New smartphone camera lenses that can snap precise photographs of moles and skin lesions might help diagnose tens of thousands of skin cancer patients faster.

The 50 penny lens attaches to a smartphone to snap high-resolution photos of suspicious moles, spots, and other skin issues.

NHS officials stated the new ‘teledermatology’ service will be available nationwide by July.

The change is expected to allow dermatologists to see twice as many patients every day.

15% of English NHS trusts employ the technology. GP practices and NHS community diagnostic centres will utilize it.

NHS England claimed the technology might help rural GPs examine patients quickly and without a specialist appointment.

Last year, 600,000 individuals were referred for skin exams, up 9%. Last year, 56,000 skin cancer patients were treated.

The health service is testing AI skin cancer detection techniques.

Doctors are using it to see if Deep Ensemble for the Recognition of Malignancy (Derm) matches their findings.

Derm analyzes expert magnified skin lesions with AI algorithms to diagnose malignancy.

It may speed skin cancer diagnosis in the future.

NHS officials said the gadget avoided 10,000 unnecessary face-to-face consultations in earlier trials.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, stated that growing demand has put significant pressure on services.

But supporting the use of digital technology and innovative methods of working is crucial to minimizing waiting and is exactly why we are boosting the use of teledermatology—a modest piece of gear that has the potential to speed up diagnosis and treatment for tens of thousands with skin cancer.

We are increasing the use of artificial intelligence lenses in teledermatology to identify skin malignancies, which is proven extremely beneficial in places that have tried the technique.

‘This is just one example of NHS innovation to ensure people are diagnosed and treated for cancer as early as possible—we are also investing millions to increase diagnostic and treatment capacity, and driving forward early diagnosis initiatives like our community lung trucks—and we will not stop there in our efforts to find cancers earlier and save more lives.’

“Being able to get a swift and specialist opinion on a skin lesion or rash, and advice on treatment or local surgical options, often negates the need to refer the patient on to another hospital to see the specialist in person,” said Somerset GP Dr. Tom While.

This cuts waiting lists and saves my rural patients from long drives.

‘If a patient does need to be referred on to a specialist, then the teledermatology service helps streamline that process, ensuring the patient is seen in the correct clinic at the right time – it’s a fantastic service and an asset to rural general practice, and hard to imagine working without it.’

“We want to make sure people can have their moles, spots, or lesions examined as soon as possible so those that are cancerous are treated quickly,” said Health Minister Helen Whately.

This technology lets dermatologists see twice as many patients every day, saving lives.

According to a Censuswide study of 2,000 British people for King Edward VII’s Hospital, 22% don’t use sunscreen.