Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
J Am Acad Dermatol. 2011 Feb;64(2):302-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2010.01.010. Epub 2010 Nov 20.
The expansion of store-and-forward teledermatology into underserved regions of the world has long been hampered by the requirement for computers with Internet connectivity. To our knowledge, this study is one of the first to demonstrate the feasibility of teledermatology using newer-generation mobile telephones with specialized software and wireless connectivity to overcome this requirement in a developing country.
We sought to demonstrate that mobile telephones may be used on the African continent to submit both patient history and clinical photographs wirelessly to remote expert dermatologists, and to assess whether these data are diagnostically reliable.
Thirty patients with common skin diseases in Cairo, Egypt, were given a diagnosis by face-to-face consultation. They were then given a diagnosis independently by local senior dermatologists using teleconsultation with a software-enabled mobile telephone containing a 5-megapixel camera. Diagnostic concordance rates between face-to-face and teleconsultation were tabulated.
Diagnostic agreement between face-to-face consultation and the two local senior dermatologists performing independent evaluation by teleconsultation was achieved in 23 of 30 (77%) and in 22 of 30 (73%) cases, respectively, with a global mean of 75%.
Limited sample size and interobserver variability are limitations.
Mobile teledermatology is a technically feasible and diagnostically reliable method of amplifying access to dermatologic expertise in poorer regions of the globe where access to computers with Internet connectivity is unreliable or insufficient.
将存储转发远程皮肤病学扩展到世界上服务不足的地区，长期以来一直受到需要具有互联网连接功能的计算机的阻碍。据我们所知，这项研究首次证明了在发展中国家使用具有专用软件和无线连接功能的新一代移动电话来克服这一要求进行远程皮肤病学的可行性。
我们旨在证明移动电话可以在非洲大陆上使用，以便将患者病史和临床照片无线传输给远程皮肤科专家，并评估这些数据是否具有诊断可靠性。
在埃及开罗的 30 名患有常见皮肤病的患者进行了面对面的咨询。然后，当地资深皮肤科医生通过使用装有 500 万像素摄像头的软件启用移动电话进行远程咨询，独立为他们做出诊断。记录了面对面咨询和远程咨询之间的诊断一致性率。
面对面咨询与通过远程咨询进行独立评估的两位当地资深皮肤科医生之间的诊断一致性在 30 例中的 23 例（77%）和 22 例（73%）中达成，总体平均值为 75%。
样本量有限和观察者间变异性是限制因素。
移动远程皮肤病学是一种技术上可行且具有诊断可靠性的方法，可以扩大在全球较贫困地区获得皮肤科专业知识的途径，在这些地区，具有互联网连接功能的计算机的可用性不可靠或不足。
