A novel clip-on for smartphone dermoscopy in India

Abstract

Dermoscopy is the in vivo technique of skin surface microscopy which is frequently used in visual examination of the skin. With the rise in the usage of smartphones, many smartphone attachments have been developed that enable dermoscopy on a phone but these attachments are very expensive and are available only for high-end phones. We have developed a novel 3D printed clip-on that can convert any smartphone into a polarizing dermoscope at a price which is highly affordable than the existing devices and is universal in its design. After visual examination and comparing images taken by both the devices using Structural Similarity Index (SSIM), we found the images to be highly similar. This clip-on for smartphones is one of the first prototypes using techniques of 3D printing which can make dermoscopy affordable, especially in developing countries like India. There is an acute need for such devices by clinicians practicing in remote areas, where such clip-ons can help in improving the preliminary visual examination of a large number of patients.