interpreting MR images on the smartphones
March 2, 2012
Last February, a group of Canadian researchers presented at the American Academy of Orthopeadic Surgeons (AAOS) a new study about the interpretation of MR images on the iphone.
Smartphones are becoming part of every activity of our lives, and this is also true for physicians and hospitals. The advantage is that they are portable and most of the time on the pocket or handbag, but the question is whether they are good enough for a medical diagnosis.
According to Dr. John Theodoropoulos, an orthopedic surgeon from the University of Toronto, “iPhone interpretations showed high sensitivity and specificity for medial meniscus and cruciate ligaments injuries with lower sensitivity for lateral meniscus tears and lower specificity for cartilage injuries. And compared to much larger the PACS workstation interpretation on a flat screen, the iPhone showed excellent agreement for medial meniscus and cruciate ligament injuries and good agreement for cartilage injuries”. However, Dr. Theodoropoulos said that the iPhone app missed two cartilage tears versus the full-sized workstation.
Maybe we are not there yet, but the smartphones and tablets certainly look promising for medical image interpretation and have many features that make them very attractive, specially for emergency cases.
Cloud-based services
February 23, 2012
Each day we are hearing more and more about cloud services. However, a critical issue comes to mind: data security.
Some are comparing this reaction to the first reactions to Internet banking, consumers being afraid of fraud, identity theft and so on. As Internet banking, cloud-based services are a reality nowadays. However, you must choose your provider wisely. Suppliers must have the optimal technologies to ensure patient data is protected at all levels.
For more information, Carestream has created a white paper about cloud-based services.
Mobile Medical Applications – FDA Guidelines
September 8, 2011
The use of mobile medical apps on tablets and smartphones is becoming more and more common in healthcare. Therefore the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has included medical imaging applications in a new draft guidance document. It is not yet final. Comments and suggestions may be submitted to the FDA until October.
