital referral for suspected skin lesion (skin cancer). You can read more about dermoscopy here.
To access the published report in Swedish here.
For the press release about the study from the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden, click here.