MEASUREMENT OF ALLERGEN-INDUCED SKIN REACTIONS BY COMPUTERIZED DYNAMIC TELETHERMOGRAPHY (CDTT)

Cutaneous thermic changes induced by a skin prick test reaction were m easured by an infrared thermography camera (computerized dynamic telet hermography, CDTT). Changes in skin temperature (T degrees) detected b y CDTT were compared with the mean diameter of allergen-induced skin r eactions. Cutaneous thermic increase detected by CDTT correlated well with the mean wheal diameter measured in millimeters (r = 0.938, p <0. 001). Average coefficient of variation for repeated CDTT measurements was 4.6%. CDTT provides a reproducible and precise method for measurin g allergen-induced skin reactions. Moreover, the continuous recording of the skin temperature represents an additional parameter for the qua ntification of wheal reactions.