New Haven, Connecticut-based 3Derm, a teledermatology startup that allows patients and non-dermatologists to capture clinical-quality 3D images of skin, has raised $1.66 million, according to an SEC Form D filing. 

In an interview with MedCity News, 3Derm CEO and co-founder Elizabeth Asai said the goal is to expand its New England customer base and add clients in Midwest and Southwest markets following their commercial launch earlier this year. Asai would not comment on the filing directly, but told MedCity that the round would include new institutional and strategic investors. Previous funding has come from accelerators Healthbox and Mass Challenge.

3Derm’s goal is to either avoid unnecessary visits to a dermatologist or minimize the time for patients to get dermatologist feedback on suspicious-looking skin conditions, citing an average wait time of 29 days per patient for a visit. With 3Derm’s imaging system, primary care physicians can capture an image of the skin and enter relevant information into the 3Derm dashboard, where the images are uploaded to a secure cloud server and then reviewed remotely by an in-network dermatologist. Depending on the level of concern, patients are then either screened out or given an expedited appointment.

Although dermatology is one of the more promising specialties for telemedicine, it's also attracted the attention of critics, including researchers who have found some services don't live up to their accuracy claims or were lacking in transparency, diagnostic and therapeutic quality and thoroughness. 3Derm has worked to gain clinical validation with an efficacy study at University of Massachusetts that followed 350 patients comparing in-person visits with 3Derm’s product. The study, which was presented at the American Telemedicine Association’s conference earlier this year, found that 3Derm identified malignant and benign lesions on par with dermatologists diagnosing in-person.