iPhone app may detect melanoma

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Detecting melanoma may be in the hands of your trusty smartphone, according to developers of a new iPhone medical app.

The makers of the new app, Skin Scan, just this week announced that they secured €50,000 in funding from venture capitalists Seedmoney.

The impetus of the app is to inspire people to get the doctor earlier, thus potentially saving lives. The app, created by CEO Victor Anastasiu and a team of 12, including dermatologists and two mathematicians, scans skin lesions, takes photos of them, measures the diameter, and then uses a proprietary algorithm to determine whether or not a lesion may be cancerous.

Skin Scan is available at the iTunes Apple Store for a promotional price of $4.99.

Another device that aims to transform an iPhone into a dermatologist is the Handyscope, a digital handheld dermatoscope launched in February. The new tool, designed more for professional use and eventually patient at-home use, plugs into an iPhone, and along with its accompanying app, uses polarizing light to detect whether or not a mole is cancerous. The photos can be instantly sent to a specialist for final diagnosis.

Download the Skin Scan app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skin-scan/id434196122?mt=8&ls=1

Access the company's website: http://www.skinscanapp.com/index_3

Learn more about the Handyscope: http://www.handyscope.net/howitworks.html