AI Haptic Feedback Technology Reduced Nocturnal Scratching in Atopic Dermatitis
For patients with atopic dermatitis reporting moderate-to-severe scratching, researchers explored the efficacy of an AI-enabled wearable sensor with closed-loop haptic feedback.
The use of haptic feedback technology reduced nocturnal scratching in patients with mild atopic dermatitis (AD), according to data published in JAMA Dermatology.1 The technology, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) within a wearable device, was able to reduce patients’ scratch time and events.
“Pruritus (itch) is the hallmark symptom of AD, with scratching as the natural reflex. The itch-scratch cycle describes the resulting interplay between itching and scratching in which scratching leads to worsening skin inflammation. Additionally, itch and scratch negatively affect sleep, leading to significant morbidity,” wrote authors of the study.
AD is significantly prominent in the US, impacting around 16.5 million adults with 40% of them experiencing moderate-to-severe disease symptoms. Furthermore, itching is the most common symptom among patients with AD, followed by skin redness and sleep loss—all instances that can negatively affect patients’ quality of life.2
AD is significantly prominent in the US, impacting around 16.5 million adults with 40% of them experiencing moderate-to-severe disease symptoms. | image credit: Ityuan / stock.adobe.com
READ MORE: Addressing the Burden of Flare-Ups in Atopic Dermatitis | AMCP Nexus 2024
The act of itching among patients with AD has the ability to exacerbate their disease conditions. Researchers noted both nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic interventions for treating AD, with the latter being much more accessible and accepted within health care. Indeed, there is a variety of medications suggested to help manage AD, including topical steroid creams, oral steroids, dupilumab injections, antibiotics, and more.3
However, with researchers’ focus on targeting itching to alleviate disease severity, they looked at nonpharmacologic options for reducing scratching and itching time and occurrence.
“In particular, there is a need for nonsystemic interventions for patients with mild skin involvement but high degrees of self-reported itch and scratching. We herein introduce the use of haptic feedback directly embedded in the wearable sensor (24-hour battery life with haptic feedback enabled) as a novel approach to alert patients of subconscious nocturnal scratching,” continued the authors.1
After integrating a haptic motor into a closed-loop wearable device, researchers tested the technology on patients with mild AD who reported moderate or severe scratching complications. Participants were instructed to wear the device on their dorsal hand and scratch at 5 different common AD locations for 5 seconds, repeating this 10 times with 5 seconds of rest. They then performed non-scratching activities like waving and tapping. Following all scratch and non-scratch activities, participants reported whether or not haptic responses occurred.
A total of 10 patients with AD were included in the study (6 women and 4 men; mean age, 36). The device exhibited overall accuracy of 99%, sensitivity of 95%, and specificity of 99% for the 10 volunteers. All participants were alerted by the haptic motor of the wearable device.
“The introduction of the haptic motor provides a closed-loop system, enabling the device to provide a real-time intervention to address scratching behavior. Using the device, the duration of total and hourly scratch time at night and number of total and hourly scratch events were significantly decreased in this cohort,” they wrote.1
The device’s haptic feedback was responsible for a mean decrease of 28% for total scratch events and decrease of 40% for total scratch duration. Further noting the success of the wearable technology, most patients found the device easy to wear and use. Researchers suggested that future studies could help confirm the use of haptic feedback in treating AD.
“This study describes the application of a wearable sensor with the ability to notify users of scratching behavior via biofeedback. This technology may serve as a standalone or, more likely, a supportive therapeutic device for decreasing scratching behavior in patients with mild AD who may not meet the criteria for systemic therapy or prefer to not use topical corticosteroids yet still report a high degree of scratching,” concluded authors of the study.
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