Joel A. Wolf, BA; Jacqueline Moreau, BA; Oleg Akilov, MD; Timothy Patton, DO; Joseph C. English, MD; Jonhan Ho, MD; Laura K. Ferris, MD, PhD
JAMA Dermatol. 2013;():1-4. doi:10.1001\/jamadermatol.2013.2382.<\/p>\n
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Objective<\/strong>\u00a0 To measure the performance of smartphone applications that evaluate photographs of skin lesions and provide the user with feedback about the likelihood of malignancy.<\/p>\n Design<\/strong>\u00a0 Case-control diagnostic accuracy study.<\/p>\n Setting<\/strong>\u00a0 Academic dermatology department.<\/p>\n Participants and Materials<\/strong>\u00a0 Digital clinical images of pigmented cutaneous lesions (60 melanoma and 128 benign control lesions) with a histologic diagnosis rendered by a board-certified dermatopathologist, obtained before biopsy from patients undergoing lesion removal as a part of routine care.<\/p>\n Main Outcome Measures<\/strong>\u00a0 Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of 4 smartphone applications designed to aid nonclinician users in determining whether their skin lesion is benign or malignant.<\/p>\n Results<\/strong>\u00a0 Sensitivity of the 4 tested applications ranged from 6.8% to 98.1%; specificity, 30.4% to 93.7%; positive predictive value, 33.3% to 42.1%; and negative predictive value, 65.4% to 97.0%. The highest sensitivity for melanoma diagnosis was observed for an application that sends the image directly to a board-certified dermatologist for analysis; the lowest, for applications that use automated algorithms to analyze images.<\/p>\n Conclusions<\/strong>\u00a0 The performance of smartphone applications in assessing melanoma risk is highly variable, and 3 of 4 smartphone applications incorrectly classified 30% or more of melanomas as unconcerning. Reliance on these applications, which are not subject to regulatory oversight, in lieu of medical consultation can delay the diagnosis of melanoma and harm users.<\/p>\n