Teledermatology – skin analytics service

Teledermatology involves a qualified professional clinical photographer or nurse taking a series of digital photographs of a patient’s skin lesion. The photographs are then reviewed by an AI application called DERM and if you need to be sent to a dermatologist for remote assessment to see if the patient needs to come into hospital for further treatment.

The clinic is run in partnership with Skin Analytics, an external company who will support the assessment of your skin lesion using an artificial intelligence computer programme called DERM. DERM has been developed by Skin Analytics to recognise skin cancer and common harmless skin conditions using photographic images. DERM is a medical device that uses artificial intelligence to identify skin cancer. DERM will analyse a dermoscopic image of a skin lesion. Dermoscopic images are images taken with a dermatoscope, which magnifies the skin lesion and allows its inspection without skin surface light reflections.

Patients may be referred for an appointment via their GP or another route. Only lesion(s) that have been specified by a GP in the referral will be photographed during an appointment.

Patients will be contacted after their appointment, usually within 21 working days, to advise if they need to come into hospital for further treatment.

If you are concerned about any lesions or skin problems, please seek advice from your GP in the first instance.

Before your appointment

Please bring your reading glasses as we will give you some leaflets to read before your appointment. 

If it is possible, please mark your lesion before your appointment to assist our clinical photographers in identifying it. You can ask a family member or friend to help if you need. Suitable ways to mark the lesion are: 

• Place a waterproof plaster next to the lesion and draw an arrow on the plaster in the direction of the lesion concerned 
• Taking a photograph of the lesion on a mobile phone and taking it along to your appointment. 

During your appointment 

At the Teledermatology clinic, a qualified clinical photographer or nurse will take a series of digital photographs of your skin lesion. The photographs will be reviewed by an AI application and if needed, sent to a dermatologist for remote assessment to see if you need further treatment. 

You will not have a face-to-face consultation with a doctor at this appointment. 

The photographer may use two different devices: a camera phone which uses artificial intelligence to analyse the lesion to see if you need to see a dermatologist, and a professional digital camera. 

They will photograph: 

• general view of the area of interest to establish the location of your lesion 
• detailed close up using a specialised lens called a dermatoscope  

The dermatoscope allows the photographer to capture highly detailed images of your lesion, by pressing gently against the surface of the skin. This should not hurt. It may not be possible to photograph some lesions using the dermatoscope. This will be explained to you at your appointment.  

Images taken on the camera or phone will be encrypted and electronically transferred, by secure means, so they can be analysed by DERM. The software will then provide a decision on whether or not the lesion needs to be seen by a consultant dermatologist at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSussex). 

Once photography is complete, your images will be securely saved and uploaded to your Electronic Patient Record, which will allow the Dermatology team to assess the report and review your clinical photographs. 

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