A new app designed to detect signs of skin cancer launched its initial feedback period on World Cancer Day, Feb. 4.
The app for smartphones and tablets was developed by startup company Lubax in partnership with Stanford (Calif.) Medical School, Harvard Medical School in Boston, the Manor Hosptial in the U.K. and the Department of Dermatology of the University of Sao Paulo Medical School in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Called Lubax, the app allows a user to take a photograph of a lesion and search an image database to identify it. Tests from the partnering universities have shown more than 90 percent accuracy, according to a Feb. 4 news release.
Lubax will be available exclusively to medical professionals operating systems during the testing period to prevent misuse and misdiagnosis. As more photographs are taken and diagnoses confirmed, the database will grow, according to the news release.
Although one of the primary goals of the app is to be an inexpensive method to detect signs of skin cancer early, a disclaimer on the website says "Lūbax does not replace a doctor qualified to diagnose and treat your condition."