Is TrichoScan a New Diagnostic Method for Diffuse Hair Loss?

January 2014 in “ Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences ”

Hatice Uce Özkol, Ömer Çalka, Necmettın Akdeniz

TrichoScan diffuse hair loss androgenetic alopecia telogen effluvium hair density anagen to telogen ratios vellus to terminal hair ratios ferritin levels AGA TE

TLDR TrichoScan effectively diagnoses different types of hair loss and is linked to low iron stores in patients.

In 2014, a study involving 100 female patients with diffuse hair loss assessed the effectiveness of TrichoScan, a computer-based phototrichogram, in diagnosing hair loss conditions such as androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and telogen effluvium (TE). The study found that TrichoScan was successful in differentiating between AGA and TE by measuring hair density, anagen to telogen ratios, and vellus to terminal hair ratios. It also revealed that patients with hair loss often had low ferritin levels, which are crucial for hair health. While TrichoScan showed satisfactory results consistent with clinical diagnoses, the study recommended the development of more sensitive software and noted the limitation of having a small number of healthy control subjects.

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