Dermatology App Review: DoctorMole

Dermatology App Reviews is our latest section in which we review useful IPhone and Android apps related to skin health, skin cancer detection, and skin care awareness.

Dermatology Ap​p Review:  DoctorMole

• What is the purpose of th​is app?  

​DoctorMole is an innovative app available for both the IPhone and Android platforms that allows you to take pictures of your moles with your smart phone camera. After you take a picture of your mole, DoctorMole uses a computer algorithm version of the ABCDE criteria for detecting melanoma and lets you know the risk that your mole might be a skin cancer. To remind yourself of the ABCDE criteria for detecting melanoma, refer back to one of our feature articles titled, "What is an atypical mole?"​

•  What is good about this app? 

There are many highly useful and cool features of this app. One of the most innovative things about this app is that it uses an augmented reality interface. What do we mean by this? DoctorMole allows you to see the real time analysis of the various qualities of a mole right as the camera is focusing to take a picture of it. Once you put the center of your camera over a mole, DoctorMole draws an outline of the mole's borders and automatically gives you an on-screen evaluation of the mole's symmetry, borders, and color.  In addition, DoctorMole helps you take the proper picture of your mole by giving you various prompts, such as "Move camera closer to mole, if possible," or "Center mole in target area."

Another wonderful feature of DoctorMole is the ability to archive the pictures of all your moles along with a description of their location. One of the great aspects of this app is that it allows people with multiple moles to keep track of their location and any changes in color or morphology. DoctorMole can also send you reminders to check your moles weekly, monthly, or yearly to look for any changes. In addition to this, DoctorMole also has an info section in which it reviews some of the basic knowledge about melanoma and sun damage and dispels certain myths about tanning.

• ​ What is bad about this app? 

There are not too many flaws to this great app. One problem with the app is that it does not automatically measure the size of the mole. Instead, it asks the user to manually input the size of the mole in millimeters. In addition, the info section is very basic and can be expanded a little.

• ​ What about design and user interface?

The app is very intuitive and keeps to the Apple principles of "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."  

• What are the uses of this app?

​​DoctorMole can be used as a way to track your moles and monitor any changes in their color, shape, or size. In addition, DoctorMole can be used on new moles to give you a better idea of whether they fit the criteria as high risk or not. There is however a big caveat of using DoctorMole or any other app to tell you things about your skin health. DoctorMole should NEVER be used in lieu of your dermatologist in evaluating your moles. Like much other technology, DoctorMole is a mobile health tool that can help you and your dermatologist in tracking the development and progression of your moles.

• ​Bottom line: DoctorMole is a highly innovative app that seamlessly incorporates augmented reality technology to measure and track moles on your body. 

• Central Skin App Review Score: 9/10