Smartphone App Can Detect Skin Cancer Among Older People

While discovering new methods of care during the COVID-19 pandemic, Stanford Medicine researchers found that a smartphone app known as SkinIO is highly resourceful when detecting skin cancer among older people.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the frequent restrictions implemented due to health protocols led to many healthcare access barriers. And although sometimes panned as inconvenient, these barriers also led to innovation and resources.

Kavita Sarin, MD, PhD, associate professor of dermatology at Stanford Medicine, and colleagues noticed that COVID-19 restrictions led to a 37 percent decrease in visits from older patients to the dermatology clinic between 2019 and 2020. They also found that the number of skin cancer diagnoses among this population decreased by 23 percent during this time.

To combat this issue, the research team used SkinIO to monitor patients. SkinIO is a smartphone app that delivers photos of what could be cancerous lesions to dermatologists. Rather than performing a diagnosis, the app highlights suspicious images, which informs providers that further review is necessary.

The trial study of the app occurred between November 2020 and July 2021. Researchers included 27 residents for the study, all from a senior community in the San Francisco area.

Sarin’s research team members visited the senior living communities where the study participants lived to collect skin images. After reviewing the photos and information supplied by the researchers, Sarin requested that the team use a dermatoscope to gather more information regarding the skin of potentially high-risk patients.

SkinIO concluded that 63 percent of lesions included in the study needed further attention. However, researchers concluded that most of them were benign. With the help of the app, Sarin found that three of the study participants carried skin cancers, leading her to the conclusion that SkinIO is a helpful resource but not entirely reliable.

Furthermore, researchers said that resources such as this one have the potential to transform healthcare, regardless of restrictions.

"In some cases skilled nurse facilities have to send patients to the clinic using an ambulance which can be time consuming and costly,'' said Sarin. " If we could send our staff to take photos of these patients, that could be incredibly helpful to these patients and a great application of this system."

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the creation and uptake of apps have shown high potential for assisting various populations.

A study from March 2022 described how a smartphone app proved successful when using genetic information to define patients who may be at risk for a heart attack.

In July 2022, Mayo Clinic researchers concluded that a smartphone app could improve heart health among Black communities by using resources such as education, dietary, and physical activity modules.