iTWire - IBM to apply cognitive technology in melanoma identification

With Australia's rates of skin cancers one of the highest in the world, IBM Research and MoleMap -- one of the world's largest melanoma screening programs -- are partnering with the Melanoma Institute Australia to help further advances in the identification of melanoma. The partnership and the planned research builds on IBM's existing research agreement with MoleMap, which uses advanced visual analytics to analyse more than 40,000 datasets including images and text. Under the new partnership, IBM Research plans to analyse dermatological images of skin lesions to help identify specific clinical patterns in the early stages of melanoma. The Melanoma Institute cites current statistics indicating that two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer before the age of 70, yet 95 to 99% of all skin cancers are preventable – with early diagnosis of skin cancer critical for survival rates, notably for melanoma which is considered among the most life-threatening. And, according to national cancer statistics, someone in Australia dies from melanoma every six hours.