SCARLETRED -  an idea revolutionising modern-day teledermatology 

The journey of SCARLETRED started in 2011, when CEO Dr. Harald Schnidar, MBA, noticed the lack of objective technologies to detect and quantify dermatological conditions. Inefficient procedures with limited visual assessment tools are time-consuming and lead to non-standardized results. Conventional assessment methods commonly consist of visual examinations, including photos, which cannot be quantified or directly compared. At that time, alternative hardware intensive methods were based on photometric measurements, which quantify color, but do not provide visual context. Therefore, the global health industry’s demand for state-of-the-art digital solutions to standardize medical data generation and prioritise skin reactions based on severity was recognised in 2014 leading to the incorporation of SCARLETRED, leading to the companies first product "Scarletred®Vision. The clinically validated class I medical device obtained CE market approval in 2015 and since that provides the first teledermatology solution of its kind, enabling standardized disease and therapy assessment, modern-day remote medical care, and real-time monitoring, while increasing patient compliance.

Signal maps for the augmented visualization of skin erythema

Objective methods are superior over sorely visual inspection due to the subjective variability and often time-intense processes. However, the medical and health industry poses different challenges regarding digital health revolutions. Extensive testing phases and multiple certification processes take years and are needed to ensure safe and effective software for patient use. In collaboration with radio-oncologist Richard Partl, MD, at the Landeskrankenhaus in Graz, SCARLETRED introduced the standardized erythema value (SEV*) in the published paper, 128 Shades of Red (2017), bringing technology into a real-life clinical setting. The development of the SEV* pseudo-signal map solved the lack of standardization for quantity-based severity scoring of erythema during radiation-induced skin reactions, and overcame the limitations of image and spectra-based methods with superior sensitivity. 

Artificial intelligence and machine learning 

Artificial intelligence (AI) has gained momentum in not only clinical research, but also medical routine. AI algorithms have been effectively used for diagnostic and predictive tasks for years. The use of deep learning neural networks opened the gate for state-of-the-art results in image processing, classification, segmentation, and object detection in various medical applications. As clinical trials are shifting towards remote implementation, monitoring is crucial to ensure a high standard of the patients' quality of life (QOL) and accurately classify acute skin reactions according to severity. SCARLETRED developed machine and deep learning methods using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with the potential to support the medical field as a tool for automatic pre-screening of skin toxicity, and decision support in scoring erythema severity. Read more about the development of machine learning models for dermatological conditions in the recently published paper, The Mathematics of Erythema.

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Expanding the horizon

SCARLETRED’s developed SEV* presents the basis for objective binary and severity-based erythema measurements and expands to different medical treatments, such as injection site reactions (ISRs) from vaccines, pharmaceuticals, or cosmetics. Clinical trials and injection-based treatment often fail to report and document ISRs due to the lack of an innovative and time-efficient documentation system. SCARLETRED creates a more productive environment, for both doctors and patients, where processes, such as assessment of erythema severity or treatment progress monitoring, can be carried out in a time-efficient, standardized manner. In addition, electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs) provide further insight into patients´ QOL and allow the real-time tracking of symptoms. The technology  increases reproducibility and ensures standardization, which are essential for scaling up clinical trials. 

Generating smart data, not big data

SCARLETRED's unique digital technology aims to transform the global digital dermatology market by creating a supportive tool that makes diagnosing and assessing dermatological conditions more efficient. Our tool integrates a digital gold standard and enables the standardized documentation, measurement and evaluation of disease severity, tracking of treatment progress, and the prediction of treatment efficiency. SCARLETRED focuses on collecting structured data, providing valuable information for users - we aim to generate smart data, not big data. Scarletred®Vision offers various settings, including clinical trials, routine clinical works, hospital care, and remote patient monitoring. The scalability of such a tool is especially valuable in multi-centric clinical trials, allowing the precise monitoring of disease progression. The technology is ICH-GCP, GDPR- and HIPAA-compliant and is a certified ISO-13486 Quality Management System.‍‍

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Future outlook

SCARLETRED was chosen to represent Austrian eHealth companies at the rescheduled World EXPO 2020 in Dubai with the theme "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future". SCARLETRED is featured in the iLab section among six other Austrian Health and Life Science companies from January 2022, representing innovations "made in Austria". We will announce exciting big news about our upcoming projects to improve and further revolutionize the digital healthcare market. Read more about SCARLETRED representing Austria.

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