A new technology from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, which it anticipates will “revolutionise” eczema diagnosis and treatment, has secured more than £475 000 for clinical research, reports The Independent.
The university believes its innovative vibro-acoustic sensor could alleviate “years of suffering for millions of patients across the UK”, said the researchers, who described current technology as dated and having not evolved in 10 years.
The device operates by emitting small vibrations on to the skin’s surface, meticulously measuring material alterations within each layer. It identifies changes in tissue stiffness and fluid content.
The substantial investment includes £275 000 from Scottish Enterprise and an additional sum of more than £200 000 from the Medical Research Council’s Gap Fund.
The capital is earmarked for progressing clinical trials and fostering the establishment of a spin-out company, building upon the TissueMetrics project.
Professor Michael Crichton, from the university’s school of engineering and physical sciences, said the technology represents a fundamental shift in how eczema management is approached.
“Rather than relying solely on visual assessments, which haven’t evolved in decades and can be particularly unreliable for patients with darker skin tones, our sensor provides objective measurements of what’s happening beneath the skin’s surface,” he said.
Dr Connor Bain, who is on the technical engineering of the technology, added: “By measuring the elasticity and viscoelasticity of each skin layer, we can detect changes in tissue stiffness and fluid content that indicate inflammation and disease progression.
“This allows healthcare professionals to make data-driven decisions about treatment effectiveness much earlier, potentially reducing the years of suffering so many patients endure while trying to find the right treatment.
“What makes our approach particularly powerful is that it works equally well on all skin tones, avoiding the biases that can be common in visual assessments where parameters like redness are difficult to assess on darker skin. This could help address the well-documented healthcare disparities patients experience in dermatological care.”
They will also gather feedback from patients and clinicians on its usability.
Professor Richard Weller, dermatology lead for NHS Research Scotland and a University of Edinburgh academic based at the Institute for Regeneration and Repair, said the current system for managing eczema was outdated and inefficient.
“Patients typically go through multiple cycles of treatment with increasingly potent and expensive medications, waiting weeks or months to see if each one works,” he told The Independent.
“Without objective measures, we’re often making treatment decisions based on visual inspection alone, which can be very subjective.
“This technology has the potential to transform that process by providing quantitative data that can help us identify effective treatments much faster.”
Dr Sara Medina-Lombardero, a research associate at Heriot-Watt University who is leading the patient and user clinical development of the technology, said: “The planned clinical evaluation will allow us to confidently correlate our objective measurements to those of specialist dermatologist assessments.
“Success will set us on a path where the sensor could enable treatment tracking and diagnoses to be made in local pharmacies and community healthcare facilities.”
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