[Tech] [Ubicomp] Camera phones may make a doctor's house calls

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/02/22/phones.house.calls.reut/index.html


Researchers in Switzerland reported Monday the devices could be used to help diagnose and suggest treatment for some serious wounds in patients in remote locations far removed from a physician.

The report from University Hospital of Geneva looked at leg ulcers in 52 patients that were examined both in person and remotely by doctors in a nearby room who had only pictures of the same wounds taken by a first-generation camera phone.

They found remarkably high agreement between doctors who looked at the wound in person and those who saw the image.

If visiting nurses in remote locations can send such pictures in for consultation, "the transport of the patient ... to the hospital or the physician's office could be replaced, and this approach could potentially save the health care system money," the report said.

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