Mole Sizing FAQ

A common problem with measuring changes in size of moles using photography is that changes in distance from the camera to the mole can be different from photo to photo. By using Mole Sizing you can get a better impression of the absolute size of what was measured so you can look for any changes in size that may else have been missed.

By including a reference object of a known size such as a coin into the photo next to the mole it is possible to estimate the size of the mole. 

With Mole Sizing the coin is automatically detected in the photo and a dimension (length) of the mole will in most cases also be auto-suggested, but it is the user that is ultimately in charge of deciding what dimension should be measured.

To make sure that the coin is placed properly in the photo Miiskin has created an augmented reality engine that automatically detects the coin and its skew to assist in taking as good a photo as possible.

Mole Sizing is a tool for measuring size similarly as a ruler is. With any tool the pros and cons will come down to the preference of the person using the tool.

That said Mole Sizing utilizes sophisticated maths to calculate the desired dimension or length of the mole whereas it can be difficult to manually do simply from a photo with a ruler next to a mole. The Miiskin app further allows you to pinpoint and document on the photo with a built-in digital measurement panel which dimension of the mole was measured. This is important so you can better compare the size of moles in baseline photos versus follow-up photos. With Mole Sizing the dimension is digitally recorded in the app, making it easy to refer to in the future.

Using a coin can further be advantageous to using a ruler as it is easier to prevent the pressure that is applied to the skin which could become stretched if a ruler is used causing inaccurate measurements. A coin is also easier to place and to keep in place on the skin – especially if a bit of lotion or hand sanitizer is applied to the side of the coin in contact with the skin.

Miiskin’s goal has been to create a convenient solution that offers the same precision as a ruler when a ruler is used in the correct manner, which is not easy. It can often be challenging and impractical to make precise measurements with a ruler and to also document for later what part of the mole was actually measured. This is why we think most people will find Mole Sizing the most useful option.

Mole Sizing uses a two-dimensional methodology to make its calculations and should therefore not be used to measure moles or lesions that are fully or partly at a different distance to the camera than the reference coin. This also means that even with Mole Sizing it is not possible to measure for any vertical change in size that can’t be seen in a two-dimensional image.

We are working on a designated reference sticker to be placed on the skin, but have chosen to release Mole Sizing with coin support as everyone has easy access to coins. Until a sticker is available and widely distributed a very good option is to use a bit of lotion or hand sanitizer to make the coin stick better to the skin. The benefit of using these is that they are already approved for application on skin. You should of course never use glue or any other substances that might harm your skin.

At this point we do not recommend doctors to use these measurements in their medical decision making. This is due to regulatory reasons, which we are in the process of addressing so intended use can be further expanded to also include clinical use.

At this time, Mole Sizing should not be used by professional clinicians. However, if you are a clinician looking to use the Mole Sizing technology for clinical purposes, please reach out to us and we can discuss how it could be made available for clinical use.

This is not something we are actively recommending right now. Mole Sizing is calibrated for measuring lesions of the size of most moles and should therefore not be used for moles of abnormal size or other lesions/rashes on the skin of larger size. This is partly also due to the fact that as lesions/rashes increase in size it will become a 3-dimensional measurement challenge since part of the rash or lesion could be closer or further away from the camera versus the reference coin.

Mole Sizing has been internally tested and shows enough measurement precision to be included in the Miiskin app for non professional use. We choose  a cautious approach and are releasing Mole Sizing in beta mode until we have received reallife user feedback and incorporated the necessary user experience modifications into the functionality.