Medical Images for Education and Research

21%-87%
of the general population
in developing countries has skin disease
#1
medical image resource
for representation of dark skin
2.5x
more dark skin images
by percentage than other resources
Laptop showing medical images from the VisualDx dermatology atlas

The paradox of digital imagery: Many dermatology departments no longer have a departmental image collection for education, research, and publication.

With 20 years of systematic, thoughtful collecting of professional medical images and associated de-identified case data, VisualDx is making a long-term commitment to protecting and preserving the rich, visual history of dermatology. We are experts in managing medical images and related case data, and doing so with respect to patient confidentiality and the ethics of medical publication. We offer services, resources, and guidance to help you build or improve a professional medical teaching collection.

Submit Your Photos

VisualDx photo contributors are part of a major global effort to improve healthcare outcomes—especially for people of color—by ensuring that clinicians and students have access to a diverse set of clinical images.

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An image showcasing VisualDx interfacing with a database

Secure Collection Management

What We Do

  • Create and maintain a professional centralized teaching collection for you or your department
  • Provide secure access to your medical images with controlled, customized sharing
  • Develop HIPAA-compliant, de-identified versions of your images through careful cropping and other editing techniques
  • Assign searchable metadata by cataloging images using a controlled vocabulary specific to medicine
  • Archive for longevity by maintaining master/original image files stored in a multi-level archiving system
  • Digitize film-based collections

Metadata Integrity

Employing a lexicon specific to dermatology

Our multiaxial image and case repository matches the language of medicine and healthcare, allowing intuitive retrieval of cases, images, and content. Once scanned, each image is tagged with searchable terms (diagnosis, skin type, body location, and lesion type).

An Ongoing Commitment to Equity in Medicine

VisualDx has been improving diagnosis in skin of color for more than 20 years. Join us and many of the world’s leading health systems and universities as we reduce bias and disparities in medical knowledge.

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Our Process

Restoring and Preserving Valuable Clinical Information

Deterioration undermines the accuracy of a medical image by detracting from or obscuring visual information. Virtually all image-based image collections have suffered some form of loss. The most common factors and accelerants of deterioration are improper non-archival storage materials, careless handling, and unstable environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, and light exposure).

An original medical image on the left and the professionally restored image on the right
A woman uses a magnifying glass to view slides of medical images on a light table

Going Digital Takes Know-How

Successfully digitizing a photographic collection requires sophisticated scanning equipment, highly skilled operators, and an efficient, thoughtful workflow. VisualDx imaging specialists are highly knowledgeable and experienced in clinical image-making and are familiar with the special nature of skin disease, subtle variation, and morphology. Each image is carefully evaluated and optimized after scanning to restore the original intent and maintain consistent overall quality.

Using Images from VisualDx

Medical images play an important role in educating students, residents, and even seasoned providers. The VisualDx image library and dark skin atlas has been developed through partnerships with exceptional learning institutions and providers. These contributors strongly believe in the importance of images to enhance scholarship, teaching, and learning in medicine. VisualDx shares this belief. In support of shared learning, please see our guidelines for the use of images and Sympticons™ in educational and non-commercial settings.

image use policy

Contact us to contribute your medical images or learn more about our collection process.

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