Comparing Silhouette wound imaging with digital camera options

Most standard digital cameras have many controls which often confuse clinical users and also lead to selection of inappropriate settings on camera.

SilhouetteStar has no operator adjustable controls for image capture. There is simply a shutter release button.

Users are confident in their ability to use SilhouetteStar, and there is no chance of inappropriate settings being selected on the camera

Different lighting conditions and inconsistent application of camera auto colour balance cause different colour casts in different images.

SilhouetteStar provides its own lighting of a known colour temperature. Only one standard “fixed” colour correction is required and this is applied automatically by the software to every image captured.

Every image captured can be compared with every other image without variance in colour cast.

Often images are captured that are out-of-focus due to operator issues with camera.

SilhouetteStar has a camera lens of a fixed focal length. The lasers in the camera provide guidance for the operator to ensure that the operator holds the camera the correct distance from the subject to ensure the image is in focus.

Every image is in focus even when taken by users with little understanding of photography.

With standard digital camera, the images need to be manually transferred from the camera and assigned to the subject / assessment. This is time consuming and often errors occur.

Every SilhouetteStar image is captured directly into the subject record and automatically assigned to the appropriate assessment.

Assuming the correct subject is selected in the application software there is no chance of the images being assigned to the incorrect subject, ensuring integrity of the collected data.

Standard digital cameras store unencrypted data on the card in the camera, usually in a standard format e.g. jpeg. Anyone who can access that memory card can access the protected health information (PHI) it would contain. This can lead to breaches of PHI.

SilhouetteStar does not store subject data on the camera.

There is no opportunity for inadvertent release of PHI because data is either not stored on the camera or stored in encrypted format on a computer.

Photographs taken from a standard digital camera can be modified by the user in a program like Adobe Photoshop. This means images can be modified without the modification being noted in the audit log.

Silhouette stores information in formats that are not editable by users. Thus image modification can only be performed by the Silhouette application software by authorized users with corresponding changes noted in the audit log.

Guaranteed integrity of study data.

Standard digital cameras are difficult to clean.

SilhouetteStar was designed as a medical device, for easy cleaning with standard medical wipes.

Minimizes risk of cross- infection.

Standard digital cameras often become obsolete requiring sourcing and validation of a new (replacement) model.

ARANZ Medical controls the design and production of SilhouetteStar to ensure that there will be supply of validated cameras.

Surety of supply of cameras that meet the validated specification.

Standard digital cameras are not robust and often have to be replaced. They are also desirable as consumer items for theft.

SilhouetteStar was designed for medical environments. The products also look less like consumer products than standard digital cameras so are less of a theft target.

Long camera life.