Airdoc Partners with Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Sogou Search to Launch AI-Powered Melanoma Detection Service

Contrary to the common misconception that skin diseases are generally not life-threatening, melanoma is, in fact, one of the most aggressive malignancies with the fastest-growing incidence rate. Once malignant melanoma enters its rapid growth phase, patients face a very poor prognosis and high mortality, making its lethality comparable to that of well-known cancers such as lung cancer and gastric cancer.

Recently, VCBeat received news that Sogou Search has launched an AI-powered recognition service for melanoma. Users who enter keywords such as “moles” or “dark spots” on the mobile version of Sogou Search will see a service entry point in the search results. After entering the Airdoc page and uploading photos, Airdoc can help patients analyze and diagnose melanoma.

To ensure the reliability and authority of AI analysis results, Airdoc has invited top dermatology experts from the Hospital for Skin Diseases (Institute) of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College to review the photo recognition outcomes. Notably, this collaboration marks the first time the institute has partnered with a private enterprise to provide services to the broader internet user base.

With the development of the Internet, it has become increasingly easy for users to access information. However, due to the vast and heterogeneous nature of online content, the rigor and accuracy of such information are difficult to guarantee, posing significant challenges for users seeking medical information and auxiliary diagnostic support.

Sogou Mingyi represents Sogou Search’s strategic initiative in the healthcare sector. As a primary channel for information acquisition, search engines are closely intertwined with users’ lives and health. To address the challenge of navigating the vast and often unverifiable information online, Sogou Mingyi aggregates content from authoritative knowledge, medical, and academic platforms, providing users with credible and accurate resources, including Wikipedia, Zhihu Q&A, and cutting-edge international academic papers.

Airdoc is a leading medical artificial intelligence team dedicated to advancing healthcare. Remote diagnostic assistance is one of the primary application scenarios for its AI products, where users upload their photos for auxiliary analysis using Airdoc’s deep learning algorithms. To date, Airdoc has made significant progress in ophthalmology, dermatology, cardiovascular medicine, and neurology.

Hospital for Skin Diseases (Institute of Dermatology), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, is the earliest-established national-level medical and research institution in China integrating clinical care, scientific research, education, and prevention and control, and stands as one of the world’s premier institutions for dermatological research and treatment.

In recent years, clinical treatment for melanoma has achieved several breakthrough advancements, making it the malignancy with the most rapidly evolving treatment paradigm among all cancers. The parties involved in this collaboration share a common goal: to help patients understand their condition as promptly as possible, thereby avoiding adverse outcomes.

In recent years, relevant Chinese authorities have repeatedly issued policy documents, elevating the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare fields—such as disease prevention, assisted diagnosis, public health emergency response, health promotion, and daily care—to a national strategic level.

Hospital for Skin Diseases (Institute of Dermatology), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, as a world-leading institution in dermatological research and treatment, has provided therapeutic services to countless patients for over 60 years. In this era of rapid technological advancement, the hospital actively embraces innovation, striving to extend its services to a broader patient population.

Since its launch, Sogou Mingyi has consistently upheld a rigorous, objective, and professional approach, dedicated to providing authentic and reliable medical information. As users’ needs for medical search deepen, Sogou Mingyi continues to deliver innovative search services, such as the “Intelligent Self-Diagnosis and Triage” feature that offers online assisted diagnostic support.

As a technology company, Sogou has also been contemplating how to address the deeper needs of patients. Therefore, the collaboration with the Peking Union Medical College Hospital Institute of Dermatology and Airdoc holds significant importance in Sogou’s healthcare strategy, representing a major initiative in its medical endeavors. This tripartite partnership will establish a novel disease analysis service model, delivering substantial improvements in both user experience and authoritative credibility.

Taking melanoma as an example, users can access Airdoc’s AI-assisted diagnostic system via the Sogou app on their smartphones, upload photos of suspicious skin lesions, receive preliminary assessments generated by AI analysis, and have these results reviewed by dermatology specialists, thereby enabling them to easily understand their skin health status.