- OpenDerm is an open-source robotic imaging system that creates high-resolution, reproducible 3D maps of the skin, with all hardware designs, software, and build documentation freely available.
- Early detection of melanoma is critical: survival rate is nearly 100% when caught early but drops to 34% after metastasis; about 30% of melanomas arise from existing moles, 70% as new lesions, often with millimeter-scale changes.
- Current total-body photography is limited by high costs, lack of standardized baselines, and insufficient clinical evidence; improving it requires higher resolution, longitudinal datasets, and frequent, accessible scanning.
- OpenDerm uses a robotic gantry with four degrees of freedom (X, Y, Z, and rotary tilt) to maintain consistent distance, angle, focus, and lighting, capturing skin at 78 pixels per millimeter using a Canon EOS R7 and ring flash.
- The system costs under $8,500 in hardware, is fully open source, and provides higher resolution than many commercial systems at a fraction of the cost.
- Three main approaches to total-body photography exist: wide-field systems (fast but low detail), close-range robotic scanners (high detail but slower), and guided smartphone imaging (low cost but variable consistency).