ThermoDAI: A New Index for Remote Rheumatoid Arthritis Assessment

Remote management of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) has always faced a significant hurdle: how to accurately assess joint inflammation without a physical examination.

Building on our previous work with ThermoJIS, we are thrilled to announce the publication of our latest study in RMD Open (BMJ), presenting a breakthrough in remote disease activity monitoring.

📄 The Study: ThermoDAI

In this validation study involving 146 patients, we developed and tested two new composite indices: ThermoDAI and ThermoDAI-CRP. These indices combine our AI-driven thermographic score (ThermoJIS) with the Patient Global Assessment (PGA) and, optionally, C-Reactive Protein (CRP) levels.

🔍 Key Findings

• Strong Correlation: Both ThermoDAI and ThermoDAI-CRP showed stronger correlations with ultrasound synovitis scores (the gold standard) than traditional clinical metrics alone.
• Remote Ready: Designed specifically for telemedicine, these indices do not require physical joint counts.
• Objective Monitoring: The system effectively distinguishes between active disease and remission, even detecting subclinical inflammation that might be missed by patient self-assessment.

💡 Why does it matter?

This development represents a crucial step towards effective telemedicine in rheumatology. By allowing patients to capture thermal images at home using smartphone-compatible cameras, clinicians can now receive objective data on disease activity remotely. This reduces the need for frequent hospital visits, while ensuring that patients can seek medical attention promptly when their condition requires it, rather than waiting for the next scheduled appointment.

Congratulations to the team for this continued innovation in digital health and rheumatology.

"ThermoDAI bridges the gap between patient convenience and clinical precision, making remote RA monitoring a reality."

👇 Read the full article here: https://rmdopen.bmj.com/content/8/2/e002615

Reference: Morales-Ivorra I, Narváez J, et al. A Thermographic Disease Activity Index for remote assessment of rheumatoid arthritis. RMD Open 2022;8:e002615. doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2022-002615