Allergic conditions affect one-third of the population and have a frequently underestimated impact on the physical and mental health of these patients. The skin prick test (SPT) and the determination of specific IgE in serum are the cornerstones of diagnosing allergies to airborne allergens. It is well known that SPT is more sensitive than serum-specific IgE testing, but it is also associated with a certain degree of variability, which can be attributed to the tester’s skill, the test device, or the test extracts.

To address this issue and increase the reliability and standardisation of SPT, a new device has been developed: the skin prick automated test (SPAT). Various international publications have demonstrated that variability in repeated pricking with the same test extracts on the same individual is significantly lower with SPAT compared to conventional SPT.

SPAT performs 12 pricks simultaneously on the patient’s forearm using a standardised prick force. After 15 minutes, the SPAT device captures 35 images from different lighting angles, allowing skin reactions to be measured and digitised via a web viewer. In this way, the SPAT device enhances the reproducibility of SPT by automating the entire allergy testing process.

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