The Experience of 3D Total-Body Photography to Monitor Nevi: Results From an Australian General Population-Based Cohort Study

Caitlin Horsham; Montana O'Hara; Saira Sanjida; Samantha Ma; Dilki Jayasinghe; Adele C Green; Helmut Schaider; Joanne F Aitken; Richard A Sturm; Tarl Prow; H Peter Soyer; Monika Janda

doi:10.2196/37034

The Experience of 3D Total-Body Photography to Monitor Nevi: Results From an Australian General Population-Based Cohort Study

JMIR Dermatol. 2022 Jun 20;5(2):e37034. doi: 10.2196/37034.

Authors

Caitlin Horsham^#¹, Montana O'Hara^#^{1

2}, Saira Sanjida^{1

2}, Samantha Ma¹, Dilki Jayasinghe¹, Adele C Green^{3

4

5}, Helmut Schaider², Joanne F Aitken^{6

7

8}, Richard A Sturm², Tarl Prow^{9

10}, H Peter Soyer², Monika Janda¹

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
² Dermatology Research Centre, The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
³ Cancer and Population Studies, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
⁴ Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom.
⁵ Australian Skin and Skin Cancer Research Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
⁶ Viertel Cancer Research Centre, Cancer Council Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
⁷ Institute for Resilient Regions, University of Southern Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
⁸ School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
⁹ Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
¹⁰ Skin Research Centre, York Biomedical Research Institute, Hull York Medical School, York, United Kingdom.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 37632874
PMCID: PMC10334884
DOI: 10.2196/37034

Abstract

Background: Digital 3D total-body photography of the skin surface is an emerging imaging modality that can facilitate the identification of new and changing nevi.

Objective: We aimed to describe the experiences of study participants drawn from the general population who were provided 3D total-body photography and dermoscopy for the monitoring of nevi.

Methods: A population-based prospective study of adults aged 20-70 years from South East Queensland, Australia was conducted. Participants underwent 3D total-body photography and dermoscopy every 6 months over a 3-year period. Participants were asked to provide closed and open-ended feedback on their 3D total-body photography and dermoscopy experience (eg, comfort, trust, intended future use, and willingness to pay) at the halfway study time point (18 months) and final study time point (36 months). We assessed changes in participants' reported experience of 3D total-body photography, and patient characteristics associated with patient experience at the end of the study (36 months) were analyzed.

Results: A total of 149 participants completed the surveys at both the 18- and 36-month time points (median age 55, range 23-70 years; n=94, 63.1% were male). At the 18-month time point, most participants (n=103, 69.1%) stated they completely trusted 3D total-body imaging for the diagnosis and monitoring of their nevi, and this did not change at the 36-month (n=104, 69.8%) time point. The majority of participants reported that they were very comfortable or comfortable with the technology at both the 18- (n=138, 92.6%) and 36-month (n=140, 94%) time points, respectively; albeit, the number of participants reporting that they were very comfortable reduced significantly between the 18- and 36-month time points, from 71.1% (n=106) to 61.1% (n=91; P=.01). Almost all participants (n=140, 94%) would consider using this technology if it were to become commercially available, and this did not change during the two study time points. Half of the participants (n=74) cited barriers to participating in 3D total-body photography, including trust in the ability of this technology to detect and monitor suspicious lesions, digital privacy, cost, and travel requirements.

Conclusions: The majority of participants expressed positive attitudes toward 3D total-body photography for the monitoring of their moles. Half of the participants identified potential barriers to uptake.

Keywords: 3D total-body photography; artificial intelligence; cohort study; early detection; melanocytic nevi; melanoma; moles; skin; skin cancer; skin surface.

©Caitlin Horsham, Montana O'Hara, Saira Sanjida, Samantha Ma, Dilki Jayasinghe, Adele C Green, Helmut Schaider, Joanne F Aitken, Richard A Sturm, Tarl Prow, H Peter Soyer, Monika Janda. Originally published in JMIR Dermatology (http://derma.jmir.org), 20.06.2022.