MelaFind Device Approved to Detect Melanoma

MelaFind — a device that creates digital images of suspicious skin growths and compares them to a database of thousands of scans to analyze for signs of melanoma skin cancer — has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The non-invasive diagnostic can help doctors decide whether to biopsy skin growths in their early stages, when skin cancer is nearly 100 percent curable, device maker Mela Sciences said in a news release.

While the new technology can recommend to doctors whether to perform a biopsy, it is not intended to confirm a clinical diagnosis of melanoma, Mela said.

The company is based in Irvington, N.Y.

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