You notice a mole on your shoulder. Has it always looked like that? Was it smaller last summer? Your camera roll offers a blurry beach photo and precisely zero useful answers.
The problem is partly access to a clinician, but there’s also a much simpler gap: people often don’t have a consistent record of their skin to bring to that appointment.
Random phone photos are a poor timeline. Different lighting, angles and camera distances make comparison difficult. Miiskin’s own guidance explains why distance changes apparent size and uses a reference object to help with measurements.
There’s already a recognised role for keeping a record: the American Academy of Dermatology provides a body mole map for documenting spots during self-exams. It also advises getting professional assessment for spots that change, look different, itch or bleed.
The customer problem: “Help me capture a useful record and get the right person to look at it.” A changed or concerning lesion should prompt medical assessment, rather than waiting for the next photo or an app’s reassurance.
Introducing Spotwise: a phone-connected skin imaging kit that helps people capture the same spots consistently, track them over time and share the record with a dermatologist.
The eventual screening proposition is the ambition. The first product needs to earn its place by improving the quality and usefulness of the images.
The kit and app could include:
Clinically validated risk assessment could follow. It would need evidence, appropriate regulatory clearance where required and a defined escalation process. A “low risk” result must not become permission to ignore symptoms.
The best initial wedge: dermatology clinics offering the kit to suitable patients who would benefit from a record between appointments. The clinician helps define what to monitor and when. That is a distribution hypothesis to test, rather than an established channel.