AI RinoCloud

Skin diseases are the fourth most common cause of all human disease, affecting almost one-third of the world’s population, yet their burden is often underestimated, despite their visibility. In Ireland skin conditions and skin diseases are extremely common and on the rise. In Ireland, 54% of the population is affected by skin disease annually with up to 33% of people at any one time having a condition that would benefit from care. Skin diseases and skin conditions can impact people’s lives both physically, mentally and financially.

A market research survey carried out by Rinocloud with 1,000 users revealed that 63% incorrectly identified their skin type and are applying products that could have adverse impacts on their skin. Over 50% of survey participants indicated that they suffer from skin conditions and are seeking personalised solutions.

The skin microbiome similar to the gut microbiome consisting of a vast ecosystem of microbiota that live within or on the skin. The skin microbiome is an important indicator of overall skin health and general health. Rinocloud is pioneering the way in this field of skin science through the application of AI.

In 2021, Skin Trust Club was launched on the Irish, UK and USA markets. This offering is sold directly to the user and applies Machine Learning Models with an in-home skin microbiome test and updates through a skin health tracking application. For the first time, Skin Trust Club delivers science-based information directly to people who want to be informed of their skin type and allowing them to make informed choices when it comes to what products are best suited to their skin. With Skin Trust Club, skin genomic sequencing profiles and local environmental data are analysed using innovative ML models that can analyse large data sets, extract insights and predict outcomes. The Rinocloud team have built an informatics pipeline that allows masses of physical skin swab samples to be genome sequenced and then to be curated and classified using ML. The core of the ML is driven by XGBoost, which stands for Extreme Gradient Boosting, it is a scalable, distributed gradient-boosted decision tree (GBDT) machine learning library.

The approach is entirely novel being the first solution of its kind on the market providing personalised skin classification reports based on the skin microbiome. The skin swab test can be performed by the user from home, in under 5 minutes. The user returns the sample for analysis by post to the company laboratory located at Moorepark Technology Centre, Fermoy, Co. Cork. Personalised skin microbiome report and score is delivered directly to the user in 7 days via a skin health tracking mobile application (available in IOS or Android versions).

Rinocloud has developed a cost effective product. Since the first stage of commercialisation the pricing strategy has been revised improving affordability. Currently, a single Skin Trust Club test is priced at €99 with an additional subscription plan priced at €75. The plan offers users the option to track changes in the skin over time and receive educational insights on their skin microbiome. The current pricing models are half the cost of other skin microbiome test offerings on the market. Other market offerings are different being single skin patch tests and a simple microbiome report based only on skin genomic sequencing. They do not apply AI models, analyse local environmental data or have the ability to track changes over time.

Since the commercialisation of Skin Trust Club, every element of the business workflow has been designed for fast and efficient scale-up. Evidenced by SOP’s, QR codes for tracking sample deliveries, AI models for processing thousands of data points in minutes, smart phone app (IOS and Android versions are in operation) designed to deliver local environmental data to AI models and receive customer microbiome reports.

Skin Trust Club delivers a societal good allowing the consumer to access affordable, science-based personalised skincare allowing them to make informed choices and decisions when it comes to managing their skin and potential skin conditions. As a result, consumers arestaying informed about the ongoing health of their skin and are being given information that allows them to make informed decisions about what they buy and what they put on their skin. Rinocloud has plans to secure grant funding to perform a clinical trial to validate skin microbiome testing for skin diseases such as Psoriasis. Rinocloud is making further refinements to the application including a Dermatologist portal to allow clinical users compare a patients skin microbiome to that of the wider population, as well as track the patients journey through treatment over time. Success for Rinocloud, will include providing diagnostic support to clinicians for skin disease patients and contributing to skin microbiome research for finding new skin disease treatments.

Through AI and ML, significant progress can be made in skin microbiome research with skin, as the largest organ, probably being the body’s best monitor for general health.

Additional Information:
At Rinocloud, brothers Colin and James O’ Sullivan are the inventors of ‘Skin Trust Club’.

Colin O’Sullivan (CIO) explains “We were already using machine learning to understand the complexity of the skin microbiomes. The speed of machine learning was something we decided could be leveraged to address a higher volume of analysis required in the consumer market.”

Colin has a Masters in Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin and a BSc in Computer Applications from CIT Colin has over 20 years’ industry experience across Europe, North America and Australasia. Formally CIO of Australian Medical Association and over 7 years transformed the AMA to being a data driven institution. Colin has lead the AI model development for Skin Trust Club.

James O’ Sullivan (CTO) is a graduate of University College Cork with a Bachelor of Science in Business Information Systems. James specialises in advanced software integration and workflow systems and prior to working at Innovenn successfully deployed large numbers of software systems for organisations globally. James has a speciality in web based software systems including application programmable interface (API) systems, web applications, advanced reporting systems, analytics platforms and mobile applications. James has lead product, app design and development of Skin Trust Club.

Files:

https://aiawards.ie/wp-content/uploads/ninja-forms/4/Rinocloud-Skin-Trust-Club-AI-Awards-1.pdf