In medicine, there is perhaps nothing as low-tech as a skin cancer examination.
Doctors simply use their naked eyes to scan patients' bodies for signs of trouble.
But a new high-tech method that enhances the ability of the human eye to identify the most serious form of skin cancer is starting to pop up in some dermatologists' offices. Called digital microscopy, the technology could benefit individuals with an above-average risk of developing melanoma. Digital microscopy, which is costly and still considered somewhat experimental, is being used by only a few doctors across the United States. Already widely used in Europe, most U.S. doctors say that it could prove to be of enormous benefit to patients who are at higher risk for melanoma because they have a large number of odd-shaped moles. Los Angeles dermatologist Andrew Kaufman says that digital microscopy is an important advance given the nation's surging rate of melanoma.