Skin Cancer and Melanoma – Did Machine Vision Lose? [Video]

In this episode, we talk to Cody Simmons, CEO at DermaSensor. DermaSensor achieved internet-fame in late Jan 2024, when it received FDA clearance for its approach using non-invasive spectroscopy for skin cancer and melanoma detection.

According to Cody, there have been hundreds of researchers in both academia and industry, with the first research papers in the late 1980s. So why go after a novel hardware centric-approach? Hasn’t #machinevision already solved this? Not so fast. There is not a single image-based skin cancer AI tool available for use in the US that’s approved by the FDA. Cody talks about the fundamental challenges in imaging data when it comes to detecting cancer-related signals, and the value of spectroscopy.

We also talk about #imaging and machine vision in general. The FDA today has over 500 approved clinical AI applications, most of which are in the field of imaging and radiology. Cody shares his insights and views on the broader space; and gives us clues on how PCP-approved devices may eventually make their way to the home.

Cody is the CEO of DermaSensor, a health technology company that has raised $27 million to launch the world’s first point-and-click skin cancer detection tool for primary care providers. As a bioengineer and entrepreneur, Cody has spent all of his career bringing new health technologies to physicians and patients. He is a frequent speaker at health technology and entrepreneurship events, and Cody was included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 in healthcare.

Prior to joining DermaSensor, Cody led commercial efforts for a Silicon Valley medical device screening and monitoring startup. His first industry experience was in a leadership development program at Genentech, after which he stayed at Genentech to lead commercial strategy efforts in the US oncology pricing strategy group. During his graduate work at Stanford, he co-founded a laboratory tools startup with two other graduate students, raising an angel round, participating in the StartX program, and completing a licensing deal with Stanford.

Cody earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics as well as entrepreneurship in the bioengineering track from Brown University. He also received a Masters of Science in Bioengineering for which he completed his graduate research at Stanford University.

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Autonomous Health is…
Produced & Hosted by: Anmol Madan
Edited by: Losa Amara Meru
Marketing: Erin Garcia Miller

About Your Host:
Anmol Madan is an entrepreneur, computer scientist, and executive who has been leading the digital health and AI revolution over the past two decades. Anmol has co-founded or held executive roles at multiple unicorns in the emerging field of digital healthcare; a field which has existed for less than two decades. His professional contributions in the field have received hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from leading VCs, and been featured in such media as CNBC, New York Times, Washington Post, and Wired Magazine. His scientific contributions have been published in dozens of scientific articles in leading computer science and digital health journals, and led to over 30 issued and pending US patents. Anmol received a Ph.D. in machine learning applied to human behavior from the MIT Media Lab. In his spare time, he enjoys time with his family, which has recently meant changing a surprising number of diapers.

Disclaimer:
The Autonomous Health podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.