Melanoma Screening with Cellular Phones

Abstract

BackgroundMobile teledermatology has recently been shown to be suitable for teledermatology despite limitations in image definition in preliminary studies. The unique aspect of mobile teledermatology is that this system represents a filtering or triage system, allowing a sensitive approach for the management of patients with emergent skin diseases.Methodology/Principal FindingsIn this study we investigated the feasibility of teleconsultation using a new generation of cellular phones in pigmented skin lesions. 18 patients were selected consecutively in the Pigmented Skin Lesions Clinic of the Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Graz, Graz (Austria). Clinical and dermoscopic images were acquired using a Sony Ericsson with a built-in two-megapixel camera. Two teleconsultants reviewed the images on a specific web application (http://www.dermahandy.net/default.asp) where images had been uploaded in JPEG format. Compared to the face-to-face diagnoses, the two teleconsultants obtained a score of correct telediagnoses of 89% and of 91.5% reporting the clinical and dermoscopic images, respectively.Conclusions/SignificanceThe present work is the first study performing mobile teledermoscopy using cellular phones. Mobile teledermatology has the potential to become an easy applicable tool for everyone and a new approach for enhanced self-monitoring for skin cancer screening in the spirit of the eHealth program of the European Commission Information for Society and Media.

Comparing High Definition Live Interactive and Store-and-Forward Consultations to In-Person Examinations

“…In-person agreement is reported in only four, [12][13][14][15][16] however, one of which 13 appears to be a pilot for another. 10 The other studies had more than one teledermatologist.…”

“…10 The other studies had more than one teledermatologist. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Of the four studies, measuring inter-observational agreement for in-person exams, two showed significantly better agreement among in-person clinicians than distant teledermatologists, 11,12 especially for primary diagnoses, and two did not. 10,13 A PubMed search for teledermatology research done after the latest research reviews published in 2011 9 identified only one additional study having two in-person dermatologists.…”

Перспективи Мобільної Дерматології. Основні Завдання

“…Напрямки М-медицини в дерматології можуть включати діагностичні можливості, моніторинг потенційно злоякісних і хронічних уражень шкіри, спираючись на використання об'єктивних показ-ників [5].…”

The utility of mHealth in Medical Imaging

“…Case studies have shown the high sensitivity and specificity of mobile phone teledermoscopy to assess and monitor potentially malignant skin lesions. 7,8 Similarly, the capacity for observing images taken on a smartphone has been extended to monitoring wound care in specialties including plastic surgery, 9 assessment of burns and post-operative wounds. 10 In most cases, studies have shown that with minimal additional training, nonspecialist medical workers (doctors in training, nurses, allied health workers) can be trained to perform simple tasks of image capture.…”