The Journal of Medical Internet Research has published findings from the initial phase of a validation study on the SkinNTDs mobile app. This app is designed to aid in the control of neglected tropical diseases and common skin diseases, particularly in countries with low per capita incomes.
The study is led by Carme Carrion, principal investigator at the eHealth Lab of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and associate dean for research at the Faculty of Health Sciences. Mireia Cano, a UOC researcher and project manager at the Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, co-leads the project.
Commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO), which owns the app developed by Catalan company Universal Doctor, the validation project commenced in 2021. Initial results indicate positive reception among healthcare professionals in Ghana and Kenya. The second phase, which began in April, focuses on fieldwork in Kenya to validate new AI elements in the app’s beta version.
Mireia Cano highlighted the app’s strong usability, noting that its effectiveness does not vary by country, dermatological experience, or disease management skills. “This consistent reception is crucial,” she said, “because it suggests the app’s scalability across different regions with only language translation needed.”
Participation and Findings
The first phase involved 50 professionals from Ghana and Kenya, aiming to enhance their knowledge of 12 neglected tropical diseases and 24 common skin conditions in diagnosis and treatment. Although the pandemic limited direct contact, fieldwork in Kenya is now facilitating closer collaboration and evaluation of the app’s AI features, which include two photograph-based algorithms.
Carme Carrion explained that the new phase will test the app’s disease identification accuracy. Preliminary seminars will introduce the project and tool usage to participating professionals. Over two months, these professionals will diagnose patients and compare their assessments with the app’s AI-driven suggestions. Results will be sent to a WHO platform for independent verification by dermatologists from Tunisia and Kenya, ensuring the algorithms’ accuracy.
Advancing AI in Medical Training
Carrion noted that the app, originally a training tool with a symptom-based logical algorithm, now incorporates AI to provide detailed information based on patient lesions. This advancement is vital for improving diagnoses in low- and middle-income countries, where specialized dermatologists are scarce.
The WHO supports mobile health as a way to enhance healthcare access, particularly in rural areas. Phase two aims to gather 250 to 500 cases with photographs to evaluate AI algorithms and collect user feedback from healthcare professionals.
This study marks a significant step in leveraging technology to improve healthcare in resource-limited settings.
