Requirements Summary

At a high level, the system will consist of a mobile application,  a server environment, and a web portal. The Users of the application are the patients. The Customers of the application are the medical facilities. Users will be on-boarded by the customer and provided the necessary instructions to create their user account. After download and installation of the mobile application on a mobile device, the account credentials will be used to authenticate into the server environment.

The mobile application shall allow users to upload images with optional notes from their mobile device to the server environment. Each image will be linked to a specific section on the body. For example, the mobile application will prompt the user to capture an image of their left forearm. After capturing the image, an algorithm will be run to ensure the quality of the image is acceptable for analysis. Else, the mobile application will prompt the user to retake the picture.

Persisted images in the server environment will be grouped by the date collected. The server environment shall perform an analysis of each image uploaded. The analysis will take into account the geometric shape of each spot, the color, the growth rate, and the growth pattern. Per analysis, the server environment shall be able to mark areas of concern for review by the customer. Notifications of observed abnormalities will be sent to both the users and the customer. The web portal will be used by the customer to review images, download images, and report the actual diagnosis. The actual diagnosis would be captured once the customer and user have met to review the reported abnormalities. Additionally, the mobile application shall allow for users to manually submit requests for images to be reviewed by the customer, if they desire.

Due to the sensitive nature of this patient data as well as HIPAA requirements, photos will be de-identified prior to transmission to a server for analysis. Security is a primary concern for the application to ensure confidentiality and integrity of the data collected. Secure storage and transmission of the photo must be achieved.

The American Cancer Society provides the ABCDE rule for identifying warning signs of the most common types of melanoma. However, it is important to note that not all melanomas have these signs and historical analysis is needed to guarantee discovery of new spots.

• A is for asymmetry (one half of the mole does not match the other half)
• B is for border irregularity (the edges are ragged, notched, or blurred)
• C is for color (the pigmentation is not uniform)
• D is for diameter greater than 6 millimeters (about the size of a pencil eraser)
• E is for evolution, meaning a change in the mole’s appearance over time

Scenarios

1. Edward and his dermatologist agree that due to specific factors, Edward is at a higher risk of developing skin cancer. Edward is instructed to utilize SunSpot in order to capture pictures of his skin on a monthly basis. Each month Edward captures photos of specific areas on his body and uploads them for review. After three months, the system prompts the dermatologist of a new spot that is growing with an irregular shape. Edward and his dermatologist schedule a meeting to review the spot and find the spot to be melanoma. The dermatologist provides the diagnosis back into the system and continues on with the necessary treatment for Edward.
2. Susy spends a lot of time in the sun and recently had a friend who was diagnosed with skin cancer. After a long day at the beach, Susy notices a spot on her arm with a greenish color. Susy remembers the hospital system that she uses has just rolled out a new feature for all patients allowing them to upload photos of suspected skin cancer. She used the SunSpot, provided by the hospital, to upload a photo of the spot she found. The system recognizes the spot as melanoma and sends a notification to both her and her doctor. Her doctor begins scheduling treatment immediately to ensure the melanoma does not spread to other parts of Susy’s body.