Mitacs Talent Helps AI Startup Transform Skin Cancer Detection 

Toronto-based health-tech startup Skinopathy is reshaping how Canadians detect and treat skin cancer.

Through a partnership with Mitacs, Skinopathy developed GetSkinHelp, an AI-powered mobile app that allows users to scan skin lesions using a smartphone photo. The app analyzes the image with 88% accuracy, triages urgency, and connects patients to timely virtual or in-person care. To date, it has served over 24,000 patients through 2,300+ physician referrals.

Pairing talent with innovation 

To bring the technology to life, Skinopathy turned to Mitacs to access advanced research expertise from across Canada. One of the company’s first interns was Mahla Abdolahnejad, a PhD candidate in machine learning. Recruited through Mitacs in 2021, she is now a full-time data scientist at Skinopathy.

Fresh thinking to advance development 

“There’s so much great technology available today, but for many reasons, medical science hasn’t kept up. Our partnership with Mitacs provides access to fresh, eager graduate students who bring new perspectives and out-of-the box thinking to the table, helping to advance this groundbreaking technology in record time,” says Dr. Colin Hong, Skinopathy co-founder and Chief Medical Officer.

Shaping the future of healthcare 

Now expanding into burn triage, wound care, and primary care tools, Skinopathy continues to demonstrate how Mitacs-supported talent is helping shape the future of Canadian healthcare.

Learn more: mitacs.ca/partner 

Mitacs’s programs receive funding from multiple partners across Canada. We thank the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon for supporting us to empower Canadian innovation.

Do you have a business challenge that could benefit from a research solution? If so, contact Mitacs today to discuss partnership opportunities: [email protected].