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Review of modern techniques in detecting port-wine stain response to laser therapy
K V Le1, H Shahidullah, I J Frieden
1Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
Background:
Traditional mechanisms of assessing port-wine stain response to laser therapy have rested mainly on subjective determinations by physician and patient. However, the wide variation in treatment response poses a profound need for objective devices to measure treatment outcomes so that maximum effectiveness of therapy can be achieved without unnecessary repeat treatments.
Objective:
The purpose of this paper will be to review noninvasive techniques to measure port-wine stain response to laser therapy.
Methods:
This report is based on a review of medical and bioscience literature.
Results:
Several techniques including laser Doppler, reflectance spectrophotometry, tristimulus colorimetry, and videomicroscopy have been developed to address the need for objective measurement devices.
Conclusion:
While many instruments are available, these techniques are limited by cost, small test size area, and/or inconclusive correlation with clinical response. A number of experimental techniques may circumvent many of the problems inherent in currently-available commercial technologies.