Measure alterations in the skin
SciBase improves the reliability of malignant melanoma diagnoses. The technique is used by skin doctors to support decision-making as an alternative to biopsies in cases of suspected skin cancer.
鈥淒iagnoses are always made by a responsible doctor, but our technique can considerably improve safety and reliability,鈥 says , currently attached to the Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology at 探花精选.
instruments use microscopic gold-plated plastic bristles that are placed against areas of suspected skin alteration to measure the skin鈥檚 electrical characteristics. After about 10 seconds, a reading is given on the likelihood of a melanoma on a scale of one to 10.
Technological development of the method has continued since the 1980s. It all started when Ollmar was asked whether he could develop a way of measuring how different dental restorative materials affect mucous in the mouth.
鈥淢easuring impedance seemed the most promising approach.鈥
A prototype was soon ready. After further research, the technique could be used to measure alterations in the skin. 鈥淲hen we saw how we could measure a difference between irritated and healthy skin - that was a real 鈥渨ow鈥 moment. After that we decided to go after the hardest target we could think of: malignant melanoma,鈥 he explains.
Approved in the US
SciBase was established in 1998 with the help of, among others, the Knowledge Foundation. Subsequent innovations have improved the method further and the technology was validated in a number of clinical studies. In 2015, the company was listed and in 2017, the technology was approved in the US. To date, SciBase is better known outside Sweden, but Ollmar hopes that the technique will soon be also accepted by local healthcare authorities in Sweden.
鈥淵ou should never give up because someone else says what you want to do is impossible. You can always go further, but rarely in ways that you envisaged when you started,鈥 says Ollmar.