Sector
Background
ScreenCancer UK was founded in Bergen, Norway in 2007 with the vision of saving lives through Cancer screening. The company is now represented within the UK, Sweden and US, focusing on the Mole Scanning Service, as they strive to increase and develop knowledge and technology in Cancer Screening. They offer a service across leading pharmacies, through which individuals can pay to have images taken of a select number of suspect moles. These images are then uploaded to a protected database through which consultant dermatologists inspect the moles and offer a written recommendation on whether further action is required.
The Challenge
The ScreenCancer mission was to develop and cost-reduce their existing imaging system in order to scale their service to facilitate global agreements with leading healthcare providers. They approached eg technology with the challenge of optimising the teledermatology technology used within device. They aimed to increase the usability of their device, reduce production costs, in part by removing reliance on 3rd party system production, and as such increase production potential, allowing scale. They specified that the new device should have professional aesthetics, USB connectivity and cloud integration. Ease of use and regulatory compliance were also key requirements and the project had to meet a restricted turn-around-time.
Optimised for teledermatology allowing increased scope of offering |reduced production costs, allowing scale of product and service | Compliant to ISO 13485, ISO 14971 & IEC 60601
Our Approach
Our electronics and mechanical engineering teams investigated the technical feasibility of the device and explored a variety of potential solutions, from bespoke design to integrated product adaptation. We developed prototypes of the proposed solution prior to tooling and enabled rapid production of proposed design. By implementing a detachable nose cone, the system is able to take a microscopic image of the mole, as well as a widefield image, showing general skin health.
The project took place over six months and production cost had to be considered and reduced.
Regular and open communications with the client in Norway, were integral to ensuring that the project remained flexible, any issues were discussed and resolved and we remained completely responsive to the client’s needs.
Our Results
We were able to optimise the mechanical design, as well as the imaging system, to provide a fully integrated, handheld teledermatology device in which their existing software and our newly developed hardware worked concurrently. This provided a scalable route to market due to the dramatically reduced unit cost. We provided ScreenCancer with an optimum development pathway, whilst balancing cost, risk, quality and time to market. As a medical device, this project was carried out in accordance with ISO 13485, ISO 14971 and IEC 60601.
ScreenCancer have succeeded in securing global contracts with several leading healthcare providers and have produced over 250 devices.
In June 2023, DeepX Health Diagnostics received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its digital dermatoscope DermoSight for teledermatology screening of suspect skin cancer lesions in the United States.
Are you ready to develop your product or idea?
For further information on how eg technology can support in getting your technology or ideas to market or to chat with one of the eg team about your product design and development requirements, please get in touch.
