Oral cancer with a death rate higher than those of cervical cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, brain, liver, and skin cancer, is considered among the most deadly. One of the real dangers of this cancer is that in its early stages, it can go unnoticed since it frequently is not causing pain. The worldwide prevalence of oral mucosal lesions is as high as 25 %. Around 5 % of these lesions transform into cancer if untreated or not detected at an early stage. The key to effective treatment and long-term survival is the early detection and distinction of malignant from chronic or incidental benign lesions.

For dentists, it is often a “black box” as they are not specialized in diagnosing oral lesions early, which often leads to multiple visits and referrals of patients. If malignant, they must visit as fast as possible specialist clinics, but treatment is often delayed.

mucoaid detects and classifies oral mucosa lesions in photographs taken by dentists using machine learning algorithms for diagnostic decision support. The application shortens the interval between the onset of symptoms and the start of treatment, while also guiding patients and dental professionals throughout diagnosis, treatment, and aftercare. mucoaid supports the observation of chronic diseases, assists in cancer aftercare, and includes patient-reported data to lower the risk of malignant transformation and/or recurrence.

How does the solution work? Images acquired with an intraoral camera integrated with the dental unit, photo camera, or other devices taken by dentist, joint with anamnestic data by the dental professional are uploaded to our application, and processed with our transformer network approach.

Team mucoaid is powered by the expertise of a senior clinician and researcher in the field of digital imaging and computer-aided treatment planning in oral and maxillofacial surgery, dentists, and physicians, supported by a machine learning and a business expert from Charité and Einstein Center Digital Future, Berlin. Oral health is the key to general health. Oral diseases are amongst the most common chronic diseases and pose public health issues due to their prevalence, expense of treatment, and impact on individuals and society. Our goal is to improve prophylaxis in oral health in DACH and beyond.