Comment by reaperducer | Hacker News Reader

Comment by reaperducer | Hacker News Reader

My iPhone wish: A button to turn off all of the image processing.

Mobile phones, and especially iPhones, have become useless for taking pictures of skin. The phones try to smooth out blemishes, and overprocess skin.

That's great if it's pictures at a tween birthday party, but a lot of doctors and other medical practices are receiving pictures of lesions, bruises, and other skin issues via smartphone these days. It completely ruins diagnostics. I've done my own testing on a recently injured person, and the results are terrible. What was visibly a massive bruise got all the spots and veins magically AI-ed out, and the colors mangled so that some regions of the bruise disappeared entirely. (iPhone 12 Pro)

The healthcare company I work for recommends that patients use a laptop camera instead of a phone, if they can. The problem is that so many people don't have computers, and if they do, they don't know how to take a picture of their skin with the webcam.

You are in luck! Apple has been providing RAW image capture APIs for several years which means you can get a pure image with no processing with many 3rd party apps.

Either recommend patients to use a RAW camera app, or perhaps create a basic app for the healthcare company.

If the image isn’t raw, it is processed in some way, and I can absolutely see how that can mess with diagnostics.

You are in luck! Apple has been providing RAW image capture APIs for several years

I don't see how that means I'm in luck. Me being in luck would be, "Apple has such a feature, but it's just hidden behind another invisible iOS button."

recommend patients to use a RAW camera app

You dramatically overestimate the technical ability of the average person. We have to write our healthcare web sites for people with an eighth-grade reading level.

perhaps create a basic app for the healthcare company.

If we had the money for that, we'd probably hire back some of the doctors and nurses we've laid off over the last six months. Like most healthcare companies, we jettisoned medical professionals in order to stay afloat.

I don't think it's best but the healthcare company should recommend no-AI camera app rather than laptop camera (or build your own).

> I don't see how that means I'm in luck. Me being in luck would be, "Apple has such a feature, but it's just hidden behind another invisible iOS button.

There are apps available that will do this. Like everything else in life, it comes with sensible defaults, and anything extra will require effort, money or personal research.

Well when covid is over in a year or two, you can make the app. TBH it would probably be easier for a segment than trying to figure out how to send you a picture.

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