Skip to main content

Skin Cancer Checker App, SkinVision, Snags $3.4M To Move Beyond Moles


Can an app warn you that you might have skin cancer? Digital health startup SkinVision is using smartphone tech and vision algorithms to allow consumers to track changes to their moles. Users of its iOS and Android apps, which have been downloaded some 200,000 times since launch back in 2011, take a photo of a mole and the app then performs a visual analysis, with the aim of identifying suspicious growths such as melanoma.
“Skin cancer grows chaotically and potential suspicious moles are identified based on signs of non-natural growth,” explains CEO Dick Uyttewaal. “The algorithm within the online assessment reviews signs of non-natural growth of skin lesions and is based on an established mathematical methodology in biology called fractal geometry.
“The algorithm currently looks at seven different criteria and will be further improved based on the continuous growth in our database (currently in excess of 1 million pictures).”
Moles are rated using a simple traffic light system (using a red, orange or green risk rating). The app lets users store photos in multiple folders so they can track different moles over time.
“A changing mole (color, size, symmetry etc.) is a clear sign that something is wrong and that the person should visit a doctor immediately,” he adds.
How accurate is the SkinVision tech at identifying melanoma? Uyttewaal says it’s as good as the “average eye of a dermatologist”, noting also that it’s the only such skin cancer detector app to have obtained CE certification in Europe.
“Medical studies show that the sensitivity of dermatologists to recognize melanoma is 70 to 90 per cent… [A 2014 study of the app, conducted by the university clinic of Ludwig Maximillian University] shows an overall accuracy to recognize melanoma with the red rating of 83 per cent, and a sensitivity to recognize melanoma of 73 per cent (with red rating) and 92 per cent (with red and orange ratings),” says Uyttewaal.
“The study was based on the SkinVision technology that was looked at November 2012, and since the study we have continued to deliver enhancements to the technology,” he adds.
SkinVision is now announcing what a terms a late Series A/early Series B funding round of €3 million ($3.4M), bringing its total raised to date to between €5 million and €6 million. Since the initial app launch, the business has grown into what Uyttewaal terms a “solutions platform”, monetizing its software via different monthly subscription pricing models — which vary depending on the country. Some free usage is possible, although a subscription payment model is its primary monetization channel at this point. (And one which has triggered a rash of negative reviews of its apps.)
“Consumers are only starting to get used to paying for health related applications. For those that provide support in a health risk area, and have been clinically proven, consumers have begun to pay monthly fees in excess of the SkinVision subscription, because they recognise the value and importance of managing potentially risky lesions early to prevent the need for longer term, more invasive and costly treatment,” argues Uyttewaal.
“I would also like to add that SkinVision does not use customer data for commercial purposes,” he adds.
SkinVision’s new tranche of financing comes from European pharmaceutical firm LEO Pharma, whose business unsurprisingly also has a strong focus on dermatology, so there’s obvious synergies to be leveraged there. Also part of the round: prior investor and SkinVision majority shareholder Personal Health Solutions Capital, a Dutch investment firm focusing on consumer-centric digital health solutions.
SkinVision notes specifically that a key impetus for the investment is widening applications for its technology — so applying it to track and assess other serious skin conditions, beyond moles and melanomas. So again, having a pharma company as an investor aligns with its expansion plans.
Commenting on the funding in a statement, LEO Pharma’s SVP of global development, Kim Kjoeller, notes: “The Internet is dramatically changing how consumers manage their health and that creates new opportunities for us to deliver innovative, value-added services. We are very pleased to collaborate with SkinVision, because we will gain unique learnings about the convergence of digital technologies with medical applications.
“The coming years will see an ever changing and increasingly digital health care environment and LEO Pharma wants to be at the forefront of that trend. This is a huge opportunity for the European technology and pharmaceutical industries to become world leaders.”
SkinVision’s new financing will also be used to expand into new geographical markets, and to try to establish stronger ties with national healthcare systems in select markets, adds Uyttewaal.
SkinVision

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

So, when will your device actually get Android Oreo?

