prokurorska-pravda.today

Remote videodermoscopy offers reliable skin cancer diagnosis.

Удаленная видеодермоскопия гарантирует точную диагностику рака кожи.

According to the authors of the study, the findings confirm that this technology can help eliminate disparities in diagnosis and treatment for low-income populations with limited access to dermatologists. It may also assist dermatologists in quickly identifying cases of melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer.

The new system, referred to by researchers as SpotCheck, enables dermatologic oncologists to remotely examine skin lesions using the well-known dermoscopy technique, where specialists utilize a camera connected to a special magnifying lens to explore the skin in greater depth.

While previous studies have looked into telemedicine's potential for speeding up melanoma diagnosis and compared in-person and remote assessments of images obtained through dermoscopy, the authors state that their work is among the first to focus on skin lesions identified by concerned patients rather than primary care physicians.

In the new analysis conducted by a team from NYU Langone Health and the Perlmutter Cancer Center, SpotCheck was used to evaluate dermoscopic images of 375 skin lesions from volunteers who were worried that their skin growths could be malignant.

According to results published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, dermoscopy experts who remotely reviewed all samples made diagnoses with an accuracy of 91% (subsequent biopsies were conducted for comparison). The accuracy of dermatologists who performed in-person examinations at the clinic was 93%.

The findings of this study indicate that the remote dermoscopy method can not only assist healthcare providers in detecting potentially dangerous skin cancer at an early stage but also reduce the number of costly specialist visits for benign lesions.

For the study, the team surveyed 147 men and women who responded to advertisements after noticing suspicious growths on their skin. The questionnaires assessed personal and family history of skin cancer, risk factors for melanoma, and the history of each suspicious spot on the skin. Then, a dermatologist conducted a visual examination of the lesions and a dermoscopic assessment, and if necessary, ordered a biopsy.

The study coordinator collected clinical and dermoscopic images, which were sent to a central server for remote evaluation by a separate group of skin cancer specialists experienced in dermoscopy. They reviewed the questionnaires and images, making their own diagnoses. This group of dermatologists was not informed of the results from the in-person evaluations.

The study results showed that overall, 97% of the examined lesions were deemed benign, as confirmed by subsequent biopsies. Notably, both dermatologists who examined participants in person and those who relied solely on clinical photographs and dermoscopy identified 11 out of 13 cases of skin cancer, including two melanomas.

The results also indicated that nearly 90% of patients were satisfied with telemedicine, and 20% reported that they preferred this method of examination over an in-person visit to a specialist.