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Methods of evaluating hair growth
Author(s) -
Chamberlain Alexander J,
Dawber Rodney PR
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
australasian journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.67
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1440-0960
pISSN - 0004-8380
DOI - 10.1046/j.1440-0960.2002.t01-1-00631.x
Subject(s) - medicine , hair growth , medical physics , scalp , data science , dermatology , computer science , physiology
SUMMARY For decades, scientists and clinicians have examined methods of measuring scalp hair growth. With the development of drugs that stem or even reverse the miniaturization of androgenetic alopecia, there has been a greater need for reliable, economical and minimally invasive means of measuring hair growth and, specifically, response to therapy. We review the various methods of measurement described to date, their limitations and value to the clinician. In our opinion, the potential of computer‐assisted technology in this field is yet to be maximized and the currently available tools are less than ideal. The most valuable means of measurement at the present time are global photography and phototrichogram‐based techniques (with digital image analysis) such as the ‘TrichoScan’. Subjective scoring systems are also of value in the overall assessment of response to therapy and these are under‐utilized and merit further refinement.