Picture phones may make a doctor’s house calls

	Tweet

Next up for cell phones with built-in digital cameras: making house calls for doctors.

Researchers in Switzerland reported on Monday the devices could be used to help diagnose and suggest treatment for some serious wounds in patients in remote locations far removed from a physician.

The report from University Hospital of Geneva looked at leg ulcers in 52 patients that were examined both in person and remotely by doctors in a nearby room who had only pictures of the same wounds taken by a first-generation camera phone.

They found remarkably high agreement between doctors who looked at the wound in person and those who saw the image.

If visiting nurses in remote locations can send such pictures in for consultation, “the transport of the patient ... to the hospital or the physician’s office could be replaced, and this approach could potentially save the health care system money,” the report said.

To assess the project, researchers used a statistical analysis that measures agreement when two groups rate the same object. The value ranged from one to zero, where one is perfect agreement and zero is no agreement. The wound study found the level of agreement between the remote and face-to-face evaluations “was very good, with values of up to 0.94,” the study said.

The report was published in the February issue of the Archives of Dermatology.

“We were able to show for the first time that telemedicine for chronic wounds is feasible under routine conditions using this new generation of mobile telephones and direct transfer via e-mail,” the authors said.

“We had the impression that a high percentage of the problems related to leg ulcers could be solved with this type of teleconsultation,” they added.

RELATED STORIES:
Music Training Has Biological Impact on Aging Process   Free, Confidential Alcohol Screening Offered   World health officials debate new tobacco controls   Keep Summer Swimming and Stamina Events Safe   Conference Looks at Ethics of Human Tissue Research   China frees SARS hero after months of house arrest   U.N. says Asian tsunami dislodged hazardous waste   UN predicts 9.1 billion people on earth by 2050   Drivers distracted more by cell phones than by passengers   Pacifier Use May Lower Risk of SIDS   US issues warning after rat-bite fever kills two   2 out of 3 medical students do not know when to wash their hands

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]