Hamish Wu
New Zealand is experiencing a critical shortage of dermatologists, which has led to long waiting times for routine referrals—up to eleven weeks in early 2024. Teledermatology has helped reduce delays for urgent cases, but the growing demand continues to strain the system. AIPDerm, an AI-powered digital dermatology platform, has demonstrated success in Europe by improving diagnostic speed and consistency. This project seeks to validate AIPDerm for New Zealand patients, ensuring it performs well across diverse ethnicities and skin types, particularly Māori and Pacific peoples.
The study aims to evaluate AIPDerm’s diagnostic accuracy compared to Waikato dermatologists. It will train and validate the AI using local images, including those representing Māori and Pacific skin types. Ultimately, the goal is to determine whether AI can reduce waiting times, improve equity in healthcare, and support dermatologists by streamlining referral processes.
This is a single-centre cohort validation study using predictive modelling of machine learning algorithms. Data will come from the Waikato Dermatology referral database, which contains approximately 86,000 images collected since 2017. From this, 5,000 cases representing the top 50 diagnoses will be selected, with an emphasis on diversity. Images will be de-identified, cropped, and prepared for analysis, then divided into training (80%) and testing (20%) sets. AIPDerm’s diagnostic results will be compared to dermatologist diagnoses using statistical measures such as the weighted Kappa statistic. Special attention will be given to ensuring Māori representation and cultural sensitivity throughout the process.
New Zealand is addressing its shortage of dermatologists by testing artificial intelligence tools to speed up diagnosis and improve patient care. Health NZ Waikato will validate AIPDerm, an AI system proven in Europe, using local patient images. The project aims to reduce waiting times, improve equity for Māori and Pacific communities, and support Health NZ’s digital health vision for 2026.
This project will deliver faster and more accurate diagnoses for patients, improve prioritisation of urgent cases, and reduce health disparities. It will free up dermatologists’ time, support training for registrars, and standardise dermatological care nationwide. The approach is scalable and offers a practical solution to address specialist shortages and improve equity across New Zealand.
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