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Panoramic trichoscopy

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Technology challenge

Trichoscopy is a useful tool in the diagnosis of hair loss and follow-up of patients. A current limitation of the method is that only small portions of the scalp can be photographed.1 This may pose some difficulty when trying to analyze large areas, such as the entire hairline in patients with frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA), or when attempting to compare the same field of view in posterior evaluations. To overcome this problem, we propose panoramic trichoscopy: the use of a smartphone camera

Solution

To perform panoramic trichoscopy, first attach a handheld dermoscope to a smartphone. Select the panorama (or similar) mode with the camera app of the phone. To obtain the best image in FFA, tie the hair back into a ponytail, hold the hairline with a flexible comb, and start scanning the hairline. A steady and continuous movement of the hand is necessary to avoid the formation of visual artifacts. Panoramic trichoscopy allows visually matching of hair shafts in before and after pictures (Fig 1

References (2)

  • G. Dellatorre et al.

    Wide area digital dermoscopy

    J Am Acad Dermatol

    (2019)
  • J. Cervantes et al.

    Distinct trichoscopic features of the sideburns in frontal fibrosing alopecia compared to the frontotemporal scalp

    Skin Appendage Disord

    (2018)

Cited by (4)

Funding sources: None

Conflicts of interest: None disclosed.

Reprints not available from the authors.

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