Value of GPSkin for the measurement of skin barrier impairment and for monitoring of rosacea treatment in daily practice

Abstract

Background Stratum corneum hydration (SCH) and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) provide useful information about skin barrier function. This study aimed to determine the value of GPSkin Pro, a new handheld device determining both SCH and TEWL, to measure skin barrier impairment and to monitor barrier function in rosacea in daily practice. Materials and Methods Two pilots were performed. Pilot 1: in 27 healthy participants, GPSkin SCH and TEWL were compared to Aquaflux® and Epsilon® values at the forearm before and after skin barrier perturbation via tapestripping. Moreover, GPSkin values were measured at both cheeks without intervention. Pilot 2: in 16 rosacea patients, GPSkin measurements were performed at the forearm, and at both cheeks before and during anti‐inflammatory treatment. They were compared to clinical symptoms and to GPSkin values from pilot 1. Results Pilot 1: after merging data from before and after tapestripping, a strong correlation was observed between GPSkin TEWL and Aquaflux® (Rs = 0.9256), and GPSkin SCH and Epsilon® (Rs = 0.8798). Pilot 2: SCH was significantly lower at the cheeks of rosacea patients compared to controls, with a normalizing trend during successful treatment. TEWL was comparable among patients and controls and did not change during treatment at all locations. Conclusion The GPSkin determines TEWL and SCH accurately in healthy and impaired skin barrier state and can monitor skin barrier function in rosacea during treatment. The GPSkin device is much more practical compared to previous skin barrier tools when used in clinical practice. Its further validation in other inflammatory skin diseases is recommended.

Devices measuring transepidermal water loss: A systematic review of measurement properties

“…It was weakly correlated with the AquaFlux in one study 45 but correlated well in two other studies. 46,47 Both devices showed greater variation from other devices as higher values of TEWL…”

Novel technology at hand to measure skin hydration by Biodisplay smartphone touch screen panel

“…Recent studies have introduced a number of new devices that can measure skin hydration [8][9][10][11] . Grinich et al reported on a novel device for measuring stratum corneum hydration that showed precise and reliable measurements, compared to the currently used devices 10 .…”

“…Since the device has sensors for measuring skin capacitance and can transmit data to a smartphone application, it can analyze skin barrier function at low cost 10 . Logger et al described a novel device for measuring skin hydration that can also be used for clinical purposes 11 . They measured skin hydration in rosacea patients before and after treatment, and found that skin hydration in rosacea patients was impaired before treatment, but restored after treatment 11 .…”

“…Logger et al described a novel device for measuring skin hydration that can also be used for clinical purposes 11 . They measured skin hydration in rosacea patients before and after treatment, and found that skin hydration in rosacea patients was impaired before treatment, but restored after treatment 11 . They suggested that a home-based skin barrier monitoring device could be used in the future for inflammatory skin diseases, specifically to improve care and compliance 11 .…”

“…They measured skin hydration in rosacea patients before and after treatment, and found that skin hydration in rosacea patients was impaired before treatment, but restored after treatment 11 . They suggested that a home-based skin barrier monitoring device could be used in the future for inflammatory skin diseases, specifically to improve care and compliance 11 . The major difference between Biodisplay and other new devices is that Biodisplay simply uses the display panel of the smartphone itself, without the need for the additional sensors to measure skin hydration.…”