Optical spectral transmission to assess inflammation in hand and wrist joints of rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Objective: To develop an optical spectral transmission (OST) model to measure joint inflammation, and thus disease activity, as well as to evaluate (patho-)physiological findings that could lead to misclassification of inflammation.

Methods: Forty-six RA patients were included in this cross-sectional study, where US scores, duplicate OST measurements and 28-joint DAS (DAS28) were acquired. With US as a reference standard, the diagnostic performance of OST in detecting inflammation at the joint level was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses.

Potential of optical spectral transmission measurements for joint inflammation measurements in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Frequent monitoring of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients enables timely treatment adjustments and improved outcomes. Currently this is not feasible due to a shortage of rheumatologists. An optical spectral transmission device is presented for objective assessment of joint inflammation in RA patients, while improving diagnostic accuracy and clinical workflow.