Light-Based Imaging Offers Noninvasive Way to Measure Skin Collagen in Scleroderma
Boston University researchers tested spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI), a camera-based method that shines light on skin without touching it, to assess scleroderma-related collagen changes. The technique distinguished patients from healthy individuals and tracked skin thickness and fibrosis, including changes in areas clinicians scored as normal. It may provide a more objective alternative to manual skin pinching for monitoring the disease.
Scleroderma, or systemic sclerosis, is an uncommon autoimmune condition marked by excess collagen, which stiffens skin and organs. For over five decades, clinicians have judged skin thickness by pinching it, a method central to diagnosis, staging, and treatment monitoring. Because touch varies between examiners, tracking progression or therapeutic response reliably is difficult.
Boston University researchers tested spatial frequency domain imaging, a noncontact camera method that projects safe light patterns and records reflected light. In 49 patients and 25 healthy volunteers, readings differed between groups and correlated with biopsy scarring, ultrasound thickness, and clinical scores. The approach also detected changes in skin rated normal by clinicians.
If validated further, this imaging approach could give scleroderma patients and clinicians a less subjective way to follow skin fibrosis over time. That may improve consistency across visits and examiners, and could help treatment trials detect subtle treatment effects. People with systemic sclerosis, especially those with skin involvement, might benefit from earlier or more reliable monitoring, though broader validation and clinical adoption remain uncertain.