Skin research and technology : official journal of International Society for Bioengineering and the Skin (ISBS) [and] International Society for Digital Imaging of Skin (ISDIS) [and] International Society for Skin Imaging (ISSI)
-
Clinical Trial
Effect of dermal thickness, tissue composition, and body site on skin biomechanical properties.
Quantitative measurement of skin biomechanical properties has been used effectively in the investigation of physiological changes in tissue structure and function and to determine treatment efficacy. As the methods are applied to new questions, tissue characteristics that may influence the resultant biomechanical properties are important considerations in the research design. For certain applications, variables such as dermal thickness and subdermal tissue composition, as well as age and/or solar exposure, may influence the skin biomechanics. ⋯ Significant regional variations in biomechanical properties and dominant side effects were observed. The biomechanical properties were significantly influenced by age. Certain properties varied with dermal thickness and tissue composition. The parameters were well correlated between the two instruments. The Cutometer, with its smaller aperture, was found to be more sensitive to age relationships.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
High-resolution ultrasound reflex transmission imaging and digital photography: potential tools for the quantitative assessment of pigmented lesions.
High-resolution ultrasound (HRU) is a relatively cheap imaging method that shows small quantitative differences between benign naevi and melanoma. Previous studies using B-mode display suggest that these arise from their differing attenuating properties. Attenuation characteristics, however, are better evaluated using reflex transmission imaging (RTI). White light clinical (WLC) photography is an even cheaper imaging method that is routinely used for monitoring but less frequently in everyday diagnosis. As features from each method may have an independent origin, two such modalities may be of greater diagnostic value than either method alone. However, although quantitative analysis of digital photographs is being developed to aid tumour diagnosis, in vivo RTI for the evaluation of pigmented skin lesions has not previously been described. This paper presents the feasibility of performing RTI in vivo and evaluates the reliability of the objective features used. The potential of the combination of quantitative RTI and white light (WL) digital photography data for the classification of pigmented lesions was assessed. ⋯ Pigmented skin lesions can be quantitatively defined from RTI data acquired in vivo and a significant difference in attenuation is shown. However, accurate registration of the RT image with a corresponding photograph was crucial for this purpose and only possible when corresponding points could be reliably identified on both images. Combination of features from ultrasound and optical images may synergistically improve diagnostic accuracy and a larger study is warranted to investigate this.