The method measures the fluorescence of the contrast agent Indocyanine green (ICG) and thereby displays active inflammatory processes. It enables the visualization of inflammatory activity in a variety of different diseases, such as arthritis, psoriasis, and osteoarthritis. The fluorescence camera system Xiralite® X4 was developed to perform this real time examination of both hands and wrists. Assessment of Xiralite in clinical trials yields superior findings that correlated well with clinical exam and other imaging modalities.