The creators of a new app that helps doctors diagnose and treat skin cancer will set up its Australian office in Adelaide, creating up to 25 high-tech jobs in the city.
Singaporean company Firma Skin has announced it will set up a headquarters in Adelaide from where it will drive the global rollout of its smartphone app Derma Analytics.
Users of the app can take photos of spots on their skin and these are analysed to detect skin cancers before the results are sent to the patient's doctor.
Firma Skin says the app, featuring pattern-matching technology, makes it faster and easier to identify skin cancer and get the right treatment.
SA Health Minister Jack Snelling says the move will create jobs in the high-tech health sector and help improve skin cancer survival rates in South Australia.
"Some Australians will be some of the first people in the world to have access to this breakthrough technology," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
Firma Skin founder Dr Steven Fang, who is an adjunct professor at the University of Adelaide, says the company hopes to develop other health technologies in SA.
"This includes working on big data analysis and healthcare surveillance know-how," Dr Fang said.
Firma Skin has established partnerships with local doctors who will use the technology in their clinics, including Dr Andrew Kellie of East Adelaide Healthcare.
"The platform lets doctors monitor patients' skin lesions remotely, reassuring patients or prompting them to seek treatment when required," he said.
The initiative is being supported by government agency Health Industries South Australia.
