US researchers tested an optical imaging technology that uses light and a camera to assess skin changes in scleroderma patients without requiring contact, a step that may help improve the accuracy of monitoring the disease, tracking skin fibrosis progression, and evaluating treatment response.
Study Methodology and Comparison
The scientific website Medical Xpress reported on Wednesday that a team from Boston University School of Medicine and the Department of Biomedical Engineering used an imaging technique known as "spatial frequency domain imaging," which involves projecting safe light patterns onto the skin and measuring the reflected light to assess its thickness and changes associated with collagen accumulation and fibrosis.
The study included 49 scleroderma patients and 25 healthy individuals. Researchers compared the imaging results with skin biopsy tests, ultrasound thickness measurements, and traditional clinical assessment, which relies on touching the skin.
Results and Future Applications
The results showed that imaging measurements differed between patients and healthy individuals, correlating with increased skin thickness, fibrosis, and collagen accumulation. The technology also detected changes in areas that appeared normal during clinical examination, indicating its potential for detecting subtle changes not visible through traditional examination.
Researchers explained that this technology could provide a more objective means of monitoring disease progression and evaluating treatment response, as well as improving the accuracy of outcome measurements in clinical trials, though further studies are needed to determine its effectiveness in routine medical use.
Scleroderma, or systemic sclerosis, is a rare, chronic autoimmune disease that leads to increased collagen production and accumulation, causing skin thickening and stiffness, and may also affect internal organs.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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