Hyperspectral Imaging for Objective Assessment of Skin Prick Test Reactions: A Single-Subject Proof-of-Concept Study of Interobserver Reliability and Spectral Index Separation.
- 1Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
- 2Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergy, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
- 3Institute of Analytical Chemistry and Radiochemistry, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) enables non-contact assessment of tissue oxygenation and perfusion-related properties and may provide objective information beyond conventional visual assessment of skin prick test (SPT) reactions. This proof-of-concept study evaluated the interobserver reliability and within-subject spectral separation of HSI-derived indices during SPT. Methods: One healthy adult volunteer underwent standardised SPT on two separate days with histamine as the positive control, NaCl as the negative control, normal skin, and a non-reactive allergen site. HSI was acquired at 0, 5, 10, 15, and 45 min using a Tivita® Tissue camera. Three raters independently assessed four predefined regions of interest. Five indices were analysed: near-infrared reflectance (NIR), tissue oxygen saturation (StO₂), tissue haemoglobin index (THI), tissue water index (TWI), and tissue lipid index (TLI). Interobserver reliability was assessed using ICC(3,1), and within-subject separation was described using baseline-corrected trapezoidal area under the curve (AUCbc) and delta-AUCbc values. Results: StO₂ showed the most consistent interobserver reliability, with good-to-excellent ICCs across all four ROIs at both visits. THI showed excellent reliability at the histamine and NaCl sites, whereas NIR showed excellent reliability at the histamine site and good reliability at the NaCl site. Reliability at the less clearly defined control sites was more variable across indices and visits. StO₂ provided the largest cumulative separation of the histamine response from all controls (mean delta-AUCbc: +1204 vs. NaCl, +1300 vs. normal skin, and +1238 vs. non-reactive allergen; index-units × min). THI showed secondary separation, NIR moderate separation, TWI marginal separation, and TLI an inverse response. Conclusions: HSI, particularly StO₂, with complementary information from THI and NIR, showed reproducible within-subject spectral changes during SPT. These exploratory findings support prospective validation in a larger multi-subject, multi-allergen cohort.
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BibTeX
@article{luehring2026hyperspectral,
title = {{Hyperspectral Imaging for Objective Assessment of Skin Prick Test Reactions: A Single-Subject Proof-of-Concept Study of Interobserver Reliability and Spectral Index Separation.}},
author = {Adrian Luehring and Maximilian Lammer and Cornelia Gattringer and Paul Bellmann and Rohit Arora and Miranda Klosterhuber and Lukas Kampik and Christian Wolfgang Huck and Johannes Dominikus Pallua},
journal = {Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/diagnostics16193085},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882240},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Hyperspectral Imaging for Objective Assessment of Skin Prick Test Reactions: A Single-Subject Proof-of-Concept Study of Interobserver Reliability and Spectral Index Separation.
AU - Adrian Luehring
AU - Maximilian Lammer
AU - Cornelia Gattringer
AU - Paul Bellmann
AU - Rohit Arora
AU - Miranda Klosterhuber
AU - Lukas Kampik
AU - Christian Wolfgang Huck
AU - Johannes Dominikus Pallua
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/23
JO - Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/diagnostics16193085
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42882240
AB - Background/Objectives: Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) enables non-contact assessment of tissue oxygenation and perfusion-related properties and may provide objective information beyond conventional visual assessment of skin prick test (SPT) reactions. This proof-of-concept study evaluated the interobserver reliability and within-subject spectral separation of HSI-derived indices during SPT. Methods: One healthy adult volunteer underwent standardised SPT on two separate days with histamine as the positive control, NaCl as the negative control, normal skin, and a non-reactive allergen site. HSI was acquired at 0, 5, 10, 15, and 45 min using a Tivita® Tissue camera. Three raters independently assessed four predefined regions of interest. Five indices were analysed: near-infrared reflectance (NIR), tissue oxygen saturation (StO₂), tissue haemoglobin index (THI), tissue water index (TWI), and tissue lipid index (TLI). Interobserver reliability was assessed using ICC(3,1), and within-subject separation was described using baseline-corrected trapezoidal area under the curve (AUCbc) and delta-AUCbc values. Results: StO₂ showed the most consistent interobserver reliability, with good-to-excellent ICCs across all four ROIs at both visits. THI showed excellent reliability at the histamine and NaCl sites, whereas NIR showed excellent reliability at the histamine site and good reliability at the NaCl site. Reliability at the less clearly defined control sites was more variable across indices and visits. StO₂ provided the largest cumulative separation of the histamine response from all controls (mean delta-AUCbc: +1204 vs. NaCl, +1300 vs. normal skin, and +1238 vs. non-reactive allergen; index-units × min). THI showed secondary separation, NIR moderate separation, TWI marginal separation, and TLI an inverse response. Conclusions: HSI, particularly StO₂, with complementary information from THI and NIR, showed reproducible within-subject spectral changes during SPT. These exploratory findings support prospective validation in a larger multi-subject, multi-allergen cohort.
SN - 2075-4418
ER -