Validation of TrichoScan® technology as a fully-automated tool for evaluation of hair growth parameters

In 2009, a study involving 10 patients with androgenetic alopecia validated TrichoScan®, a fully-automated tool for evaluating hair growth parameters, by comparing it to manual hair marking methods. The study found that TrichoScan® had excellent correlation with manual methods, with Pearson correlation coefficients greater than 0.89, and showed no variability in results compared to the 2.71% to 12.95% variability in manual evaluations. Despite slight systematic underestimation of total hair density and overestimation of hair thickness by TrichoScan®, these differences were consistent and could be adjusted mathematically. The study concluded that TrichoScan® is a reliable and valid tool that offers quicker, more reproducible results with a smaller margin of operator error than manual methods, and is suitable for clinical studies, as demonstrated in a trial with 34 men treated with Minoxidil. The study also noted the importance of high-quality images and adequate training for investigators to achieve accurate results.