Dermatology Technology: Medical Student Develops App to Identify Skin Problems
Miller School student Yasmine Mohseni developed an app that helps non-dermatologists identify potentially problematic skin lesions.
Last fall, while shadowing at the Dr. Phillip Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery Coral Gables clinic, first-year University of Miami Miller School of Medicine student Yasmine Mohseni had an idea. Mohseni heard a physician tell a patient who’d recovered from melanoma that they didn’t need to return for another six months.
“I thought there should be a way for melanoma patients to check in between their dermatologist appointments,” says Mohseni.
Over the next few months, Mohseni formed a corporation, SkinSmart, and partnered with Motiv™. Early this year, Motiv’s team designed and built the SkinSmart app, which leverages a custom-AI model to help assess skin lesions.
Helping Non-Dermatologists Identify Skin Problems
SkinSmart is for providers who are not dermatologists. The average person might not be able to identify a problematic spot on their skin, “but a doctor or any provider has a basic understanding of what could be concerning,” Mohseni said.
There are a lot of similar lesions, she said. SkinSmart supplements the provider’s knowledge.
“The patient is already at an appointment with another provider,” said Mohseni, “So they can ask, ‘Can you take a look at this?’”
As it approaches launch, Mohseni believes the app will be especially useful in places where there are no dermatologists.
“We’re hoping this will help rural and underserved areas,” she says. “The app is in beta testing, and we’re submitting the IRB for a clinical trial this summer.”
Robert Scott Kirsner, M.D., Ph.D., chair and Harvey Blank Professor in the Dr. Phillip Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery and professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Miller School, is an advocate for the project.
A Representative Database
The app has posed challenges, including generating a large enough data set of lesions that accurately represents the wide range of skin tones. Mohseni and her team want to make sure SkinSmart is better than the AI models, which have up to a 40% misdiagnosis rate.
“The databases online are underrepresented, just like the dermatology textbooks,” says Mohseni. “We can purchase more extensive databases. This is what the next round of funding will help us do.”
Earlier this year, SkinSmart won $10,000 in phase 1 funding through the University of Miami’s USTAAR multidisciplinary student accelerator program.
In addition to CEO Mohseni, the SkinSmart team includes COO Eric Sokhn, M.S. ’23 in biological sciences and part of the Miller School class of 2028. Alyx Rosen Aigen, M.D., assistant professor in the Dr. Phillip Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, serves as the company’s dermatology advisor. Mohseni says she couldn’t ask for a better role model.
“When you’re awake and having something cut off your skin, it’s scary,” says Mohseni. “She makes sure that the patient is comfortable. She has such a great rapport. I hope to have that kind of relationship with my future patients.”
Tags: dermatology, Dr. Philip Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, medical education, medical students, technology