Medizinische Universität Graz Austria/Österreich - Forschungsportal - Medical University of Graz
Gewählte Publikation:
Wurm, E.
Mobile Teledermatology - a Feasibility Study
[ Dissertation ] Medical University of Graz; 2006. pp.
- Autor*innen der Med Uni Graz:
- Betreuer*innen:
- Hofmann-Wellenhof Rainer
- Soyer Hans Peter
- Altmetrics:
- Abstract:
- Background: Telemedicine is an emerging field within medicine with potential to revolutionize the delivery of health care. It is defined as the use of telecommunication technologies to transfer medical information for the means of diagnosis, consultation, therapy and education in health care. A subset of telemedicine called mobile telemedicine is characterized by the use of mobile/portable devices, such as cellular phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Teledermatology is a subcategory of telemedicine. In this thesis a short historical overview on the evolution of telemedicine, a description of the most important telemedicine systems as well as main advantages and disadvantages of telemedicine and teledermatology are followed by a research pilot project done in the field of mobile teledermatology. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of teledermatology consultations using cellular phones and PDAs. Design: 95 Patients from the outpatient service of the Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Graz (Austria) have been photographed with the built-in camera of a cellular phone. In addition, photos of the skin conditions of 87 patients were taken with the built-in camera of a PDA. Images of the cases have been sent to three teleconsultants with different experience in dermatology via a virtual private network (www.telederm.org) based on a store-and-forward system. The teleconsultants reviewed the cases independently. Main outcome measure: Diagnostic concordance between face-to-face diagnosis and telediagnosis. Results: The three teleconsultants reviewing photographs taken with a cellular phone obtained a score of correct telediagnosis of 73%, 68% and 68%, respectively, with a global average of 70%. The degree of concordance between face-to-face diagnoses and teledermatology with images shot with a PDA was 90%, 83% and 66%, respectively, with an average of 80%. Conclusion: Teleconsultation of dermatologic images in a clinical setting made by cellular phone and PDA provides a good diagnostic accuray as approximately 3 out of 4 cases are diagnosed correctly.