Google officially just took the wraps off of Android Oreo, but there are still some questions left to be answered — most notably, precisely when each device will be getting the latest version of the mobile operating system. Due to Android’s openness and a variety of different factors on the manufacturing side, it’s not an easy question to answer, but we’ll break it down best we can. First the good news: If your device was enrolled in the Android Beta Program, you’ll be getting your hands on the final version of the software “soon,” according to Google. Exactly what that means remains to be seen, but rest assured that you’ll be one of of the first people outside of Google to take advantage of picture-in-picture, notification dots and the like. No big surprise, Google handsets will be the first non-beta phones to get the update. The Pixel, Nexus 5X and 6P are at the top of the list, alongside Pixel C tablet and ASUS’s Nexus Player set-top box, which will be receiving the upgrade i...

Get 56GB of free cloud storage in one folder!

Bring Your Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, & OneDrive All Together In One Folder With odrive! Dropbox gives you up to 16GB free.  Google Drive & Gmail give you 15GB. OneDrive gives you 15GB. Box gives you 10GB. odrive brings all your cloud storage apps together in one folder right on your desktop. Just link your Dropbox, Google Drive, Gmail, Box, and OneDrive accounts to odrive and instantly get all your files scattered everywhere in one place! You can even link multiple accounts from each app to get even more! 1. Install odrive. DOWNLOAD It's free! And available for Windows & Mac :) 3.Get all your stuff! 2. Link all your cloud storage accounts. Note:  This gives odrive permission to download your files for you. odrive doesn't store anything, we promise! OXYGEN CLOUD, INC., 1600 SEAPORT BLVD, REDWOOD CITY, CA, 94063, UNITED  ...

Shatterproof screens to protect smartphones

Polymer scientists at the University of Akron in Ohio have developed a transparent electrode that could change the face of smartphones, literally, by making their displays shatterproof. In a recently published paper, researchers show how a transparent layer of nanowire-based electrodes on a polymer surface could be extraordinarily tough and flexible, withstanding repeated scotch tape peeling and bending tests. This could revolutionise and replace conventional touchscreens, according to Yu Zhu, UA assistant professor of polymer science. Currently used coatings made of indium tin oxide (ITO) are more brittle, most likely to shatter, and increasingly costly to manufacture. “These two pronounced factors drive the need to substitute ITO with a cost-effective and flexible conductive transparent film,” Zhu says, adding that the new film provides the same degree of transparency as ITO, yet offers greater conductivity. The novel film retains its shape and functionality after tests i...

Windows 10 for phones will be released on this Friday

Microsoft's head of the Windows Insider program, Gabe Aul, has announced today on Windows Weekly that they will release a  new build of Windows 10 for phones  on Friday at 10 AM PT. Windows 10 release date A few weeks back, the company announced a new list of supported devices for the next release but for the version that will be released on Friday, the Lumia Icon and Lumia 930 will not be supported. Gabe said during the announcement that it came down to the new UI being too small on these devices and as such, will not be included in this release. List of supported devices Lumia 1020 Lumia 1320 Lumia 1520 Lumia 520 Lumia 525 Lumia 526 Lumia 530 Lumia 530 Dual Sim Lumia 535 Lumia 620 Lumia 625 Lumia 630 Lumia 630 Dual Sim Lumia 635 Lumia 636 Lumia 638 Lumia 720 Lumia 730 Lumia 730 Dual SIM Lumia 735 Lumia 810 Lumia 820 Lumia 822 Lumia 830 Lumia 920 Lumia 925 Lumia 928 Lumia ICON Microsoft Lumia 430 Microsoft Lumia 435 Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual ...

Facebook Messenger For Apple Watch Officially Launches

During Apple’s keynote in September, they announced that Facebook Messenger would be coming to the Apple Watch, as long as you’ve updated to watchOS 2. Well, it’s here.   You can now share things like voice clips, likes and stickers from your Apple Watch. From my experience, little interactions like this are what works best on the Watch. I’ve found that as soon as I have to do anything more than pick a person and an action, things go haywire. Sure, there’s a lot more to do with watchOS, but I’d say that 2 is lightyears ahead of what the device shipped with. When Messenger for Apple Watch was first announced, our own Josh Constine said: The more platform ubiquity Facebook Messenger can achieve, the stronger its network effect will be entrenched. Each time a friend messages you from Facebook Messenger, it draws you closer to the Facebook ecosystem. Each time they text you from SMS or another app (other than WhatsApp), it pulls you further away. That’s why despit...