Image quality assurance and quality control assessment for a mobile phone enabled Dermatoscope

Abstract

Lesions and skin diseases are among the most common diseases globally, and early detection is critical. The smartphone was used to take pictures of skin lesions and send them to the specialist for evaluation, rather than waiting to meet the doctor face to face. But the difference in colors according to different smartphone devices is one of the biggest problems that the doctor faces, and it can lead to a wrong diagnosis. This research focuses on measuring color reproduction in images, which is recommended as a step to assess clinical efficacy by using a group of smartphones connected with a portable dermoscopy and comparing the results with each other. The study has carried a set of smartphones (Apple iPhone11, Samsung Galaxy 8, Android Redmi Note 9 Pro, Samsung Galaxy J5, Android OnePlus 6T), Handle Dermoscope HUD, color cards, and a laptop computer. The portable dermoscopy is attached to the smartphones; then, the color cards are imaging with all smartphones and using different camera settings. The RGB are detected and calculated using Pinetools software, and the CIE L*ab and DE are calculated using RGB values. The study found that the difference in the RGB, DE values was noticeable in each smartphone. Moreover, the different settings of smartphone cameras (ISO+ Exposure) show a significant part in changing the image's color quality. In conclusion, Although the smartphone is functional in many fields, it may be challenging to use it as a diagnostic tool for skin lesions in dermatology. The topic discussed in this study and the results extracted from it indicate that the color reproduction of the image is inaccurate and may lead to some misdiagnoses. The research aimed to find out the effectiveness of using smartphones in imaging skin lesions. The results showed that smartphone imaging produces inaccurate colors.