At-home skin cancer tests show early promise, University of Michigan researchers say

ANN ARBOR, MI – University of Michigan researchers have developed a method for patients to test for skin cancer at home, similar to a COVID-19 test.

A group of researchers from Nagrath Laboratory, headed by Sunitha Nagrath, a UM professor of chemical engineering, have developed a two-line strip test and micro-needle patch called ExoPatch to potentially detect melanoma from home.

Researchers used mice trials to develop this home detection kit for the highly fatal form of skin cancer.

The ExoPatch uses tiny needles coated with a special hydrogel to collect interstitial fluid from between skin cells. This fluid can then be tested for signs of melanoma using a two-line strip test. The microneedles are 0.6 millimeters long and less than 0.0001 millimeters wide.

The researchers found patient