Dermatologists can detect skin diseases via smartphone photos

Study team in Philadelphia tests remote diagnostics

A research team from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia found in a recent study that the quality of smartphone photos is sufficient to provide a reliable diagnosis of skin diseases. In areas where there is a lack of pediatric dermatologists, this remote diagnosis could be useful in the future. Using smartphone cameras, participating parents took high-quality photos of their child's skin condition and sent the images to a dermatologist. This then made a diagnosis based on the photos. The results of the study indicate that physicians are able to make reliable diagnoses using this method.

Forty patient families participated in the study, which took place between March and September 2016. Half of the subjects received detailed instructions on how to take the photos. The other half received no instructions. Each subject was personally examined by a dermatologist and additionally examined by remote diagnosis using the photos of another dermatologist. The researchers now compared the diagnoses. Overall, the researchers found that in 83 percent of the cases, the photographic diagnosis was consistent with the personal diagnosis. Only three photos were of insufficient quality for a diagnosis. Taking these from the rating, the agreement was even 89 percent.

New study confirms that remote diagnosis of skin diseases is possible through high-resolution smartphone images. (Image: rocketclips / fotolia.com)

The results of the study are positive

"Our study shows that in most cases, parents can take photos of sufficient quality to enable accurate teledermatology diagnosis in pediatric skin conditions," said Patrick McMahon, pediatric dermatologist and lead author of the study. This is important to ensure care through pediatric dermatology. McMahon says there are fewer than 300 certified physicians in the US for 75 million children. "Our findings suggest that telemedicine could improve access for families with geographical, scheduling or financial constraints and reduce waiting times," McMahon concludes. The study, published in the journal JAMA Dermatology, concludes that smartphone photos taken by parents of their children's skin can be used as a method of pediatric dermatological care.

Discussion about telediagnosis also in Germany

At present, remote diagnosis is also under discussion here in Germany, but so far it has been banned in Germany. Only follow-up treatments of well-known patients may be performed by video-conferencing and only a few doctors already offer a video consultation. According to the medical association, the main reason for the low prevalence among the health insurance companies who pay too little for this service. The monthly cost of software suitable for video consultation hours is between € 30 and € 70 per month. However, the doctor can claim only 800 euros per year for this form of consultation and only if it is comparatively cheaper follow-up treatments. A panel of experts from the medical association is committed to allowing future diagnoses, at least in exceptional cases by video chat. Presumably, the next German Medical Conference, which takes place in May 2018 in Erfurt, will be decided officially. The first pilot projects have already taken place in North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin. (Fp)