Search

A non-commercial teledermatology network based on store-and-forward operation was established in April 2002. The aim was to create an easy-to-use platform for teleconsultation services, where physicians could seek diagnostic advice in dermatology from a pool of expert consultants and where they could present and discuss challenging dermatology cases with special emphasis on diagnosis and therapy. An online moderated discussion forum was added in October 2003. During the first two years, 348 health-care professionals from 45 countries registered to use the Website. A total of 783 requests for consultations were answered; 285 requests concerned pigmented skin lesions, 440 requests were from the whole range of clinical dermatology and 58 requests were about non-melanoma skin cancer. Of a total of 133 requests analysed, 80 (60%) were answered within one day, 47 (35%) within one week, five (4%) within two weeks and one (1%) consultation was answered in more than two weeks. Our experience with a discretionary, non-commercial, multilingual Website for open-access teleconsulting in dermatology appears to be successful. The Website represents an example of user-generated content, together with active interaction between users, who can present and discuss cases with remote colleagues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose/background: A reduction in the maximal force output of muscles following pre-performance stretching has been reported. Several studies have suggested that localized vibration may enhance or replace stretching for gaining flexibility. It is important to know if localized vibration may also compromise muscle output. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the immediate effects of localized hamstring vibration on hamstrings (HAM) and quadriceps (QUAD) performance., Methods: Thirty asymptomatic participants, 19 female and 11 male, mean age 25.4 years (±SD 2.7) received either five minutes of localized vibration to the right hamstrings at 30 Hz and 6 mm amplitude, or sham. One week later, each participant received the alternate treatment. Following treatments, right (R) and left (L) isometric HAM and QUAD strength was measured twice by handheld dynamometer and maximal horizontal hop distance of each lower extremity was measured by single leg hop test (SLH). Treatment outcomes were compared using paired t-tests. Treatment order effect was measured by independent T-test. Pre-study intrarater reliability for dynamometry was established using ICC((3,2))., Results: Mean (±SD) values for strength following vibration were 58.7 kg (15.7), 60.4 kg (14.0), 45.5 kg (14.2), 45.8 kg (13.2) for R QUAD, L QUAD, R HAM, L HAM respectively. SLH mean values were R SLH 153.8 cm (35 cm) and L SLH 155.4 cm (36 cm). There were no significant differences in means between vibration and sham treatment for any outcomes on either leg (p-values ranged .412-.971); p<.001 for all comparisons. Order had no significant effect (p-values .370-1.0). Intrarater ICCs were .888, .762, .884, .960 for R HAM, L HAM, R QUAD, L QUAD., Conclusions: Unilateral application of localized vibration to the hamstrings at a duration previously reported to increase flexibility did not diminish the isometric performance of the hamstrings or quadriceps of either leg., Level of Evidence: 1b.

Background: Telemedicine allows health providers in remote areas to transfer information for medical consultation anywhere in the world and serves to support local health workers through discussion and access to pertinent educational materials. Many developing nations have a dire shortage of doctors and other health resources. Therefore, affordable, easy-to-use technologies are imperative for providing care and much needed educational opportunities as well as reducing the limitations imposed by scarce resources., Methods: To identify the current extent of the Africa Teledermatology Project and key areas for improvements, an analysis of all consultations received to date was completed., Result: Between February 2007 and February 2009, 345 consultations from sites in thirteen Sub-Saharan African nations were received and processed via the project website. Although a wide range of mucocutaneous conditions were seen, the most frequent diagnoses included adverse drug reactions, atopic dermatitis and eczema, cutaneous infections, psoriasis and HIV/AIDS-related cutaneous diseases. Educational materials were designed to target these conditions., Conclusion: This research supports the value of store-and-forward teledermatology services for facilitating access to assistance in the diagnosis and management of cutaneous disease and increasing access to educational materials. The work demonstrates the feasibility and usefulness for a teledermatology network such as the African Teldermatology Project in improving the provision of care for skin diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, this technology can be seen as a practical and effective manner to distribute information to local health workers with the hope of significantly improving their ability to recognize, diagnose and treat cutaneous conditions.

We investigated the diagnostic agreement between teledermatology based on images from a mobile phone camera and face-to-face (FTF) dermatology. Diagnostic agreement was assessed for two teledermatologists (TD) in comparison with FTF consultations in 58 subjects. In almost three-quarters of the cases (TD1: 71%; TD2: 76%), the telediagnosis was fully concordant with the FTF diagnosis. Furthermore, the diagnosed diseases were almost all in the same diagnostic category (TD1: 97%; TD2: 90%). If mobile teledermatology had been used for remote triage, TD1 could have treated 53% subjects remotely and 47% subjects would have had to consult a dermatologist FTF. TD2 could have treated 59% subjects remotely, whereas 41% subjects would have had to consult a dermatologist FTF. Forty-eight subjects responded to a questionnaire, of whom only 10 had any concerns regarding teledermatology. Thirty-one subjects stated that they would be willing to pay to use a similar service in future and suggested an amount ranging from euro5 to euro50 per consultation (mean euro22) (euro = pound0.7, US $1.4). These results are encouraging as patient acceptance and reimbursement represent potential obstacles to the implementation of telemedicine services.

