NEWS - Health & Hospitals

July 12, 2011 - Health Discovery Corp, with headquarters in Savannah, has announced that the company has developed a “game-changing” iPhone app, MelApp, that has the potential to “change the face of early detection against the world's fastest growing cancer.”

Within just days of release, MelApp is being used by consumers in 24 countries (United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, Venezuela, Brazil, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Argentina, Netherlands, Romania, Poland, Luxembourg, Greece, Turkey) as reported by tracking data from July 6 to July 10, 2011. Additionally, in just these few days, MelApp has successfully achieved the status of ranking among the top 100 highest grossing apps in 20 countries in the Healthcare and Fitness category. “Health Discovery Corporation is particularly pleased to see early sales from New Zealand and Australia, which have some of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world,” the company stated today in a press release to the international media.

"Most consumers understand that early detection is critical with a cancer like Melanoma; what they need is a reliable technology literally at their fingertips that offers immediate convenience at an affordable price. Now they have it with MelApp," according to Stephen D. Barnhill, M.D., chairman and CEO of the company.

"We are particularly pleased with the rate of downloads and global reach achieved thus far especially since we purposefully released MelApp initially as a soft launch. It's a rewarding scenario that Health Discovery Corporation finds itself in, both for the consumers who download and use this informative app and our shareholders who could benefit from the revenue being generated by global product sales of MelApp."

Herbert A Fritshe, PhD, Chief Science Officer for Health Discovery Corp and retired Professor of Laboratory Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center, states, "The rapid worldwide use of MelApp appears to be proof that consumers are interested in learning more about their risk of melanoma. It is our hope that with the knowledge learned from MelApp, these consumers will seek earlier medical diagnosis and treatment when their melanoma is largely curable, ultimately potentially saving their life."

According to the company, an Android app is coming to market soon.

In the U.S., where the wireless smart phone market has shifted dramatically with Android owning the largest share (38%) compared to iPhone (27%) and Blackberry (21%) according to Nielsen, Health Discovery Corporation anticipates even greater adoption when it releases an Android version of MelApp. HDC hopes to launch the Android version of MelApp within the next month.

MelApp uses highly sophisticated patent protected mathematical algorithms and image based pattern recognition technology to analyze the uploaded image. MelApp was validated using an image database licensed from Johns Hopkins University Medical Center. Using the iPhone camera feature, users can take a picture of their skin lesions and moles and within seconds receive a risk analysis of their uploaded picture being a melanoma, according to the company.

Utilizing the iPhone GPS, MelApp can refer a customer to a nearby physician specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma for proper medical follow up, without the need to input a zip code or any personal information. These pictures also can be stored on MelApp and reviewed for changes in the skin lesions occurring over time.

The app is selling with a “special limited time introductory price” of $1.99 and is currently available in the iTunes App Store.

Editor’s Note: See Related SBJ story on the company published July 11, 2011 “On the Cutting Edge of Medicine: Savannah’s Health Discovery Corp Sells More Stock.” http://www.savannahbusinessjournal.com/news/hea/1264-on-the-cutting-edge-of-medicine-savannahs-health-discovery-corp-sells-more-stock