Dr I Ketut Eddy Purnama ST MT, ITS Computer Engineering Department lecturer who is also the head of the research team that developed iDerm4U

ITS Campus, ITS News – Digitalization in the health sector is now growing, so that various telemedicine platforms that can be accessed by many people are considered to facilitate equitable access to health. To support this, the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh November (ITS) designed an artificial intelligence-based telemedicine platform that focuses on skin diseases.

The head of the research team, Dr. I Ketut Eddy Purnama, ST MT, said that the platform, which his team named iDerm4U, focuses on teledermatology services. Accessible without distance constraints, patients can consult with doctors online through this platform. “Considering that Indonesia is still hit by Covid-19, this platform can minimize the transmission,” he said.

The iDerm4U platform has a website base that is still in the development stage. Armed with artificial intelligence, this platform can later make it easier for doctors to find out the type of patient’s skin disease. “iDerm4U helps to analyze the types of skin diseases based on photos of the patient’s skin,” he explained.

Display of the iDerm4U platform, designed by the ITS research team, which can be accessed from mobile phones

The way it works is easy, continued the Dean of the ITS Faculty of Electrical and Informatics Technology (FTEIC), patients only need to access the iDerm4U website to consult with a doctor. As for the consultation session, the patient will be asked to take pictures of the part of the skin that he complains about. After the data is entered, several diagnoses of skin diseases will appear automatically along with the percentage. “Three types of skin diseases that are closest will appear as a doctor’s consideration,” he continued.

Furthermore, Eddy as he is familiarly called, said that now the research team has succeeded in combining tens of thousands of data sets containing various medical information on skin diseases. The integration of these data equips iDerm4U to be able to identify up to seven classifications of skin diseases. “Currently, we are still trying to develop more data to be integrated so that more types of skin diseases can be detected,” he said.

By collaborating with other universities such as Airlangga University, University of Indonesia, and Hasanuddin University, Eddy believes that iDerm4U will be more developed. Eddy explained that currently the classification method with artificial intelligence in iDerm4U has been patented. “We are also trying to make it accessible to the public,” he added.

The lecturer in the Department of Computer Engineering hopes that the platform he and his team from other universities have initiated can be used by the wider community and have a positive impact on them. “Aside from the health sector, I hope this platform can be used as a learning tool in the world of medical education,” he concluded hopefully. (ITS Public Relation)

Reporter: Irwan Fitranto