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An app can now help users to decide whether a new skin lesion was likely caused by the monkeypox virus. The app works by asking users a series of questions and requests a photo of the skin lesion. The app then uses artificial intelligence (AI) to estimate the probability of infection with the monkeypox virus. The app was developed by a fellow of the Digital Clinician Scientist Program of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health in the Charité (BIH) which is cofunded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The researchers now published the algorithms underlying the AI in Nature Medicine.
Starting in May 2022, the monkeypox virus has caused an unprecedented international outbreak with currently more than 70,000 infections in more than 100 countries. While few people die from the disease, monkeypox is associated with a significant morbidity requiring hospital admission including scars of the face, arms and legs, severe pain and blindness. More than 90% of patients infected with the monkeypox virus develop characteristic skin lesions.
Anonymous risk assessment via questionnaire and photo
This inspired Dr. Alexander Thieme, who is a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University and fellow of the Digital Clinician Scientist Program working on the topic "Artificial Intelligence based Early Warning Systems for pandemics", to develop an app named “PoxApp” that predicts the risk of a monkeypox infection from photographic images of skin lesions and user answers. Thieme is head of the team that developed PoxApp consisting of physicians, researchers and computer and data scientists working at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Robert Koch Institute, Hasso Plattner Institute, Stanford University/USA, Toronto University Hospital/Canada, and University Hospital Bologna/Italy.
PoxApp can be used by any person with a smartphone. The app works by asking a short survey consisting of 5 questions and then requests the users to take a photo of their skin lesion using their own smartphone. PoxApp has a built-in engine to analyze the user answers and skin lesion photos. This means that the data stays on the user smartphone and PoxApp can be used anonymously.
Training with thousands of skin lesion images
PoxApp is the first app that uses methods of AI in combination with medical expert knowledge to estimate the risk of a monkeypox infection. PoxApp’s AI has been trained and tested on many thousands of monkeypox and non-monkeypox skin lesion images. In an automated learning process, the AI was able to identify image features in skin lesion photos that are characteristic for the monkeypox virus. When the AI is presented with a new skin lesion image, it can estimate a probability of infection with the monkeypox virus.
After PoxApp has analyzed the user answers and skin lesion photo, a risk score is calculated together with personalized recommendations that suggest possible next steps, such as monkeypox testing or post-exposure vaccination. By evaluating the zip code , PoxApp provides telephone numbers and contact details how to get in touch with localhealth care offerings.
The researchers hope that PoxApp will be useful to mitigate the current monkeypox outbreak and that it helps users to earlier detect their monkeypox infection and to prevent secondary infections.
PoxApp is free of charge and was released today on the following websites:
https://poxapp.charite.de (Germany)
https://poxapp.stanford.edu (USA)
Reference: Thieme, Alexander Henry, et al.: A deep learning algorithm to classify skin lesions from monkeypox virus infection; Nature Medicine, DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02225-7
Please find more information about the DIgital CLinician Scientist Program here.
This project has been supported by funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWi) under the project DAKI-FWS (BMWi 01MK21009E).
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About the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH)
The mission of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) is medical translation: transferring biomedical research findings into novel approaches to personalized prediction, prevention, diagnostics and therapies and, conversely, using clinical observations to develop new research ideas. The aim is to deliver relevant medical benefits to patients and the population at large. As the translational research unit within Charité, the BIH is also committed to establishing a comprehensive translational ecosystem – one that places emphasis on a system-wide understanding of health and disease and that promotes change in the biomedical translational research culture. The BIH was founded in 2013 and is funded 90 percent by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and 10 percent by the State of Berlin. The founding institutions, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), were independent member entities within the BIH until 2020. Since 2021 the BIH has been integrated into Charité as its so-called third pillar. The MDC is now the Privileged Partner of the BIH.
Contact
Dr. Stefanie Seltmann
Head of Communications
Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH)
stefanie.seltmann@bih-charite.de
+49 (0)30 450 543019
www.bihealth.org
https://www.bihealth.org/en/notices/monkeypox-or-not-an-app-helps-with-decision-...
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