TrichoScan®- System overview
Pattern alopecia, diffuse hair shedding, or hair thinning are common complaints in clinical dermatology. However, patients seeking advice are not necessarily extensively bald, they may only present with early stages of alopecia. In many of these cases the hair loss is a slowly progressing process which requires treatment over a prolonged period of time. Thus far it has been very difficult to accurately and consistently measure changes in hair density in these patients over time, as their alopecia progresses, or as they respond to treatment. But now hair growth can be quickly and reliably measured with TrichoScan®.
With TrichoScan®, the following hair growth parameters can be analysed:
1: hair density (n/cm²: total, vellus, and terminal)
2: hair diameter (µm; mean and cumulative)
3: hair growth rate (mm/day)
4: anagen/telogen ratio and densities
The primary advantage of the TrichoScan® technique is that it can be used for clinical studies to compare placebo versus active treatment, or to compare different capacities of different hair growth promoting substances. This technique can be used for studying androgenetic alopecia (pattern baldness), or other forms of diffuse hair loss. It can also be used to study the effect of drugs or laser treatment on hypertrichosis or hirsutism. In addition, the TrichoScan® Smart is able to count follicular units which makes it very useful for hair transplant surgeons.
In order to satisfy the needs of different TrichoScan® users we have developed three versions of our tool:
- TrichoScan® Smart - for hair transplant surgeons, pharmacists and many others
- TrichoScan® Professional - for daily hair clinic use; not recommended for the use in clinical trials
- TrichoScan® Research - for clinical trials and research
Similarities, differences and capabilities of TrichoScan® Smart and TrichoScan® Professional:
| Feature | TrichoScan® Smart | TrichoScan® Professional |
|---|---|---|
| Analysis | software-assisted | automatic |
| Analysis area | 0,25cm |
up to 1,5cm |
| Hair dye necessary | usually not | yes |
| Hair count | yes | yes |
| Hair length | yes | no |
| Hair thickness | yes | indirect |
| Terminal hair count | yes | yes |
| Vellus hair count | yes | yes |
| Anagen/Telogen-ratio | no | yes |
| Follicular units | yes | no |
| Hide results | yes | yes |
| Export of results | no | no |
| Artefact correction | no | yes |
| Email support | yes | yes |
| In house training | no | no / or with distributor |
| Camera / System | USB-microscope-camera | Canon PowerShot, Fotofinder, MoleMax, Dermogenius and other systems |
| Multi user licences | no | on request |