Skin microrelief profiles as a cutaneous aging index

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Image Analysis

Background:

• Objective measurement of skin aging is crucial for accurate assessment.
• Current methods like dermoscopy have limitations in capturing detailed skin topography.
• Advanced imaging techniques are needed to improve the quantification of skin aging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance methods for measuring skin microrelief patterns using 3D analysis.
• To compare the efficacy of 3D analysis (silicone replicas and SEM) with 2D analysis (dermoscopy).
• To establish a more accurate method for calculating cutaneous age.

Main Methods:

• Obtained silicone replicas from the skin of 51 volunteers (forearms, hands, fingers).
• Utilized scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for high-resolution 3D topographical analysis of replicas.
• Employed dermoscopy for 2D analysis and compared results with 3D data.
• Calculated cutaneous age using stepwise linear regression based on furrow parameters.

Main Results:

• 3D analysis using SEM and silicone replicas showed stronger correlations with chronological age than dermoscopy.
• The 3D topographical data provided more consistent and reliable measurements of skin aging.
• A formula was derived to calculate cutaneous age: 57.40 - 9.47 × (number of furrows) × (width of furrows on the dorsum of the hand).

Conclusions:

• Three-dimensional topographical analysis with silicone replicas and SEM is superior to 2D dermoscopy for assessing skin aging.
• This advanced method offers a more objective and accurate quantification of skin aging.
• The developed formula provides a quantitative measure of cutaneous age based on hand topography.