In specialties such as dermatology, burn care or plastic surgery, existing research has shown image-based consultation for remote experts is effective, however most of those studies were based on images taken with digital cameras, according to the authors.
“We focused our investigation on current, but not the latest, generations of widely used smartphone models on the grounds that they are more likely to be in use in resource-poor settings where expert consultation may be more often required,” the authors wrote. “Also, these smartphones would provide us with ‘bottom line’ results given that smartphone cameras are continually improving. In addition to representing different operating systems, the smartphone cameras tested have varying technical features.”
The authors conclude smartphones by the brands tested, including Apple, Android and Blackberry, do provide medical practitioners with a working tool for photographic documentation. All of the smartphones returned results at least as good as the digital camera.
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