Studies have shown that image-based consultation of remote experts is possible in several specialties like dermatology, plastic surgery, or burn care. They are used heavily on an individual and daily basis among a variety of medical practitioners, 3, 4 in particular for photographic images, 5 and they are also promoted by institutions.
Smartphones, with additional features such as cameras, which are of great relevance for clinical support, have a penetration rate that is even faster than mobile phones. 1 This, in turn, facilitated remarkable developments in information and communication technologies, 2 not least in the medical field, where access to clinical expertise of various kinds from various points of care was facilitated. At the same time, over 90% of the worldwide population was covered by a mobile cellular network. In 2012, over 6 billion people had access to mobile phones, with 90 mobile phone subscriptions per 100 people throughout the world 1 and a rapid penetration not only in high- but also in low- and middle-income countries. Smartphone cameras can be a substitute for digital cameras for the purposes of medical teleconsulation. Conclusions: Whereas one smartphone camera ranked best more often, all three smartphones obtained results at least as good as those of the digital camera. The ratings of the Samsung or the BlackBerry smartphone did not significantly differ from those of the digital camera. The iPhone had the highest proportion of images individually evaluated as good, and it also ranked best for more objects compared with other cameras, including the digital one. Results: There were wide variations between and within categories in the quality assessments for all four cameras. We then measured how each camera scored by object category and as a whole and whether a camera ranked best using a Mann–Whitney U test for 2×2 comparisons. In a Web survey a convenience sample of 60 laypeople “blind” to the types of camera assessed the quality of the photographs, individually and best overall. Materials and Methods: A series of nonclinical objects (from three broad categories) were photographed by a professional photographer using three smartphones (iPhone ® 4, Samsung Galaxy S2, and BlackBerry ® 9800 ) and a digital camera (Canon Mark II). Little is known, however, about the actual quality of the images taken, which is the object of this study. Background: Smartphone cameras are rapidly being introduced in medical practice, among other devices for image-based teleconsultation.
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