Artificial intelligence pop-up clinic launched in South Australia to detect skin cancer

Health charity Skin Check Champions, the University of South Australia and the Hospital Research Foundation have teamed up to launch a pop-up clinic that uses artificial intelligence to diagnose skin cancer.

Their pop-up clinic is led by nurses who take high-quality images of lesions on patients, which are then sorted and conditionally diagnosed by AI algorithms to see if they are cancerous. The results are also confirmed by local doctors.

The pop-up clinic was tried out during the 2023 Down Under tour. road bike racing in Victor Harbor earlier in the week.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT

Over the course of a lifetime, two out of three Australians will have some form of skin cancer, with more than 15,000 Australians diagnosed with melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer and the third most common cancer in the country. The disease also costs the Australian health care system an estimated A$400 million ($280 million) a year, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Despite this fact, skin cancer prevention programs remain “underfunded and under-resourced, especially outside major cities,” said Marion Eckert, professor of cancer nursing at UniSA. It was observed that the incidence of skin cancer in the regions is 31% higher than in metropolitan areas.

Professor Eckert added that with early detection, more than 98% of skin cancers can be prevented. That’s why Skin Check Champions and its partners launched the pop-up clinic project.

“Our goal is to halve the number of Australians dying from melanoma and increase the number of skin checks in Australia by 25% through the launch of a targeted AI-powered national skin check program,” said Skin Check Champions CEO Scott Maggs.

People living in the regions can access skin screening services through their pop-up clinic, which will come to local community events such as the Tour Down Under.

MARKET REVIEW

There are several artificial intelligence technologies available on the market that claim to detect skin cancer with high accuracy. Just last year, dermatology company AI Skin Analytics has received approval for its machine learning-based DERM device from the medical device regulators in the United Kingdom. In 2021, ASX-listed Advanced Human Imaging received the CE mark for its smartphone-based DermaScan artificial intelligence technology, which can also detect all types of skin cancer.

Meanwhile, there is another smartphone app from Denmark that uses AR technology to check the size of suspected lesions or moles. The Miiskin app assists in self-examination of lesions that are suspected of being melanoma.