Preliminary results from the Northern Ireland arms of the UK Multicentre Teledermatology Trial: effect of camera performance on diagnostic accuracy.
The diagnostic accuracy of realtime teledermatology was measured using two different video cameras. One camera was a relatively low-cost, single-chip device (camera 1), while the other was a more expensive three-chip camera (camera 2). The diagnosis obtained via the videolink was compared with the diagnosis made in person. Sixty-five new patients referred to a dermatology clinic were examined using camera 1 followed by a standard face-to-face consultation. A further 65 patients were examined using camera 2 and the same procedure applied. Seventy-six per cent of conditions were correctly diagnosed by telemedicine using camera 2 compared with 59% using camera 1. A working differential diagnosis was obtained in 12% of cases using camera 2 compared with 17% using camera 1. The percentage of 'no diagnosis', wrong and missed diagnoses was halved using camera 2 compared with camera 1. These results suggest that the performance of camera 2 was superior to that of camera 1 for realtime teledermatology.
Loane
M A
MA
Institute of Telemedicine & Telecare, Queen's University, Belfast, UK.
Gore
H E
HE
Corbett
R
R
Steele
K
K
Mathews
C
C
Bloomer
S E
SE
Eedy
D J
DJ
Telford
R W
RW
Wootton
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016288:Computer Terminals / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009660:Northern Ireland; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019113:Telepathology