Australian researchers have found the first practical use for selfies, and it could save lives.
Professor Peter Soyer from the University of Queensland has just begun a world-first trial to harness smart phones to detect skin cancer.
The future of skin cancer diagnosis could be in the palm of our hands.
"It's melanoma diagnosis in one click," says Professor Soyer.
It's an attachment with a polarised lens that transforms a smart phone into a potential lifesaver.
"You just slip the mobile phone into the device and away you go."
The lens can detect minute changes in the skin that can't be seen by the human eye.
"It allows you to have picture that goes deeper into the skin."
In a world-first trial, workers who spend up to seven hours a day in the sun will use the attachment to take a skin selfie every day for a year.
"I've had a few spots cut off but they sent them away and tested them and none of them were cancerous," says Warren Reid, a worker at power company Energex.
They'll upload the images to a team of dermatologists at Brisbane research foundation, who will monitor them for changes.
"To have this we can do it in our own time; we don't have to wait," says Energex worker Shaun Hemm. "We don't have to drive to the doctors."
If dermatologists see anything unusual the workers will be referred to a doctor.
New Zealand and Australia have the highest skin cancer rates in the world. Detecting potential melanomas early is the key to being able to treat them.
The next step is built-in mobile software that can recognise skin cancer from photos and pick up abnormalities.
"I think this will be the real innovation," says Professor Soyer.
It will make the detection of the most deadly form of cancer a snap.
3 News
source: newshub archive
