One of the most significant challenges in managing atopic dermatitis (AD) is the lack of objective measures to evaluate the severity and impact of scratching, particularly during sleep. This gap has limited the ability to fully understand the disease and develop targeted interventions. 

Learn more about leveraging digital health technology in Dermatology R&D in our Digital Endpoint Guide.

ActiGraph's solution for digital measurement of nocturnal scratch offers a range of opportunities to enhance drug development programs for atopic dermatitis. This clinically validated tool utilizes machine-learning algorithms and accelerometry from wearable sensors to provide continuous digital measures of nighttime scratching and sleep quality. The solution is now available for use in clinical trials, giving researchers access to objective and real-world measures for assessing efficacy in AD drug development programs.

Why Measure Nocturnal Scratch?

The itch-scratch cycle is the predominant and most burdensome symptoms of atopic dermatitis causing damage to the skin barrier that can lead to infections and inflammation which further exacerbate the condition. Traditionally, the measurement of scratching has relied on patient self-reporting and clinician observation, both of which are subjective and open to bias. 

The objective digital measurement of nocturnal scratching may offer several important advantages: 

ActiGraph’s Nocturnal Scratch Digital Measures for Drug Development

Developed and validated on individuals ages 2 to 75 with atopic dermatitis (1), the measurement tool showed high correlation with corresponding reference measures of sleep quantity (obtained from PSG) and scratch (obtained from in-clinic video recordings) (2). 

Available through ActiGraph's digital health technology platform, this digital measure is creating an integrated research and development tool for atopic dermatitis programs. When combined with our digital clinical trial tools – which include a participant app, eConsent, ePRO, and connected sensors – the solution aims to provide a comprehensive and user-friendly experience for trial participants. 

(1) Evaluation Studies -

• Scratch and Sleep Quantification in Atopic Dermatitis (SQUAD) (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03490877)
• Monitoring of Scratch via Accelerometry in Children (MOSAIC) (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03873220)
• Scratch Behavior Under Standard of Care (SOC) (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03898427) 

(2) Mahadevan, N., Christakis, Y., Di, J. et al. Development of digital measures for nighttime scratch and sleep using wrist-worn wearable devices. npj Digit. Med. 4, 42 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-021-00402-x 

ActiGraph’s End to End Digital Health Platform for Clinical Research

Contact Us to learn about partnering with ActiGraph to incorporate digital scratch and sleep measures into your dermatology clinical research.

This nocturnal scratch and sleep digital measures solution is available for researchers to use today. If you're interested in learning more about ActiGraph's DECODE Nocturnal Scratch working group to develop additional measures for dermatological research, visit: https://theactigraph.com/decode/nocturnal-scratch.