Skin Smoothness Measurement Technologies

Research and Ideation

INTRODUCTION Surface characterization or analysis has been widely applied in various fields including material industry, road monitoring, remote sensing, biomedical engineering, and esthetic dermatology. ISO 14460-1 defines a surface as the set of features which physically exist and separate the entire work piece from the surrounding medium.i Thus the surface is a boundary layer between an object and its environment. The profile of a surface can further be categorized into three components: roughness, waviness and form, and these are differentiated from one another according to wavelength (peak-topeak spacing).1 If there is no actual nominal shape, the waviness can be used as the reference surface and the original profile should be filtered out from the waviness by treating the waviness as noise. Roughness is then measured by the vertical deviations of the surface. The surface is considered rough if these deviations are large, and smooth if the deviations are small.1 In skin research, roughness has primarily been measured through various types of analysis of surface topography most frequently expressed using two-dimensional parameters first used in the evaluation of metal surfaces in industry. The assessment of roughness of healthy and unhealthy skin, of changes in skin due to application of chemicals, drugs or cosmetics, or due to mechanical intervention such as shaving or other forms of exfoliation, is a complex area of surface analysis known biometrology.ii Biometrology includes techniques such as Optical Profilometry, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS/ESCA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM+EDS), Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), and Ultrathin Sectioning for analyses such as Surface Analysis, Surface Charges Detection, Surface Defect Characterization, Surface Roughness, and Surface Texture and Finish. Many of these tests utilize invasive or destructive methods making them inappropriate for direct use in vivo or on humans. Of those methods appropriate for use in vivo or on humans, such as in the esthetics, dermatology, or cosmetics industries, traditional methods have used image analysis of skin replicas of silicon or other polymers for those techniques that require direct contact with the skin. These include: Mechanical profilometry which utilizes a stylus scanned on a skin replica - a very accurate but time-consuming method with 0.5m resolution. Optical (laser) profilometry utilizing an autofocus or triangulation method a significantly less time consuming with 1m resolution. Image analysis of shadow shined replica in which light is shown at a defined angle onto the skin replica and the generated shadows
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used to calculate the depth of furrows. Image analysis of transparent blue coloured silicone skin replica where changes in transparency of the replica are related to the modulation of the relief.

More recent developments in image analysis allow for non-invasive, non-tactile measurements. These include profilometry, confocal Raman spectroscopy, optical coherence tomography, in vivo confocal microscopy and magnetic resonance imaging. Several spectral profilometry systems are based on the digital stripe projection technique where a parallel stripe pattern is projected on the skin and visualized on a CCD camera with a freely moveable optical measurement. A three-dimensional effect is achieved by deflection of the parallel projection stripes by the elevations on the skin surface. These deflections, which are decomposed in series of Fourier allowing differentiation between scales of relief, and visualizing and analyzing both micro- and macro-relief simultaneously to provide both a qualitative and quantitative measurement of the skin profile in both 2D and 3D with an approximate 5m resolution.iii Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is another image analysis technique that can produce high resolution images of biological tissue in vivo and in real timeiv,v using infrared light instead of sound waves in a manner analogous to ultrasound.vi OCT has been demonstrated for high resolution in vivo imaging of developmental processes, including morphological abnormalities.vii The resolution of any OCT system is limited by the bandwidth of the low-coherence light source.viii Standard OCT has a resolution around 10m, while ultrahigh resolution OCT system using a state-of-the-art, ultrabroad bandwidth, Kerr-Iens mode-locked Ti:AI2O3 laser with longitudinal resolution of 1m and transverse resolution of 3m. In addition, portable OCT systems have been developed which utilize a beroptic based OCT imaging device that requires only 1 second to provide high-resolution images of skin structure.6 Assessment of the efficacy of cosmetic procedures and products on the human face, including changes in roughness due to mechanical exfoliation such as shaving, can be achieved through a large number of methods depending on time, cost, and the desire for precision and accuracy. Cutting-edge techniques utilize varying forms of digital image analysis operating at a resolution of 3-10 m, and providing an excellent evaluation tool.

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REFERENCES Advanced Techniques for Assessment of Surface Topography. Blunt, L., and Jiang, X. Kogan Page Ltd, London, UK. 2003. ii Biometrological assessment methods for skin aging. L Duteil. Aesthetic dermatology. Les Entretiens du Carla. http://www.entretiens-ducarla.com/print.php?pub=der... iii Spectral and 3D motifs identification of anisotropic topographical components. Analysis and filtering of anisotropic patterns by mophological rose approach. H. Zahouani. International Journal of Machine Tools Manufacturing. 38(5-6):615-623. 1998. iv Huang D, Swanson EA, Lin CP, Schuman JS, Stinson WG, Chang W, Hee MR, Flotte T, Gregory K, Puliafito CA, Fujimoto JG. Optical coherence tomography. Science 254: 1178-1181, 1991. v Applications of optical coherence tomography in dermatology. Gambichler T, Moussa G, Sand M, Sand D, Altmeyer P, Hoffmann K. J Dermatol Sci. 2005 Nov;40(2):85-94. Epub 2005 Aug 31. vi Advances in Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging for Dermatology. M.C. Pierce, J. Strasswimmer, B.H. Park, B. Cense, and J.F. de Boer. Optical Coherence Tomography Advances 123(3):458463. September 2004. vii In vivo cellular optical coherence tomography imaging. Boppart SA, Bouma BE, Pitris C, Southern JF, Brezinski ME, Fujimoto JG. Nature Medicine. 4:861-864. 1998. viii Ultrahigh Resolution and Spectroscopic OCT Imaging of Cellular Morphology and Function. S.A. Boppart, W. Drexler, U. Morgner, F.X. Kirtner, J.G. Fujimoto. Proc. Inter-Institute Workshop on In Vivo Optical Imaging at the National Institutes of Health. Ed. Gandjbakhche AH. September 16-17, pp. 56-61, 1999.
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