Artificial Intelligence in Alicante to Diagnose Skin Lesions

Artificial Intelligence is gradually making its way through various levels of public healthcare. One of the areas in the province that will benefit from this technology to improve diagnostics is dermatology.

The Department of Health has announced that it will incorporate AI tools in dermatology to support and facilitate the diagnosis of skin lesions. To achieve this, Primary Care doctors and Dermatology specialists are working together to introduce AI in this field.

The Health Minister, Marciano Gómez, stated that "the software enabling the implementation of AI-based tools in the diagnostic processes of skin pathologies will soon be tendered, which will facilitate the early detection of potential malignant skin lesions."

Gómez highlighted that this measure "will allow prioritisation of patient referrals from primary to specialised care." The goal is for it to be implemented throughout the Valencian Community by 2026.

In fact, thanks to this system, a family doctor can take an image of the patient's lesion, which is immediately analysed, providing the physician with information on the most likely diagnosis, as well as whether the lesion is malignant or not. This will allow urgent cases to be detected and treatment times to be expedited if necessary.

Currently, the Department of Health has already embraced the incorporation of artificial intelligence in various healthcare areas, such as in the breast cancer screening programme, as well as to support the reading of chest and musculoskeletal X-rays in suspected fractures, both in hospital emergencies and in Primary Care.

Regarding Dermatology, according to Health officials, it currently represents "a crucial part of healthcare," both in terms of the number of consultations and the complexity of the pathologies treated, so the implementation of artificial intelligence tools will serve to improve efficiency and expand access while reducing waiting times.