With 1.2 million downloads globally and having helped diagnose the condition in over 27,000 cases, SkinVision aims to fight against one of the most deadly diseases, skin cancer. It usually manifests as seemingly harmless skin spots, called nevi, whose early detection and removal can literally save your life. That’s the promise of the dermatology app, and we decided to take a good look at its capabilities. Here’s our thorough SkinVision review.

A vision for the skin
Founded in 2011, SkinVision is a company dedicated to diagnose and help manage skin lesions through its single app of the same name. The team has on board researchers, dermatologists, and professors from several universities in countries like Germany and Australia. Their app has even been clinically tested in studies in Germany and The Netherlands, and as such, gives the app some decent credentials.

The app is quite popular with 1.2 million downloads, and the company is growing steadily. Matthew Enevoldson, PR Manager at SkinVision, told The Medical Futurist that they are currently finalizing deals to expand their offering through large health insurance providers in Italy and France. They are also in talks with the NHS in the UK to see how they may be able to provide their service further in the UK.

skinvisionSource: www.digitaltrends.com

My phone, the aspiring dermatologist
Running the app is as easy as any other and is very user-friendly; you create your profile, and you are ready to start assessing your skin lesions. To do so, the app will prompt you to take a picture of the spot with your phone’s camera, and in about 30 seconds, it will give you a verdict of Low, Medium or High Risk. The app does the assessment via machine learning technology. According to Enevoldson, the most recent data shows that their service has a sensitivity of 97% and a specificity of 78%, well above that of a GP (sensitivity 60%), a dermatologist (sensitivity 75%) and even a specialist dermatologist (sensitivity 92%).

However, SkinVision is not a diagnostic tool and should not be taken as the final verdict, as pointed out by the disclaimer at the end of every skin spot assessment. Nevertheless the SkinVision team, which consists of actual dermatologists, further reviews the pictures of more suspicious spots and sends the user a ‘Doctor’s Advice’, advising the user to have that spot checked by a local dermatologist. However, we are unsure as to what warrants a ‘Doctor’s Advice’, except for High-Risk spots. In our tests, we received one for a Low-Risk mole but none (at the time of writing) for Medium-Risk spots.

To corroborate with the app’s assessment, we tested nevi which had already been checked by a dermatologist and knew the diagnosis of. Sure enough, the app’s algorithm was spot on with the diagnoses, effectively identifying known low and medium risk spots.

Once the skin lesion has been evaluated, the app provides the option to set a reminder to reassess the spot at a later time. This is particularly handy given the fact that nevi can change even if they are low-risk ones. While one might dismiss benign-looking moles or even forget about them, the app will not fail to remind the user to have their spots checked again for signs of change.

From skin type assessment to UV Index
The SkinVision app also packs some additional features like skin type assessment, risk evaluation and the UV Index based on your location. Filling out an in-app questionnaire, users can familiarize with their skin type assessment. It subsequently lists the types of skin cancer that they might be at risk of according to their skin type and the precautions that should be taken. The risk evaluation determines the user’s risk of skin cancer based on factors like familial history, number of moles they have or previous issues they might have experienced with their skin. The last feature, the UV Index, gives the local UV Index on a daily basis and offers advice like sunblock use and wearing protective clothing if the index is too high.

Concerning the price, SkinVision is available to download for free on both Android and iOS devices but to use its services will cost you some money. You can go for various packages ranging from the ’Single Smart Check’ to the ’SkinHealth Program’, which you can check on their website.

A replacement for human dermatologists?
While we had a positive experience with the SkinVision app, it is not without its faults. For one, the picture taking process can be problematic. For the app to take a picture, the skin spot has to be focused, centered and unobstructed. The latter requirement can cause some issues with moles partly covered by hair. Such spots proved quasi-impossible to get the app to recognize and assess, even after trying to push all the hair aside as much as possible.

Nevertheless, SkinVision included a manual mode where pictures can be taken and assessed by a specialist in place of the app. However, sending manual photos for assessment come at an extra €14,99 for both ‘Single Smart Check’ and ‘SkinHealth Program’ options, although this service feels like it should have been included in the packages already. This aside, the manual mode only allows pictures taken on the spot to be evaluated. However, a feature that feels lacking in the current version of the app and which could be implemented in a future update is the ability to upload and assess photos of skin spots from the phone’s photo gallery. This way, pictures sent via emails and chat apps could also be assessed.

Additionally, smaller nevi with a diameter of around 1 mm proved to be quite a challenge to get in focus and pictured by the app. After numerous tries, we deemed that the app could not assess those smaller lesions.

Moreover, for an assessment to be made, an internet connection is required. While this is understandable, an offline mode would have been welcome, or even the ability to save a case to be evaluated at a later time once the connection is established again.

skinvisionSource: www.stuff.co.nz

Final thoughts
Testing the SkinVision app proved to be quite accurate. Its evaluation of spots match those done by actual dermatologists and being further supported by dermatologists with additional advice makes the app even more worthwhile. However, there are areas where it can still improve: saving offline assessments for a later online review or better assessing spots covered by hair.

If you have several moles that you’ve meant to get checked but have been postponing for ages, the SkinVision app is an adequate 21st-century tool to get it done. You can use it at the comfort of your home, without having to wait in line at the hospital and still get the advice of professionals all at an affordable price.