Wearable Patch for Early Skin Cancer Detection to Reduce Unnecessary Biopsies

Skin cancer remains one of the most dangerous and common cancers worldwide, with early detection crucial for improving survival rates. Traditional diagnostic methods—visual inspections, imaging, and biopsies—can be subjective, invasive, and often limited to specialized clinics. Now, scientists have created a simple, battery-free wearable patch that can detect abnormal skin lesions more accurately and accessibly.

The small, chip-less, wireless patch, developed by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine (Winston-Salem, NC, USA), measures the bioimpedance—the ability of electrical signals to pass through tissue—of skin lesions. Because cancerous tissue conducts electricity differently than healthy skin, this property can be used to detect potential malignancies.

The patch is flexible, lightweight, and disposable, operating without batteries or chips. It works wirelessly with a compact reader device to capture quantitative bioimpedance data from the skin. In tests involving 10 volunteers, each participant wore the patch on both a pigmented skin lesion and nearby healthy skin. Statistical analyses revealed significant differences in the electrical properties between normal and abnormal tissue, confirming the patch’s diagnostic potential.

Importantly, the findings published in npj Biomedical Innovations show that the wearable performed equally well across all skin tones, distinguishing suspicious lesions from healthy skin by detecting subtle electrical signal changes. The patch offers objective, numerical data rather than relying solely on visual cues, reducing subjectivity and unnecessary biopsies. It also ensures patient privacy, as it collects nonvisual information that can easily be stored and shared digitally.

The researchers emphasize that the device’s simplicity and low cost make it suitable for use in both primary care and home settings, potentially empowering patients to monitor skin lesions and seek medical attention earlier. It can also complement existing diagnostic methods such as imaging or dermatoscopy by providing additional physiological data.

The next phase of development will focus on integrating conductive hydrogel electrodes to improve comfort and signal accuracy. Larger clinical trials are planned to validate the patch’s performance in real-world environments and to test its ability to differentiate benign from malignant lesions with high precision.

“Skin cancer is most treatable when caught early, but many people don’t have easy access to specialized dermatology care,” said Mohammad J. Moghimi, Ph.D., who led the development of the patch. “Our wearable patch is designed to be affordable, comfortable and easy to use, even outside of a doctor’s office. It could empower patients and primary care providers to monitor suspicious skin lesions and seek help sooner.”

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Wake Forest University School of Medicine