Sara, a fictional patient created to illustrate this medical advancement, walked into the dermatology clinic feeling nervous. With her fair skin and family history of skin cancer, these yearly checkups were important but always made her anxious. Today, however, the nurse directed her to a room with an unusual device that looked like a high-tech photo booth instead of the usual examination room.
"We're trying something new today," the nurse explained. "This machine will take pictures of your skin automatically."
Sara was part of a new study testing an autonomous camera system for skin exams. The machine was designed to photograph the entire body and then take close-up images of any spots larger than 3 millimeters—about the size of a pencil eraser.
Researchers in Spain had been testing this machine on hundreds of patients like Sara who had many unusual moles. They wanted to know if this automatic system could work as well as the traditional method where a doctor manually examines each spot with a special magnifying tool called a dermoscope.
The study followed 316 patients at two different skin clinics. For each person, the machine took about 61 full-body pictures and close-up images of about 32 individual spots. In total, the researchers collected over 19,000 whole-body pictures and more than 10,000 close-up images.
When skin specialists compared the pictures from the machine to those taken the traditional way, they found something surprising. The automatic camera actually produced slightly better quality images than the manual method. The doctors agreed on the diagnosis of spots 91% of the time regardless of which method was used. When they disagreed, it was usually about small brown spots that weren't dangerous.
What impressed the researchers most was the time saved. The machine took pictures in about 8.6 minutes on average, while the traditional method took about 9 minutes. The difference was even bigger for patients with more than 40 spots—the machine was over two minutes faster.
For patients like our fictional Sara, this technology could mean shorter wait times and possibly earlier detection of dangerous skin changes. Doctors hope this system will help them see more patients and focus their attention on the most concerning cases.
The researchers did note some limitations. They only tested the system on certain skin types and conditions, so more work is needed to make sure it works well for everyone. But the early results suggest that this camera may soon become a common sight in dermatology offices around the world.
As Sara stepped out of the booth, she felt relieved. The whole process had been quick and painless—a welcome change from her usual appointments. While machines like this one won't replace doctors, they might make skin exams faster and more accessible for everyone.
