Irvington Company's Melanoma Screening Device Approved by FDA

Irvington-based MELA Sciences Inc.'s breakthrough skin-cancer screening device 'MelaFind' was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration earlier this week, AP reports.

According to the local biotech company's statement announcing the approval, "Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, accounting for 75 percent of skin cancer fatalities."

MelaFind is the first device of its kind, using light to make digital images of skin growths which are then analyzed by computer software to detect signs of cancer.

Earlier this year, conduct further tests to show that MelaFind was not generating too many false positives for Melanoma. The company later changed its application to make it legal only for medical doctors to use the device.

"The device is approved only for dermatologists and only for use on growths that don't have obvious signs of cancer but still have one or two worrisome traits," AP reports. The device offers "a sort of second opinion to doctors."

Read the Associated Press' full story here.