SkinCheck, an Oklahoma-founded digital health startup, announced yesterday it has been awarded $250,000 in non-dilutive funding through the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) Industry Innovation Program. The award will be distributed over a two-year period and will support applied research, clinical validation, and expanded access to virtual dermatology services across Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma faces some of the longest dermatology wait times in the country, leaving rural and underserved communities without timely access to potentially life-saving skin cancer screenings,” said Daniel Marques, SkinCheck Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer. “Expanding Dermatology Access for Underserved Communities in Oklahoma is not just the title of our proposal. It is central to our mission.”
Skin cancers, especially melanoma, are among the deadliest cancers when not detected early. Today, SkinCheck offers mobile-first telehealth services that enable people to connect with licensed dermatology providers and receive timely specialty care. Separately, the company is developing a platform that will integrate these services with AI-powered clinical decision support tools for healthcare workers, designed to help identify skin care risk earlier and further expand access to dermatological care.
The OCAST grant will support three primary initiatives: AI research and development, clinical trials, and expansion of dermatology services. Research efforts will focus on improving performance across diverse skin tones and real-world mobile imaging conditions, reinforcing inclusivity and equity in care.
Following Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, SkinCheck will launch clinical pilot programs with healthcare partners across Oklahoma, beginning this year in collaboration with Oklahoma State University’s Center for Health Systems Innovation (OSU CHSI). These pilots will evaluate how AI-enabled decision support tools assist primary care providers in assessing skin cancer risk, while measuring workflow efficiency, time to assessment, and clinical impact.
“The Industry Innovation Program provides Oklahoma companies with the resources they need to advance technologies toward market launch,” said Jennifer McGrail, Executive Director of OCAST. “We are pleased to support SkinCheck as they continue to innovate and grow in Oklahoma.”
The funding will also support expansion of SkinCheck’s virtual dermatology clinic, increasing access to board-certified dermatologists and enabling faster triage and referral pathways for patients statewide.
“We are incredibly honored to have received such a monumental award from OCAST,” said Julian Abhari, SkinCheck Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer. “Thanks to this funding, we will be able to advance our patent-pending AI technology to the clinical grade level, enabling our mobile skin cancer detection medical device to support primary care and frontline healthcare workers in intervening when necessary.”
Importantly, SkinCheck’s AI technologies are research-stage clinical decision-support tools designed to assist, not replace, licensed healthcare providers.
About SkinCheck
SkinCheck is a digital health company focused on improving access to dermatological care and enabling earlier detection of skin cancer. Through a combination of teledermatology services and an AI-powered clinical decision support tool for frontline healthcare providers, SkinCheck reduces barriers to specialty care, shortens time to diagnosis, and supports clinicians in delivering timely, high-quality dermatologic care, particularly in underserved and rural communities.
SkinCheck is a mobile-first front door to dermatology, serving individual patients while equipping health plans, care providers, and public health programs with tools to deliver timely, efficient dermatologic care.