February 22, 2005
Telemedicine Study: Picture phones used to make diagnosis
Researchers in Switzerland reported on Monday that picturephones could be used to help diagnose and suggest treatment for some serious wounds in patients in remote locations far removed from a physician, reports
Keralanext.
"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.
"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.
The report was published in the February issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
Related articles:
-- Mobile phone cameras lend doctors a hand
-- Doctors should think twice before diagnosing based on a camphone shot
-- Firefighters are testing an emergency photo messaging scheme to help save more lives
-- Doctors use picture phones .
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