Patients living with eczema may now find it easier to manage their condition, thanks to a groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI) tool capable of analyzing the severity of eczema from photos taken with a smartphone.
According to a recent study published in the journal Allergy, this advanced AI demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy when evaluating eczema symptoms in photos submitted by users. Patients simply upload pictures of their affected skin areas, and the AI assesses the severity in real time.
Dr. Takeya Adachi, a senior researcher and assistant professor of dermatology at Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo, explained, “Many patients with eczema struggle to evaluate their disease severity on their own. Our AI model allows for objective, real-time tracking using just a smartphone, empowering patients and potentially improving disease management.”
Eczema, medically known as atopic dermatitis, is a chronic skin condition marked by inflammation, dryness, and intense itching. While its exact cause remains unknown, experts believe it results from a combination of environmental, immune-related, and genetic factors.
The innovative AI was trained using data from a symptom-tracking app called Atopiyo, which has collected input from nearly 28,000 users since 2018. The app has amassed over 57,000 symptom photos along with user-submitted comments, providing a robust dataset for the AI’s development.
To fine-tune the model, researchers used 880 photos tagged with self-reported itch scores. The tool was then tested on an additional set of 220 images. In these trials, the AI correctly identified 98% of body parts and 100% of eczema-affected areas. Furthermore, its assessments of severity closely matched evaluations by board-certified dermatologists.
The research team emphasized the potential impact of the AI, stating, “The AI model developed in this study has the potential to help patients with eczema objectively assess their skin condition, facilitating timely and appropriate treatment.”
Looking ahead, researchers plan to enhance the AI’s capabilities by incorporating a wider range of skin tones, age groups, and advanced clinical scoring features to ensure broader and more equitable effectiveness.
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