Why use the study marker?
The Color Multi-Marker gives the platform a known size and colour reference in each photograph. Its print, material and size are part of that reference. Use the markers supplied for your study and follow the capture instructions issued with them.
Use the supplied reference
Why the supplied markers matter.
The platform relies on the supplied marker's size and printed colour reference. Appearance alone does not establish that another print has the same properties.
Printing, photocopying or resizing a marker can change its dimensions and colours. Different paper or label stock can introduce glare, lift away from the skin or behave differently when applied. A generic sticker, ruler or other marker does not provide the same combined reference.
Use only the markers provided for your study. Do not print replacements from a photograph, illustration or PDF, and do not substitute another type of marker. Contact your study team for more stock before imaging visits begin.
The camera-calibration board is a separate item. If your study supplies that board as a PDF, follow the board-printing instructions; those instructions do not permit local printing of the markers.
A measurement reference
A reference designed for skin imaging.
The markers bring a reference into the same photograph as the skin being measured. Their features work together to help the platform read that reference during capture.
- Known size: provides a physical reference for measuring lesion area and perimeter.
- Colour reference: helps account for differences in lighting and white balance between photographs.
- Matte surface: helps limit glare that could hide the printed reference.
- Conformable label: follows a gentle skin contour and stays in contact with the skin without needing to be stretched.
The reference must remain readable and unchanged. A creased, stretched, damaged or partly hidden marker cannot be treated as an intact reference.
The right size for your study
Use the size confirmed for your camera.
Marker sizes are shown below. Your study team provides the size confirmed for the imaging system and tells you the working distance to use. Do not choose a different size or resize a marker yourself.
For handheld capture with the supplied 10 mm marker, get as close as the framing allows and stay within about 30 cm. If your study uses a fixed-distance system, follow its confirmed working distance instead. Ask your study team if the size or distance is unclear before taking study photographs.
The marker format
From the sheet to a single label.
The Color Multi-Marker is supplied on sheets of detachable cards. Each card holds individual adhesive labels; the white margin is part of each label and stays with the marker when it is peeled from the backing.
Keep the whole label
Handle the labels without changing them.
The white border is already part of each label. Peel the complete label from its backing and keep the printed area and white border visible throughout capture.
- Detach a card: take a card from the supplied sheet so the unused markers remain on their backing.
- Peel a complete label: do not cut into the label, trim its white border or write on it.
- Place without pulling: smooth it onto healthy, intact skin, clear of the lesion. Use a flat area and avoid folds or sharply curved sites.
- Check before capture: replace a marker if it creases, folds, stretches, lifts, becomes wet or is damaged.
The image capture guide shows how many markers to use, where to place them and what to check in the photograph.
Fragile skin
Non-adhesive alternative
Adhesive application is normally preferred because it keeps the marker in place. Where a non-adhesive approach is needed for fragile or compromised skin, follow the study team's guidance: each supplied marker must remain still and in full, unfolded contact with the skin during capture. Markers are single-use.
Follow the capture guide