Digital images in dermatology and the Dermatology Online Atlas on the World Wide Web.

The digital revolution opens new ways of storing, retrieving and distributing images. The informativeness of digital images of dermatological conditions as compared to conventional photographs and slides has proven to be statistically similar; in many cases, digital images may even substitute for dermatologic physical examination. Current developments in high-speed, high-capacity international networks and the growing popularity of the World Wide Web are converging in ways that have great potential for enhancing access to biomedical information, including medical images. However, lack of metainformation and indexing services specialised in retrieving images makes finding images--as opposed to textual information--on the Web difficult. To provide an image collection and entry point into dermatological resources on the World Wide Web, we have developed an image database (Dermatological OnlIne Atlas--DOIA). The database, which is freely available on the Internet at http://dermis.net, contains about 3,000 clinical images covering more than 600 dermatological diagnoses. It is designed for worldwide use; international submissions are encouraged. It serves as a teaching tool for medical students, doctors and patients, assists professional users by being an easy gateway to other databases such as MEDLINE, PDQ, and OMIM and serves as a platform for conducting research by means of administering Internet surveys to users. We conclude that an online image atlas has multiple educational, clinical, and research applications.