On Using a Mobile Application to Support Teledermatology: A Case Study in an Underprivileged Area in Colombia
Background. The use of mobile applications in dermatology to support remote diagnosis is gaining acceptance, particularly in rural areas, where dermatology services are commonly managed by healthcare personnel with no specialty training. Moreover, ontologies—sets of concepts that represent knowledge...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2018-01-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/1496941 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832556409506496512 |
|---|---|
| author | Juan Pablo Sáenz Mónica Paola Novoa Darío Correal Bell Raj Eapen |
| author_facet | Juan Pablo Sáenz Mónica Paola Novoa Darío Correal Bell Raj Eapen |
| author_sort | Juan Pablo Sáenz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background. The use of mobile applications in dermatology to support remote diagnosis is gaining acceptance, particularly in rural areas, where dermatology services are commonly managed by healthcare personnel with no specialty training. Moreover, ontologies—sets of concepts that represent knowledge in a given domain—are increasingly being used to support medical diagnosis. A specific case is ONTODerm: an ontology to aid dermatological diagnosis. However, there is little information on the combined use of mobile applications and ontologies as support solutions in dermatology. Objective. Assessing the reliability of ONTODerm as a tool to support remote dermatological diagnosis when used together with a mobile dermatological application in underprivileged areas. Methods. A mobile application that allows characterization of skin lesions was developed, and the information about the lesions was sent to ONTODerm. An exploratory study was conducted in a remote area without access to a dermatologist. A total of 64 dermatological queries were recorded in the application and consulted with ONTODerm. Later, an experienced dermatologist evaluated the characterization and diagnosis of each query to determine the accuracy of the system. Results. The results showed that the probability of obtaining a correct diagnosis was between 64.4% and 85.6% with a confidence interval of 95%. A higher accuracy rate was obtained when the skin lesion occurred on the face or when its border was categorized as poorly demarcated. Conclusions. This study demonstrates the implementation of a teledermatology strategy based on mobile applications and domain ontology-driven knowledge base to provide timely assistance to healthcare professionals. This approach was found to be pertinent in the Colombian rural context, particularly in forest regions, where dermatology specialists are not available. The results of this article do not represent a final validation of the proposed approach; they suggest how the ontology can be improved to effectively support medical staff in marginalized regions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c245299826014af38a843cacc9f9e1ac |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-6415 1687-6423 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications |
| spelling | doaj-art-c245299826014af38a843cacc9f9e1ac2025-02-03T05:45:33ZengWileyInternational Journal of Telemedicine and Applications1687-64151687-64232018-01-01201810.1155/2018/14969411496941On Using a Mobile Application to Support Teledermatology: A Case Study in an Underprivileged Area in ColombiaJuan Pablo Sáenz0Mónica Paola Novoa1Darío Correal2Bell Raj Eapen3Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, ItalyFundación Universitaria de Ciencias de la Salud, Hospital de San José, Bogotá, ColombiaDepartamento de Ingeniería de Sistemas y Computación, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, ColombiaMcMaster University, Hamilton, ON, CanadaBackground. The use of mobile applications in dermatology to support remote diagnosis is gaining acceptance, particularly in rural areas, where dermatology services are commonly managed by healthcare personnel with no specialty training. Moreover, ontologies—sets of concepts that represent knowledge in a given domain—are increasingly being used to support medical diagnosis. A specific case is ONTODerm: an ontology to aid dermatological diagnosis. However, there is little information on the combined use of mobile applications and ontologies as support solutions in dermatology. Objective. Assessing the reliability of ONTODerm as a tool to support remote dermatological diagnosis when used together with a mobile dermatological application in underprivileged areas. Methods. A mobile application that allows characterization of skin lesions was developed, and the information about the lesions was sent to ONTODerm. An exploratory study was conducted in a remote area without access to a dermatologist. A total of 64 dermatological queries were recorded in the application and consulted with ONTODerm. Later, an experienced dermatologist evaluated the characterization and diagnosis of each query to determine the accuracy of the system. Results. The results showed that the probability of obtaining a correct diagnosis was between 64.4% and 85.6% with a confidence interval of 95%. A higher accuracy rate was obtained when the skin lesion occurred on the face or when its border was categorized as poorly demarcated. Conclusions. This study demonstrates the implementation of a teledermatology strategy based on mobile applications and domain ontology-driven knowledge base to provide timely assistance to healthcare professionals. This approach was found to be pertinent in the Colombian rural context, particularly in forest regions, where dermatology specialists are not available. The results of this article do not represent a final validation of the proposed approach; they suggest how the ontology can be improved to effectively support medical staff in marginalized regions.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/1496941 |
| spellingShingle | Juan Pablo Sáenz Mónica Paola Novoa Darío Correal Bell Raj Eapen On Using a Mobile Application to Support Teledermatology: A Case Study in an Underprivileged Area in Colombia International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications |
| title | On Using a Mobile Application to Support Teledermatology: A Case Study in an Underprivileged Area in Colombia |
| title_full | On Using a Mobile Application to Support Teledermatology: A Case Study in an Underprivileged Area in Colombia |
| title_fullStr | On Using a Mobile Application to Support Teledermatology: A Case Study in an Underprivileged Area in Colombia |
| title_full_unstemmed | On Using a Mobile Application to Support Teledermatology: A Case Study in an Underprivileged Area in Colombia |
| title_short | On Using a Mobile Application to Support Teledermatology: A Case Study in an Underprivileged Area in Colombia |
| title_sort | on using a mobile application to support teledermatology a case study in an underprivileged area in colombia |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/1496941 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT juanpablosaenz onusingamobileapplicationtosupportteledermatologyacasestudyinanunderprivilegedareaincolombia AT monicapaolanovoa onusingamobileapplicationtosupportteledermatologyacasestudyinanunderprivilegedareaincolombia AT dariocorreal onusingamobileapplicationtosupportteledermatologyacasestudyinanunderprivilegedareaincolombia AT bellrajeapen onusingamobileapplicationtosupportteledermatologyacasestudyinanunderprivilegedareaincolombia |