When patients are undergoing radiation therapy for cancer, one of the unwelcome side effects is skin damage, including redness, dryness, tingling, swelling, and peeling.<\/p>\n
Radiation dermatitis can progress to more severe skin injury and may contribute to treatment disruptions and reduced quality of life. In its most extreme form, dermatitis can cause permanent changes in skin color, scarring, or even ulcers that appear months or years later.<\/p>\n
Some 90 to 95% of patients undergoing radiation experience a skin reaction, and it can be more difficult to detect in people with darker skin.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only is that side-effect causing long-term difficulty, but also considerable emotional distress. We wanted a simple, patient-centered innovation to combat that and offer early signs of a problem,\u2019\u2019 says Suma Dendi ’28 (CLAS).<\/p>\n
Dendi and fellow students Charli Hughes ’28 (ENG) and Neha Shanavas ’28 (CLAS) have created ChromaShield<\/a>, a medical-device startup. The company\u2019s flagship innovation is a wearable skin patch to alert patients and their physicians of changes associated with radiation-induced skin inflammation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t reverse all the skin damage, but we can enable earlier detection, allowing healthcare providers to mitigate the problem,\u201d says Dendi, the startup\u2019s Chief Product Officer.<\/p>\n The patch uses thermochromic technology that changes color in response to localized skin temperature. Users have the option to monitor the patch with the companion mobile app. Earlier identification could give clinicians additional information to evaluate a patient\u2019s skin reaction and determine when an intervention is appropriate.<\/p>\n