Dermatect wins Rep. Bill Pascrell’s 2022 Congressional App Challenge in New Jersey’s Ninth District

When asked what inspired the creation of Dermatect, the students said, ”Dermal diseases are one of the most prevalent and prolific health epidemics that plague American society. Costing nearly $75 billion in medical, preventative, and prescription industries-according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association-the growing demand for dermatologists and dermatological care is only increasing. However, the extensive training required of experts has led to a shortage of dermatologists and has increased the wait time to an average of 32-35 days for an appointment to a 46% increase compared to a decade ago. On the other hand, some people may not even have access to these experts or the privilege of dermal healthcare. Regardless of the reason, undetected dermal diseases will only lead to harmful implications. While dermal diseases and infections can range in their pain or duration, they nevertheless impair the comfort of daily life and in some cases, physical ability; moreover, if left undiagnosed or untreated for too long, these diseases, while trivial, may become more severe. The desire to address these issues is what inspired us to create our app-a software designed to identify dermal diseases through uploaded photos of users’ skin. With a lack of applications in the current market to address this issue, we hope that our product will eliminate the problems of inconvenient wait times or transportation that could prevent the possibility of earlier treatment or identification. As these problems do not only pertain to New Jersey residents, we hope that this application will not only help those in our state but also those in the United States and around the world.”