Use of Technology Increasing for Treatment Diagnosis, Monitoring in Psoriasis

Photo Credit: SeventyFour

Line-field confocal optical coherence tomography can non-invasively monitor treatment response in psoriasis.

AI and the use of technology were key topics of discussion during multiple sessions at the 2024 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting. In one session, speakers discussed how an innovative AI tool can help identify undiagnosed patients with psoriasis

In a recent study not associated with AAD, researchers found that line-field confocal optical coherence tomography (LC-OCT) can noninvasively monitor the response of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis to different treatments.

“[LC-OCT] is a new, valid means for a rapid and non-invasive in vivo examination of the epidermis and upper dermis, allowing digital interpretation and measurement of high-resolution images on a cellular level,” wrote Corinne Orsini, MD, and colleagues. “Given these properties, it may represent a valid tool for monitoring psoriasis during treatment, allowing a new method to set a precise objective severity of the disease.”

For their study, the researchers investigated the benefits of LC-OCT in the non-invasive monitoring of microscopical changes linked with moderate-to-severe psoriasis during treatment using biologic drugs.

The authors examined LC-OCT use among 17 patients with psoriasis before and after 8 weeks of treatment. Using erythema, desquamation, and infiltration as parameters, the study team used lesion score (LS) to evaluate the clinical severity of single lesions.

“LC-OCT images were segmented by AI and evaluated based on three microscopic criteria: the thickness of the stratum corneum, the thickness of the living epidermis, and the undulation of the dermo-epidermal junction,” the study authors wrote.

According to the findings, digital analysis of LC-OCT allowed for recognition and quantification of the three microscopic criteria. The researchers noted a reduction in all three microscopic criteria during the follow-up period. Furthermore, there was a direct link between the change in LS and the thickness of the stratum corneum and the thickness of the living epidermis.

Overall, the study authors found that LC-OCT can non-invasively monitor treatment response among patients with psoriasis.

They wrote, “Morphometric changes occurring in the psoriatic lesion during the 8-week treatment period were identified by in vivo LC-OCT and measured by using AI.”

Based on the current results, the research team said future studies are required, but “LC-OCT may represent a valid potential tool for precise monitoring of therapeutic response.”