Thanks to a new skin cancer screening technology developed by Latvian researchers, clinicians across the EU may soon have access to a portable device that can detect melanoma without a biopsy.
A new handheld machine developed with the help of an EU grant is speeding up the rate of melanoma diagnosis.
Dmitrijs Bļizņuks, a senior scientist and associate professor at the Institute of Applied Informatics Systems at Riga Technical University, told Euronews why it is so important for high-risk individuals to have quick and easy access to accurate screenings: “When we started the project, we understood there was a large flow of patients who wish to have their small moles checked.
"They all go to the dermatologist, even the ones that are fine, so the long lines appear.
"So, we realised that it would be nice to get this device to the general practitioner so that the screening of benign moles frees up time in the dermatologist's office so that abnormal moles can be fast-tracked.
“There will be a reduction of costs because you can do it in a 30-second test and you see that you don’t need to take up the dermatologist’s time. And, if you detect it early enough, you don’t need to treat the patients, so that’s cost-effective.
“Our team at the technical university brought together the hardware, the programming part, the AI part, to transform it from an idea to a real product.”
Bļizņuks said he hopes they can get the medical certification they need within one or two years to equip GPs across the continent.
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