Download IBM uses a smartphone to help diagnose skin cancer

IBM uses a smartphone to help diagnose skin cancer
The smartphone is on a collision course with your
local dermatologist.
IBM researchers have developed a computer system that early research
shows is more effective at identifying a form of skin cancer than expert
dermatologists. The technology is young, and IBM (IBM, Tech30) said it must
prove itself in more tests. But the findings are a harbinger of when we turn to
computers rather than humans for more affordable and better health care.
The IBM system was given photos of skin lesions taken with a smartphone
attachment designed for dermatologists. Costs for this device, called a
Dermascope, run from $100 to $1,400. The IBM computer then compared the
images to its database of skin cancer photos and estimated the likelihood the
lesion was melanoma. The computer was more accurate -- 76% -- than eight
expert dermatologists (70%).
The paper, which is available online, will also be published in a 2017 issue of
the IBM Journal of Research and Development.
IBM's computer relies on artificial intelligence to make its decisions. The
system was fed hundreds of images labeled as skin cancer, so it could realize
the appearance and characteristics of dangerous skin lesions. The exposure
to hundreds of pictures helps the computer suss out the underlying traits of
what appears to be cancerous and what's harmless.
This isn't simply a case of man vs. machine. The computer system was
trained with photos, which came from the International Skin Imaging
Collaboration, that humans labeled as cancerous. IBM's approach to
diagnosing skin cancer still leaves room for human dermatologists to train the
computer system.
Noel Codella, an IBM Research scientist and author of the research, said
tools like this one could help a physician quickly check how risky a skin lesion
is and refer a patient to a dermatologist as needed. Expert dermatologists
aren't always available and can be expensive. IBM's computer system may
eventually work as a stand-in.
Codella declined to say when the technology would be made available to the
public and described it as still a research project.
IBM is not the only company harnessing cameras and computers to improve
health care.
"You have all these phones everywhere with very powerful computers inside
them," said Modiface founder and CEO Parham Aarabi. "Using them to help
doctors is a really good cause."
Aarabi's startup Modoface, which is the brains behind an app from Vichy,
provides recommendations about whether someone needs to moisture their
skin.
Modiface's artificial intelligence also powers beauty apps that lets consumers
see how cosmetics might look on them or how a Botox treatment would
change their appearance.
Modiface found skin roughness can be easily identified with the camera on a
smartphone, but it had a tougher time telling a part acne and dark spots on
the skin.
"This doesn't replace doctors -- it aids them," Parham said. "The best
technology helps them become efficient, and better and faster at what they
do."
1. How does the skin cancer detection system developed by IBM researches work?
2. If using a system such as the one developed by IBM could save a patient 75% of what a normal
visit to a dermatologist cost ($200), how much money would a person save. Show your work.