AI in dermatology: A start-up at the beginning of a telemedical journey

Artificial Intelligence serves the precise diagnosis of diseases, simplifies operations, enables telemedicine. However, not only diseases, but also chronical wounds have to be treated by different physicians over a long period of time. This is where the Italian start-up Omnidermal Biomedics comes in with a noninvasive AI-based innovation.

In the interview with MEDICA-tradefair.com, Jacopo Secco introduces a new medical device, explains its special function and how it supports not only clinical research, but also drug development. Furthermore, he talks about the reason why it can be used in remote areas, too.

Omnidermal Biomedics is an Italian start-up that uses AI in dermatology. What medical device have you developed?

Jacopo Secco: We have developed WoundViewer, which is a portable medical device. It is implemented in a specific AI software, through which it is possible to take pictures of the wound in a completely noninvasive and automated way. The device calculates all the morphological parameters that are necessary for the physician, the nurse and the homecare giver. It is necessary to understand and create the best diagnosis for chronic diseases and moreover to adjust the cure in case of emergency. For example it is possible to understand minimal variations regarding size, granulation, classification of the wound through the wound operation score. Minimal variations can be very important in order to understand whether and how it is necessary to change the way of cure, to improve the cure or to set medical parameters in order to heal patients in the most correct way.

How does WoundViewer help in the assessment and monitoring of skin ulcers, compared to other medical devices?

Secco: With the respect to other means of chronical assessments of ulcers, WoundViewer guarantees an automated and objected measurement of the wound. This is done through our artificially intelligent software. Because of that we can say that the measurements are not subject-driven. There is a machine that makes the measurements, which are objective. You cannot have any opinions on that, it is a standard in classification. Each and every physician, nurse or homecare giver is able to have a complete assessment of the wound. There is no more the possibility of being inaccurate, also when measurements are not done in the same way as previous ones. And moreover, the same patient can be visited, medicated or assessed by more operators, not only by just one, because the data will be standardized for everybody. That is our goal.

WoundViewer can be applied in telemedicine – how does this work?

Secco: WoundViewer was designed to be used in telemedicine. Just imagine that in Italy about 50 percent of the patients that suffer from chronical diseases are not optimally medicated by home care systems or home care facilities. These usually send nurses or physicians to the houses of these patients. Imagine that many patients live in remote areas, for example in mountains or the countryside, and so they have a lot of difficulties to reach clinical hospitals. Now nurses, operators and physicians can go to the house of patients and they can assess the wound just with a click by snapping a picture of it. It is a matter of seconds and the data is automatically synchronized with all the other devices. And so, each and every operator can have the possibility to have an update of the patient’s data. In case of emergency, for example when there is a severe worsening of the wound that has to be treated immediately, physicians have the patient’s data and therefore are able to give directly feedback what to do in such a situation.

How does WoundViewer support clinical research and the development of drugs?

Secco: WoundViewer can be used as a paramedical device. Pharmaceutical companies have to develop drugs, creams, dressings as a one-to-one-support for patients. Here, WoundViewer comes into play. It can assess how the drug, cream or dressing actually works and which concrete effects it has on wounds. Therefore it also can be used in drug development.

What does it mean to you to participate at MEDICA 2019?

Secco: For us it is a great pleasure, because it has been a long journey. In 2016 my colleagues and I have founded Omnidermal Biomedics. We started with this research project, done by three students, so there was no professor. But of course, there were many people from our university, from other institutions, who have helped us a lot. And after four and a half year of development, of having worked day and night on this project, arriving at MEDICA is gold. It means that we have something complete, that we have something which is usable. Our medical device is currently being used, mostly in some facilities in Italy. MEDICA is the first step of success for us and we are happy to be here. This is just a beginning of a long journey. So, we hope to return here many times.