A new iPhone application is helping local doctors. The new diagnostic tool was created by a Rochester company. Logical Images says it is being used at 1,300 locations nationwide, and it was released just two weeks ago.

Dr. Steven Howard recently diagnosed a patient with the new “app” at his Fairport office.

“In this particular case we did end up sending the person to a specialist to confirm the diagnosis,” Howard said, “but we had a good idea of what was going on by the time we left the room.”

He used an application called VisualDX mobile. It is a tool he downloaded on his iPhone. The app allows him to research information and pictures of various skin disorders. Howard says it is a more efficient way to diagnose or confirm the diagnosis of a patient.

“As opposed to having to go to my office, or looking stuff up in a textbook or call someone, it's right there at the time you want to use it," he said.

“Particularly in the emergency department where the physicians are on the go, (they) are able to grab this and use this right away,” said Dr. Art Papier, the chief scientific officer at Logical Images.

Papier helped develop the app. The Rochester company develops visual health care tools.

He Visual DX mobile currently includes 18,000 images. Since its launch two weeks ago, hundreds of doctors have downloaded the app.

And he expects the technology to become more popular with help from the company’s 30 employees.

“We pulled together physicians, graphic designers and software engineers to create a product we think we can export worldwide,” he said.

Howard says the app has been a big success in his office.

“When you're right there and you're able to use,” Howard said, “it's very empowering.”

The app is only available to health care professionals, and it's not a free download. The cost ranges from $99 for pediatricians and up to tens of thousands of dollars for an entire hospital.