Melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer. Worldwide 200.000 patients are diagnosed with melanoma each year and the incidence is increasing. It has been estimated that individuals born in 1997 will have a 1 in 84 chance of developing melanoma during their lives. Moreover, the mortality rate is high: in 2002, 41.000 patients died worldwide. In addition to the human tragedy of advanced stage disease, the health care costs attributable to melanoma are estimated to be at least a $1 billion annually in the US alone. As early diagnostics significantly enhances the patient survival rate it is crucial to accurately diagnose melanoma at a very early stage. Therefore the final goal of the RASKIN consortium is: To develop a low-cost, easy-to-use Raman spectroscopic device for use by dermatologists and PCPs, for objective, rapid identification of suspicious pigmented skin lesions. This photonic device will enable the PCP and early career dermatologists to increase significantly their melanoma recognition rate, which would save thousands of patient lives per year and decrease the costs. The aim of the RASKIN project is not to deliver a commercial product, but to develop the innovations required to make the product a reality. The envisioned results of this project is: A clinical, prototype, photonic device for objective assessment of pigmented skin lesions and an extensive set of clinical data to verify the efficacy of the instrument. | http://www.rvo.nl/sites/default/files/2012%20uitgave%20%27Focus%20of%20F...
