Device

In early Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), caregivers use tight control and treat-to-target to reach disease remission as soon as possible. This reduces the progression of irreversible tissue damage at later stages and leads to significantly improved patient outcomes compared to the traditional care process. Systematic monitoring of disease activity is becoming increasingly important in early and established RA, as the aim shifts towards optimal medication levels and tapering medication when possible. Hemics' HandScan is the only non-invasive optical imaging technology that supports the rheumatologist in objective inflammation assessment. With the HandScan, it only takes several minutes to visualize the inflammation levels in the joints of hands and wrists. The device is safe, easy to use in day-to-day care and can be used as frequently as needed for tight control treatment of RA. The scanner can be operated by doctors, nurses and any other trained staff. The HandScan is connectable to the Hospital Information System and can integrate with a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS).

Selected articles:

• Wolkorte R, Heesink L, Kip M, et al. Monitoring of rheumatoid arthritis: a patient survey on disease insight and possible added value of an innovative inflammation monitoring device. Rheumatology int. 2022; 42:1565-1572
• Verhoeven MMA, Westgeest AAA, Schwarting A, et al. Development and validation of rheumatoid arthritis disease activity indices including HandScan (optical spectral transmission) scores. Arthritis Care & Research.2021 Mar 26doi: 10.1002/acr.24607
• Besselink NJ, van der Meijde P, Rensen WHJ, et al. Optical spectral transmission to assess inflammation in hand and wrist joints of rheumatoid arthritis patients. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2018;57(5):865-872
• Onna, M. van, Cate D.F. ten, Tsoi, K.L., et al. Assessment of Disease Activity in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis using Optical Spectral Transmission Measurements, a Non-Invasive Operator-Independent Imaging Technique. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.2016;75:511–518
• Nair, S.C., Welsing, P.M.J., Jacobs, J.W.G., Laar, J.M. van,  Rensen, W.H.J.,  Ardine de Wit, G., Bijlsma, J.W.J. , Lafeber, F.P.J.G.  Economic evaluation of tight control treatment strategy using an imaging device (HandScan) for monitoring inflammation in early rheumatoid arthritis, Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology.2015;33(6):831-838

The full article list is available on request (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).