Vitiligo diagnostic methods: from Wood's lamp to artificial intelligence
DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2025-9-6-4
V.V. Petunina, V.Yu. Vasenova, I.V. Khamaganova, I.V. Polesco
Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russian Federation
Vitiligo is a disease with multifactorial etiology characterized by areas of depigmentation of the skin resulting from melanocyte loss. The disease follows a benign course; however, it significantly affects patients' quality of life. One of the key aspects in practical dermatology is the objective assessment of skin status for the purposes of diagnosis, evaluation of therapeutic efficacy, and monitoring disease changes. To date, there is no unified standard for the diagnosis of vitiligo. Nevertheless, it is essential for practicing clinicians to have access to effective diagnostic tools for managing such patients. This review describes the main contemporary non-invasive and objective methods for the diagnosis of vitiligo, including their roles in diagnosis, severity assessment, and monitoring treatment response, as well as the benefits and limitations of each technique. Particular attention is given to the use of artificial intelligence, which enables automated assessment of dermatoscopic patterns and minimizes the impact of human factors.
Keywords: vitiligo diagnosis, Wood's lamp, UV dermatoscopy, spectrometry, colorimetry, confocal laser microscopy, optical coherence tomography, UV photo-documentation, artificial intelligence.
For citation: Petunina V.V., Vasenova V.Yu., Khamaganova I.V., Polesco I.V. Vitiligo diagnostic methods: from Wood's lamp to artificial intelligence. Russian Medical Inquiry. 2025;9(6):320–326 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2025-9-6-4
About the authors:
Valentina V. Petunina — C. Sc. (Med.), Associate Professor of the Department of Skin Diseases and Cosmetology, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University; 1, Ostrovityanov str., Moscow, 117437, Russian Federation; ORCID iD 0000-0002-3808-8584
Victoria Yu. Vasenova — Dr. Sc. (Med.), Professor of the Department of Skin Diseases and Cosmetology, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University; 1, Ostrovityanov str., Moscow, 117437, Russian Federation; ORCID iD 0000-0002-6090-9676
Irina V. Khamaganova — Dr. Sc. (Med.), Professor of the Department of Skin Diseases and Cosmetology, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University; 1, Ostrovityanov str., Moscow, 117437, Russian Federation; ORCID iD 0000-0003-2942-8812
Irina V. Polesko — Dr. Sc. (Med.), Associate Professor, Professor of the Department of Skin Diseases and Cosmetology, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University; 1, Ostrovityanov str., Moscow, 117437, Russian Federation; ORCID iD 0000-0002-6041-717X
Contact information: Valentina V. Petunina, e-mail: v.v.petounina@mail.ru
Financial Disclosure: no authors have a financial or property interest in any material or method mentioned.
There is no conflict of interest.
Received 23.05.2025.
Revised 15.06.2025.
Accepted 30.06.2025.
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