Image-based teleconsultation using smartphones or tablets: qualitative assessment of medical experts

Abstract

BackgroundMobile health has promising potential in improving healthcare delivery by facilitating access to expert advice. Enabling experts to review images on their smartphone or tablet may save valuable time. This study aims at assessing whether images viewed by medical specialists on handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets are perceived to be of comparable quality as when viewed on a computer screen.MethodsThis was a prospective study comparing the perceived quality of 18 images on three different display devices (smartphone, tablet and computer) by 27 participants (4 burn surgeons and 23 emergency medicine specialists). The images, presented in random order, covered clinical (dermatological conditions, burns, ECGs and X-rays) and non-clinical subjects and their perceived quality was assessed using a 7-point Likert scale. Differences in devices' quality ratings were analysed using linear regression models for clustered data adjusting for image type and participants’ characteristics (age, gender and medical specialty).ResultsOverall, the images were rated good or very good in most instances and more so for the smartphone (83.1%, mean score 5.7) and tablet (78.2%, mean 5.5) than for a standard computer (70.6%, mean 5.2). Both handheld devices had significantly higher ratings than the computer screen, even after controlling for image type and participants' characteristics. Nearly all experts expressed that they would be comfortable using smartphones (n=25) or tablets (n=26) for image-based teleconsultation.ConclusionThis study suggests that handheld devices could be a substitute for computer screens for teleconsultation by physicians working in emergency settings.

A smartphone-based consultation system for acute burns – methodological challenges related to follow-up of the system

“…Initial assessments within the current project showed that the quality of images taken at point of care with smartphone cameras is good enough to be used for diagnostic support. The results showed that both size and depth of burns could be assessed at least as well using photographs as at bedside and that the image quality of handheld devices can be used as well as computers [18,19]. There are several challenges that need to be considered when evaluating the potential health impact of the system.…”

“…This study focused on whether images viewed on handheld devices were perceived by experts as comparable in quality to when viewed on a computer screen [19]. For that purpose, we used different types of images – of burns, skin lesions, radiology, scans, and a non-clinical one – and conducted a survey among clinicians with different backgrounds.…”

Ophthalmologists on Smartphones: Image-Based Teleconsultation

“…It is valuable for pictures taken for ophthalmology (Maamari 2014). Earlier studies addressed the use of tablets and smartphones in the field of radiology and emergency medicine found that tablets and smartphones were rated equal or better than computer screens (Boissin 2017;Toomey, Rainford & Leong 2014). In the current study, smartphones and tablets have similar subjective image quality (p > 0.05, not significant) as computers.…”

Mobile Quantitative Colocalization Analysis of Fluorescence Microscopy Images

“…Mobile devices, such as phones and tablet computers, have started to play an increasingly important role in clinic and research. In clinic, new ways are steadily introduced to record medical images, process them, and to enable quantification for diagnostic purposes (Yamada, Watarai, Andou, & Sakai, 2003;Razdan, Johannes, Kuo, & Bagley, 2006;Mudanyali et al, 2012;Rothman, Gupta, & McEvoy, 2017;Boissin, Blom, Wallis, & Laflamme, 2017). In research, advances in mobile imaging assist in microscopic imaging and spectroscopy (Smith et al, 2011;Skandarajah, Reber, Switz, & Fletcher, 2014;Kazemzadeh et al, 2015;Rojas, Fuentes, & Galvez, 2016;Scherr, Gupta, Wright, & Haselton, 2016).…”