Development of telemedicine tools with an emphasis on visual observation

• Published in: Artificial life and robotics Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 38 - 47
• Main Authors: Takahashi, Masato, Koike, Reimei, Nagasawa, Kazuki, Manabe, Yasuhiro, Hirana, Hirofumi, Takamura, Mitsuyuki, Hongawa, Tetsuya, Kimoto, Izumi, Ogawa-Ochiai, Keiko, Tsumura, Norimichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Springer Japan 2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Artificial Intelligence; Color; Computation by Abstract Devices; Computer Science; Control; Electronic devices; Heart rate; Mechatronics; Original; Original Article; Physicians; Robotics; Telemedicine; Visual observation; Color reproduction; Pulse rate; Telemedicine; Color-chart; Remote photoplethysmograph
• ISSN: 1433-5298; 1614-7456
• DOI: 10.1007/s10015-022-00731-4

We developed a system to improve the quality of telemedicine, and the test results obtained have been presented in this paper, along with the technical details of the system. The spread of COVID-19 has accelerated the need for telemedicine to effectively prevent infections. However, in traditional Japanese medicine (Kampo), where color is essential, an accurate diagnosis cannot be made without color reproduction. Because commercial smartphones cannot reproduce colors with the level of fidelity required for medical treatments, we created a color chart that includes the human skin and tongue colors to help doctors identify their colors accurately during a telemedicine examination. Further, we developed a telemedicine system that allows for automatic color correction using a mobile device, with a color chart and non-contact heart rate measurements.