Diagnostics & imaging AI · Handheld AI skin cancer detection
DermaSensor
DermaSensor is a Miami company whose FDA-cleared handheld device uses light-based spectroscopy and AI to assess suspicious skin lesions for melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma, helping primary care doctors decide whom to refer to dermatology.
Strong fit
- Primary care practices and health systems with long dermatology wait times
- Clinicians who want an objective check on lesions patients point out
- Organizations that want to prioritize urgent dermatology referrals
Weak fit
- Dermatology practices that already use dermoscopy and biopsy routinely
- Programs looking for whole-body skin screening
- Patients under 40, who are outside the device's indication
Bottom line
DermaSensor gives primary care doctors an immediate, objective reading on a skin lesion they already find suspicious, with FDA clearance for all three common skin cancers. It suits practices and health systems where dermatology appointments take months. It supports the referral decision and does not replace a dermatologist or a biopsy.
Score breakdown
Weights: Outcomes 35% · Product 30% · Implementation 20% · Pricing clarity 15%.
DermaSensor's users are primary care physicians, internists, and other frontline clinicians, the doctors patients first ask about a worrying mole. The clinician places the wireless handheld device on the lesion. The device shines light into the skin and measures how it scatters, a technique called elastic scattering spectroscopy, and AI turns that into an "investigate further" or "monitor" result. Positive results carry a 1 to 10 score that shows how closely the lesion resembles skin cancer. The FDA granted De Novo clearance in early 2024 for patients aged 40 and older.
The usual alternative is to refer every suspicious lesion to dermatology, or to train primary care doctors in dermoscopy, which takes time to learn. Simmons has said no image-based skin cancer tool is available for U.S. primary care. DermaSensor sells directly and through partners and does not publish prices.
CEO Cody Simmons has said the device was miniaturized from a 30-pound laboratory instrument licensed from Boston University, and that the company ran 13 clinical studies before clearance. In published studies the device showed 96% sensitivity across the three common skin cancers. DermaSensor raised $16 million in a Series B in October 2025 and a $5 million extension in September 2026, bringing total investment to $48 million. Its revenue is an estimated $5 million a year.
Adoption is growing through channels. In September 2026 the company announced partnerships with a large unnamed health system, Henry Schein, MedTech MedCare, and a reseller to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Refresh Miami reported more than 45,000 lesions scanned. The device is meant for lesions a clinician already finds suspicious, so it is a referral aid, not a screening tool for the whole body.
What clinicians and buyers say
What people like
"Primary care finally has an objective check on a suspicious mole without waiting months for dermatology."
"The point-and-click readings are faster than learning dermoscopy from scratch."
What people don't like
"It is only cleared for lesions we already find suspicious in patients 40 and older."
"Pricing comes through sales or a distributor, so it took a while to get a number."
Where customer reviews couldn't be found, our analysts attempted to give a voice to buyer sentiment, drawing on real information from review sites, forums, and product documentation.
Based on: DermaSensor homepage, MedTech Digest interview with Cody Simmons, and Refresh Miami coverage.
Pricing
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | Sold directly and through channel partners such as Henry Schein. List prices are not published on the company site. |
| What drives cost | Number of devices, practice volume, channel partner terms, and reimbursement support. |
Leadership
Recent news
- September 2026: DermaSensor launched in Germany through a distribution agreement with ContraCare's DERMALYTICA division.
- September 2026: DermaSensor raised $5 million, including a public round on Wefunder, and announced four new U.S. partnerships, including Henry Schein and a Veterans Affairs reseller.
- June 2026: DermaSensor received a Class IIb CE mark and announced a collaboration with the NHS in the United Kingdom.
Methodology
| Weight | Factor | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| 35% | Customer outcomes | Whether buyers get measurable operational or clinical-workflow results after go-live |
| 30% | Product | Capability depth, reliability, and fit for the job the category buys |
| 20% | Implementation | How hard it is to stand up, integrate, train, and stabilize |
| 15% | Pricing clarity | Whether a buyer can model total cost without a mystery quote |
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Highly recommend | Strong outcomes and product with manageable caveats |
| Recommend | Solid fit for the right buyer; know the tradeoffs |
| Conditional | Only with a specific use case or heavy caveats |
| Not recommended | Avoid for most buyers in this category |
Read our full methodology for how we weight scores and assign recommend labels.