This Satellite’s Camera Could Potentially Scan Your Skin For Cancer

It wasn’t too long ago that we reported that the FTC wasn’t too amused by some apps that claimed were able to detect melanoma using your smartphone’s camera, but if you thought that might be a useful tool perhaps in the future, you might want to try this idea on for size. The European Space agency has recently announced (via Gizmodo) that they are looking into the possibility of using one of their satellite’s cameras to help scan for skin cancer.

The satellite in question is the Proba-V which is a vegetation-scanning satellite. The satellite will now be adapted, thanks to the help of doctors, to monitor human skin cells and to detect for possible signs of cancer. So how is this possible? How is it that a satellite so far up in space be able to detect cancer in humans when a smartphone camera coupled with an app can’t?

Apparently this is thanks to the Proba-V’s ability to see shortwave radiation. Scientists have discovered that when the satellite’s camera is mounted on a medical scanner, doctors will be able to look deeper into a human’s tissue which in turn could be used to help look for early signs of cancer and other diseases.

Of course this is still years from being made a reality, but it’s an intriguing idea. However we admit that it does sound a bit invasive – after all people are already wary of CCTVs placed on the street, so imagine how some privacy advocates must feel to be watched from space where they can’t even see the camera looking at them.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Medical