Colour perception in telemedicine

A doctor's experience of examining patients is for the most part in artific ial light, which is known to affect colour perception. However, the phenome non of colour constancy (the perceived stability of the colour of objects, despite changes in the illuminating light) allows the eye and brain to comp ensate, to some extent. Colours like red, yellow, green and blue, which are processed by basic colour-opponent mechanisms, show better colour constanc y than intermediate colours. These are the very colours that are involved i n skin tones. A skin rash can therefore be viewed sometimes acceptably with lower-quality telemedical systems. Colour is undoubtedly important in tele medicine, but while a great deal is known about the fundamentals of colour perception from laboratory experiments, little is known about the effects o f colour on the outcome of the telemedical process. The field of colour per ception therefore represents a fertile area for telemedical research.