BACKGROUND: Measurement of radiological angles can be useful in the planning of the management of patients with hallux valgus. A smartphone application offers an alternative way of measuring these angles in a clinic setting. We compared the reliability (inter- and intra-observer) of this method to the use of PACS. METHODS: Radiographs of 30 feet from new patients referred with hallux valgus were examined and angles (HVA, IMA, and DMAA) recorded using the smartphone application and PACS. RESULTS: The smartphone application provided good inter-observer reliability for HVA and IMA (r=0.93 and r=0.79 respectively). Intra-observer reliability for HVA and IMA was also found to be good (r=0.93-0.97 r=0.82-0.93 respectively). The inter- and intra-observer reliability for using this method to measure DMAA fell below useful levels (r<0.60 in each case). CONCLUSIONS: This smartphone application provides a reliable method to measure HVA and IMA but we would not recommend it to measure DMAA.
BACKGROUND: Measurement of radiological angles can be useful in the planning of the management of patients with hallux valgus. A smartphone application offers an alternative way of measuring these angles in a clinic setting. We compared the reliability (inter- and intra-observer) of this method to the use of PACS. METHODS: Radiographs of 30 feet from new patients referred with hallux valgus were examined and angles (HVA, IMA, and DMAA) recorded using the smartphone application and PACS. RESULTS: The smartphone application provided good inter-observer reliability for HVA and IMA (r=0.93 and r=0.79 respectively). Intra-observer reliability for HVA and IMA was also found to be good (r=0.93-0.97 r=0.82-0.93 respectively). The inter- and intra-observer reliability for using this method to measure DMAA fell below useful levels (r<0.60 in each case). CONCLUSIONS: This smartphone application provides a reliable method to measure HVA and IMA but we would not recommend it to measure DMAA.