On the 9th February two of our medical photographers attended the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham (QHEB) for a demonstration of the Image Skin-Tone Optimisation and Verification (ISTOV) system.
The ISTOV system is an image colour management system which provides consistency for photographers and reassurance to consultants and clients that images captured, printed and viewed on monitors are standardised and consistently correct; and if not, the means to fix or accommodate the differences.
Accurate colour representation is vital when photographing the skin, especially in the case of clinical research, where often a slight change in colour could provide important clinical trial data.
The system has been implemented with success at the QHEB as Jane Tovey the Medical Illustration Services Manager states “The ISTOV system has engaged our Dermatologists, Burns and Plastics and Maxillo Facial staff like never before. It has vastly increased our ‘value’ to them and put the use of clinical photography at the forefront of clinical decision-making.”
Illingworth Research use colour management systems within all our imaging practices. The demonstration was interesting and provided a good opportunity to witness the benefits of the system within an NHS medical photography department.