To optimise the diagnostic process of rheumatic diseases affecting the hands using fluorescence optical imaging (FOI)
Authors' conclusion
This was the first study to show that feature analysis in FOI helps to differentiate typical rheumatic diseases from each other, potentially simplifying and speeding up the diagnostic process.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), connective tissue diseases (CTD) and osteoarthritis (OA) undergoing FOI of the hands
- Participants
- 438 patients
- Comparison
- FOI image features to differentiate RA, PsA, CTD and OA
- RAn = 117
- PsAn = 110
- CTDn = 121
- OAn = 90
- Outcome
- Two-step diagnostic pathway of FOI image features
Methodological detailstwo readers blinded for diagnosis, prima vista mode and automated 5-phase model
- Two readers blinded for diagnosis
- Prima vista mode and automated 5-phase model
Performance
As reported in the abstract
- First step: OA best distinguished from the other diseases with high specificity by five patterns (specificity >0.9; diagnostic OR between 2.34 and 8.24)
- Second step: remaining autoimmune diseases differentiated from each other by a certain number of features (five for RA, 12 for PsA and four for CTD)
Original publication
To optimise the diagnostic process of rheumatic diseases affecting the hands using fluorescence optical imaging (FOI). RMD Open. Published 31 August 2025. doi:10.
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