A group of researchers from the Duke University in North Carolina recently developed a gigapixel camera that lets dermatologists identify and diagnose skin cancer during earlier stages of its development.

The gigapixel camera consists of 34 micro cameras that enable dermatologists and doctors to take high resolution snapshots of the entire human body, or zoom in to a tiny freckle.

Like Us on Facebook

The camera makes routine screenings possible for a large number of patients.

The camera aims to find lesions that indicate skin cancer at an earlier stage than the current examination techniques.

Taking images of the entire body has already been used to spot melanoma, a type of skin cancer, but the approach is restricted by the camera's low resolution. A commercial camera also lacks the resolution needed.

In addition, doctors also need to use a digital dermatoscopy to examine suspicious lesions. The need for both types of images cost a lot more.

With the new technology developed, doctors can now use one gigapixel camera to satisfy both requirements.

"Normally a dermatologist examines either a small region of the skin at high resolution or a large region at low resolution, but a gigapixel image doesn't require a compromise between the two." said Daniel Marks, one of the co-authors on the research.

Melanoma, one of the deadliest types of skin cancer, is the fifth most common cancer type in the U.S., affecting more than 200,000 people in 2012 alone.

Seventy-five percent of deaths related to skin cancer were caused by melanoma.

Tagsmelanoma, Gigapixel Camera, Skin Cancer