A groundbreaking technology developed by Heriot-Watt University has received over £475,000 in funding to revolutionize how eczema is diagnosed and treated, potentially ending years of suffering for millions of patients across the UK.
The innovative vibroacoustic sensor, which measures material changes in each layer of skin using small vibrations on the surface, has received £275,000 from Scottish Enterprise and just over £200,000 from the Medical Research Council's Gap Fund to advance clinical testing. This research will support the development of a spin-out company based on the TissueMetrics project.
TissueMetrics' solution addresses a critical gap in eczema and psoriasis treatment, where patients currently face a lengthy and frustrating cycle of trial and error with various creams and medications. Eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, affects up to 20% of children and 10% of adults in the UK, costing the NHS approximately £179 million annually in GP visits alone. Patients who suffer from this also end up spending on average over £500 per year on creams, soaps and moisturisers.
Ending the treatment lottery for millions
Existing eczema treatment pathways typically involve repeated visits to pharmacies and GPs, while the most severe cases are referred to hospital dermatology clinics. However, UK waiting times can stretch to 18 months, with some patients waiting years before finding effective treatments.
The research behind TissueMetrics' sensor is being led by Professor Michael Crichton from Heriot-Watt University's Global Research Institute in Health and Care Technologies.
Professor Crichton, who is based in the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, said: "Our technology represents a fundamental shift in how we approach eczema management. Rather than relying solely on visual assessments, which haven't evolved in decades and can be particularly unreliable for patients with darker skin tones, our sensor provides objective measurements of what's happening beneath the skin's surface."
Working on the technical engineering of the technology, Dr. Connor Bain said: "By measuring the elasticity and viscoelasticity of each skin layer, we can detect changes in tissue stiffness and fluid content that indicate inflammation and disease progression. This allows healthcare professionals to make data-driven decisions about treatment effectiveness much earlier in the patient journey, potentially reducing the years of suffering many patients endure while trying to find the right treatment.
"What makes our approach particularly powerful is that it works equally well on all skin tones, avoiding the biases that can be common in visual assessments where parameters like redness are difficult to assess on darker skin. This could help address the well-documented healthcare disparities patients experience in dermatological care."
Bringing specialist care into community settings
The funding will help accelerate the progress of TissueMetrics, which aims to spin out in 2026 from Heriot-Watt University and supports the UK Government's plans to move more health treatments into community settings to relieve pressure on hospitals and GPs.
Dr Sara Medina-Lombardero, a research associate at Heriot-Watt University, is leading the patient and user clinical development of the technology. She commented: "The planned clinical evaluation will allow us to confidently correlate our objective measurements to those of specialist dermatologist assessments. Success will set us on a path where the sensor could enable treatment tracking and diagnoses to be made in local pharmacies and community healthcare facilities."
Professor Richard Weller, dermatology lead for NHS Research Scotland and a University of Edinburgh academic based at the Institute for Regeneration and Repair, explained: "The current system for managing eczema is outdated and inefficient. Patients typically go through multiple cycles of treatment with increasingly potent and expensive medications, waiting weeks or months to see if each one works. Without objective measures, we're often making treatment decisions based on visual inspection alone, which can be very subjective.
"This technology has the potential to transform that process by providing quantitative data that can help us identify effective treatments much faster. It could enable high-quality dermatological care to be delivered in community settings, dramatically reducing waiting times and improving patient outcomes.
"For dermatologists, it would mean we could focus our specialist skills on the most complex cases, while still providing expert guidance to patients being treated in the community through the objective data their measurements provide."
TissueMetrics' technology could improve the health of millions of people with skin conditions like eczema. It is fantastic to see such ambition and growth as the company takes its products to market and spins out from Herriot-Watt University.
We want to target future growth industries such as healthtech within life sciences to encourage more innovators and help Scottish companies to scale, ultimately benefitting the economy and in the case of TissueMetrics, improve lives too."
Jane Martin, Managing Director of Innovation and Investment at Scottish Enterprise
The patient perspective
For eczema sufferers, the impact of the condition extends far beyond physical discomfort, affecting mental health, social interactions, and quality of life.
Asheema Kour, 24, has been living with severe eczema for several years. She explained: "I really want to go swimming and go to the gym but the risk of infection when I have a flare-up means I have to limit the activities I can do. The constant itching, the sleepless nights, and feeling self-conscious of visible flare-ups all have a psychological toll. But perhaps the most frustrating aspect is the wait for treatments to work. Additionally, every treatment has a physical impact on the body and essentially weakens the immune system. I don't feel seen as a human being but more as a test subject where I am just told if I try another treatment then it will get better. The uncertainty is draining, and I've started to lose hope that I'll ever find something effective.
"I definitely believe that being a South Asian woman is an added factor to the bias that I have faced from medical professionals where I feel diminished and my words undermined as my diagnosis doesn't align with existing research. This is why I believe that not only representation within the profession is important but more diverse experiences should be embedded within medical research.
"A technology that could actually measure whether my treatment is working, rather than just waiting to see if symptoms improve, would be life changing. It would give people like me concrete evidence that we're on the right track much sooner in the process."
Clinical testing underway
The research team will now begin testing the sensor on patients with moderate eczema who are undergoing third or fourth-line treatments. They will also gather crucial feedback from patients and clinicians on its usability.
Professor Gillian Murray, deputy principal for business and enterprise at Heriot-Watt University said: "TissueMetrics' innovation perfectly aligns with the UK Government's 10-year plan for the NHS with its emphasis on delivering more care in community settings. By enabling data-informed dermatological assessments to take place in local pharmacies and community facilities, we're helping to reduce pressure on overstretched hospitals whilst creating new market opportunities for groundbreaking technologies. It's a perfect example of how university research can drive economic growth through innovation that puts patients first and supports the future of healthcare delivery.
"This new funding will significantly accelerate the progression of TissueMetrics and help bring the sensor to patients more quickly, all while backed by the world-leading research and engineering capabilities we have here at Heriot-Watt University."
Anyone interested in collaborating with the Global Research Institute in Health and Care Technologies can contact [email protected]
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