Sensitivity and specificity of thermography to diagnose active arthritis in hand-joints of patients with arthritis psoriatic or rheumatoid arthritis

Arthritis is characterized by inflammation of the synovial membrane, which
could affect al joints, but small joints of the hands and feet are often
involved. Early treatment can limit the damage, therefore early recognition and
diagnosis are important. In order to prevent delay, arthritis needs to be
recognized by other specialist especially General Practitioners (GP) and
dermatologists as early as possible. At present, the standard practice for
detecting arthritis is physical examination (PE).
Useful supporting diagnostic tools for arthritis are ultrasound (US) or
Handscan. However these tools require specific expertise of a physician and
are large and not easy to apply in daily practice.
An unknown diagnostic tool for arthritis is infrared thermography (IRT). Recent
technological advances have increased the applicability. Thermal imaging
cameras are now commercially available as standalone devices and as peripheral
attachments for smartphones that provide quick assessment of environmental
thermal profiles.
The sensitivity and specificity of these cameras, to detect active arthritis in
hand-joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or arthritis psoriatic
(PsA), is still unknown.

To determine the sensitivity and specificity of IRT to detect clinical active
arthritis in hand-joints of patients with RA or PsA using clinical examination
and ultrasonography as gold standard.

A mono-center, descriptive cross-sectional study.

The burden to the patient is retricted to one visit of the outpatient clinic
with the duration of an hour.
The risk is neglecteble.