Inside Corium Medical Dermatology in Dieppe, N.B., the future of skin cancer detection is already here. “This is the first 3D mole mapping system in Canada. What it allows us to do is take pictures of all the moles and blemishes on a person’s skin within about 10 seconds,” said Dr. Nicole Maillet-Lebel. About five minutes later, Artificial Intelligence creates an avatar of the patient’s body making it easy for Maillet-Lebel to track year-to-year for any changes or concerns. She says it will be used as a tool to compliment her medical expertise. “I look at the lesions and make my own impression before looking at the artificial intelligence assessment and then I’ll kind of add it into my algorithm of decision making and chose if I want to follow what the artificial intelligence is telling me or not,” she said. Maillet-Lebel says there are only 100 machines worldwide and the technology is being referred to as augmented intelligence that gives dermatologists another tool to accurately track every mole, lesion and blemish on every single patient. “We’ve captured from about 13 moles to all the way up to 2,300 moles on a person’s skin,” she said. The machine costs around $US 680,000. It’s currently a private, paid service that doesn’t require a referral. Maillet-Lebel said it’s $479 for the images and analysis. Removal procedures are booked separately and covered by Medicare. Maillet-Lebel is calling the technology a game changer in a province with long wait times. “It’s an easy overview for me to look at all their moles quickly,” she said. Over 80 patients have taken advantage of the new machine at Maillet-Lebel’s clinic since January. She said it’s an extra layer of protection as Maritimers start to spend more time outside and temperatures rise. May is Melanoma Awareness Month but even with precautions like sunscreen, shade and limited outdoor activities during the hottest part of the day, Dr. Malliet-Lebel says early protection is key. “Melanoma is one of the deadliest skin cancers that we have,” she said. “It’s the one that has the highest potentials of giving metastases or spreading to the other organs in the body,” Statistics show melanoma has at least tripled in Canada in the last 30 years. “We have about one in 63 Canadians who we diagnosis in Canada every year. It used to be one in 5,000 in the 1930s,” said Dr. Malliet-Lebel. “My goal is that we’ll diagnosis them earlier and then not have those aggressive treatments.” Maillet-Lebel said she hopes 3D mapping will be made widely available across Canada so it can reach everyone that needs it but, in the meantime, she advises patients to keep an eye on moles that are different from others or changing colour. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
