Standardising and assessing digital images for use in clinical trials: a practical, reproducible method that blinds the assessor to treatment allocation

PLoS One. 2014 Nov 6;9(11):e110395. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110395. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

With the increasing availability of high quality digital cameras that are easily operated by the non-professional photographer, the utility of using digital images to assess endpoints in clinical research of skin lesions has growing acceptance. However, rigorous protocols and description of experiences for digital image collection and assessment are not readily available, particularly for research conducted in remote settings. We describe the development and evaluation of a protocol for digital image collection by the non-professional photographer in a remote setting research trial, together with a novel methodology for assessment of clinical outcomes by an expert panel blinded to treatment allocation.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / standards*
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / standards*
  • Impetigo / pathology
  • Skin Diseases / pathology*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia project grant (545234) for which AB, ST, RA and JC are all investigators and IMO is funded as the trial project manager. AB is the recipient of an NHMRC scholarship for PhD research (605845) and an Australian Academy of Sciences Douglas and Lola Douglas scholarship. ST is the recipient of a NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (1065736). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.