› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Smartphone skin check apps
- This topic has 15 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 6 months ago by
_Paul_.
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- February 12, 2015 at 10:31 pm
I'd like to keep track of those moles so if they change that can be caught early. First I tried to take pictures with my cellphone. However, it is really difficult to keep the lighting consistent each time. Then I found this app, Doctor Mole.
I just tried the free version. To get the full analysis it requires to pay. Compared to the treatment we've paid this app costs nothing. However, I'd like to know how it works before I swipe my credit card. Can anyone share some experience? Or any advice for keeping track of moles? Thanks so much!
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- February 13, 2015 at 2:43 pm
If the smart phone app also requires you to use the phone camera, I'd probably be looking for a different approach. There are medical photographers who can do a good job. I'd prefer a good DSLR with a macro lens to get as much detail as possible over a phone camera. Have any family/friends who are into photography with decent equipment?
Then, in lighting you can duplicate, take a close up pic, then a further back pic of the same area. That way, you can orient yourself on where that particular mole is on your body. Also lets you monitor the skin for "new and different". When they did it professionally on me, they used a sticker by each mole that had a ruler and a letter. They took closeup pics of all my moles on my left front leg, then another pic further back with the stickers still in place so you could see where each mole with sticker was located on my leg.
I, personally, don't think a smart phone camera using the macro setting is nearly as good a lens as a DSLR gives when you are looking for minute details.
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- February 13, 2015 at 2:43 pm
If the smart phone app also requires you to use the phone camera, I'd probably be looking for a different approach. There are medical photographers who can do a good job. I'd prefer a good DSLR with a macro lens to get as much detail as possible over a phone camera. Have any family/friends who are into photography with decent equipment?
Then, in lighting you can duplicate, take a close up pic, then a further back pic of the same area. That way, you can orient yourself on where that particular mole is on your body. Also lets you monitor the skin for "new and different". When they did it professionally on me, they used a sticker by each mole that had a ruler and a letter. They took closeup pics of all my moles on my left front leg, then another pic further back with the stickers still in place so you could see where each mole with sticker was located on my leg.
I, personally, don't think a smart phone camera using the macro setting is nearly as good a lens as a DSLR gives when you are looking for minute details.
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- February 13, 2015 at 2:43 pm
If the smart phone app also requires you to use the phone camera, I'd probably be looking for a different approach. There are medical photographers who can do a good job. I'd prefer a good DSLR with a macro lens to get as much detail as possible over a phone camera. Have any family/friends who are into photography with decent equipment?
Then, in lighting you can duplicate, take a close up pic, then a further back pic of the same area. That way, you can orient yourself on where that particular mole is on your body. Also lets you monitor the skin for "new and different". When they did it professionally on me, they used a sticker by each mole that had a ruler and a letter. They took closeup pics of all my moles on my left front leg, then another pic further back with the stickers still in place so you could see where each mole with sticker was located on my leg.
I, personally, don't think a smart phone camera using the macro setting is nearly as good a lens as a DSLR gives when you are looking for minute details.
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- February 14, 2015 at 3:27 pm
When I was first diagnosed one of the best things I did was have grid photography of my body performed by a professional. It was not cheap, I think it was $1,000, but my insurance covered it. Now when I go in to see my derm (even though I am stage IV I still see him every three months) he can hold up a photo as he checks out that part of my body. He has found a couple of melanomas on my scalp that way and when I see something suspicious I can zoom in on that area of the photo (I have the high-res digital versions on my computer) and compare.
– Paul.
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- February 14, 2015 at 3:27 pm
When I was first diagnosed one of the best things I did was have grid photography of my body performed by a professional. It was not cheap, I think it was $1,000, but my insurance covered it. Now when I go in to see my derm (even though I am stage IV I still see him every three months) he can hold up a photo as he checks out that part of my body. He has found a couple of melanomas on my scalp that way and when I see something suspicious I can zoom in on that area of the photo (I have the high-res digital versions on my computer) and compare.
– Paul.
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- February 14, 2015 at 3:27 pm
When I was first diagnosed one of the best things I did was have grid photography of my body performed by a professional. It was not cheap, I think it was $1,000, but my insurance covered it. Now when I go in to see my derm (even though I am stage IV I still see him every three months) he can hold up a photo as he checks out that part of my body. He has found a couple of melanomas on my scalp that way and when I see something suspicious I can zoom in on that area of the photo (I have the high-res digital versions on my computer) and compare.
– Paul.
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Tagged: cutaneous melanoma
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