Background: Mobile teledermatology has recently been shown to be suitable for teledermatology despite limitations in image definition in preliminary studies. The unique aspect of mobile teledermatology is that this system represents a filtering or triage system, allowing a sensitive approach for the management of patients with emergent skin diseases., Methodology/principal Findings: In this study we investigated the feasibility of teleconsultation using a new generation of cellular phones in pigmented skin lesions. 18 patients were selected consecutively in the Pigmented Skin Lesions Clinic of the Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Graz, Graz (Austria). Clinical and dermoscopic images were acquired using a Sony Ericsson with a built-in two-megapixel camera. Two teleconsultants reviewed the images on a specific web application (http://www.dermahandy.net/default.asp) where images had been uploaded in JPEG format. Compared to the face-to-face diagnoses, the two teleconsultants obtained a score of correct telediagnoses of 89% and of 91.5% reporting the clinical and dermoscopic images, respectively., Conclusions/significance: The present work is the first study performing mobile teledermoscopy using cellular phones. Mobile teledermatology has the potential to become an easy applicable tool for everyone and a new approach for enhanced self-monitoring for skin cancer screening in the spirit of the eHealth program of the European Commission Information for Society and Media.

We investigated the feasibility and diagnostic agreement of a virtual slide system (VSS) in teledermatopathology. Forty-six biopsy specimens from inflammatory skin diseases were selected and scanned with a VSS at the Research Unit of Teledermatology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. Images were stored on a virtual slide server on which a specific Web application suited for telepathology (http://telederm.org/research/dermatopath/) runs. Twelve teleconsultants from 6 different countries reviewed the 46 cases, working directly on the Web application. Telediagnoses agreed with gold standard and conventional diagnosis with an average of 73% and 74%, respectively. Complete concordance among all teleconsultants with gold standard and conventional diagnosis was found in 20% of the cases. In 10 cases in which complete clinical data were missing, the average agreement of telediagnosis with gold standard diagnosis and conventional diagnosis decreased to 65% and 66%, respectively. Only 3 of 4 cases of inflammatory skin diseases were correctly diagnosed remotely with VSS. The system that we have used, despite its usability, is not completely feasible for teledermatopathology of inflammatory skin disease. Moreover, the performance seems to have been influenced by the availability of complete clinical data and by the intrinsic difficulty of the pathology of inflammatory skin diseases.

Telepathology is the practice of diagnostic histopathology performed on digital pictures. In this study, we focused on the technical requirements for achievement of a correct diagnosis on digital histopathologic images. A collection of 560 melanocytic lesions was selected from the files of the Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Graz, Austria. From each lesion one histologic slide was completely digitally scanned with a robotic microscope. Digital pictures were reviewed by 4 dermatopathologists using a presentation program, which recorded the number of image calls, applied magnifications, overall time needed, and amount of transmitted bits during the digital sign-out. One month later, the 4 microscopists had to review the corresponding slides and render a direct diagnosis on each case. Telepathologic diagnoses corresponded with the original diagnoses in a range from 90.4% to 96.4% of cases (kappa 0.80 to 0.93; P < 0.001). The median time needed for achievement of a diagnosis was 22 seconds and was significantly higher for melanomas compared with nevi. The median transmission effort for each diagnosis was 510 kilobytes after JPEG compression. Using an ISDN line with a transmission capacity of 64 kilobits/ second, this correlates to a transmission time of about 1 minute. Our results demonstrate that correct reporting on digital histopathologic images is possible with only a little time exposure. For an adequately fast transmission ISDN lines are suffcient after JPEG compression.

Background: The treatment of chronic leg ulcers requires frequent assessments of local wound status and adjustment of therapy. The availability of reasonably priced photographic equipment and quick electronic transfer of high-quality digital images should make it possible that the assessment of wound status can be made by remote experts., Objective: This study examines the feasibility of using teledermatology for wound assessment and therapeutic suggestions for patients with chronic leg ulcers., Methods: One hundred ten chronic leg ulcers of different origins were examined in face-to-face consultations. The examining doctor assessed the wound, made therapeutic recommendations and took 1-4 photographs of the wound using a digital camera. The digital images and relevant clinical information were then transmitted via a web application to an expert in wound care, who provided an independent teledermatological assessment of wound status and therapeutic recommendations., Results: In our study, a high accordance between direct consultations and electronic consultations was found in the assessment of chronic leg ulcers, especially for important features like slough (concordance: 84.6%), necrosis (concordance: 98.2%) and granulation tissue formation (concordance: 76.4%). Furthermore, the teledermatologist generally felt confident in recommending further treatment strategies and in planning further wound assessments via the internet., Conclusions: Our results suggest that teledermatology offers great potential for the future in chronic wound care. By reducing the need to travel long distances to the hospital or to consult a physician with expertise in wound care, wound teleconsultation might lower health care costs and improve the quality of life for patients with chronic wounds, while still maintaining a high quality of wound care.