A new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool may help speed the allergy patch testing process, enabling a quicker skin allergy diagnosis.
The tool is being designed to help patients self-apply test patches and use their smartphones to capture images over time, with technology offering guidance that could assist clinicians in diagnosis.
“We’ve been working on an AI tool to help with skin allergy testing because in current state, if you suspect that, as a patient or your doctor suspects that, you have allergic contact dermatitis, the way to test for that would be through patch testing,” explains Alison Bruce, MB, ChB, a Dermatologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL, in a news release.
But testing can be time-consuming, requiring patients to return to the dermatologist’s office multiple times.
Enhancing testing with AI would allow individuals to put the patches on their own skin, remove them at a predetermined time, and then use the camera on the phone to capture images, Dr. Bruce explains.
AI then could interpret the reactions, for example, as “‘Yes, there’s a red reaction that corresponds to nickel, and, therefore, you’re allergic to nickel,'” she says.
PHOTO CREDIT: Mayo Clinic
