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Quantifying skin photodamage with spatial frequency domain imaging: statistical results
Jeffrey B Travers1,2,3, Chien Poon4, Trevor Bihl1,4
1Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435, USA.
Biomedical Optics Express
|October 1, 2019
Summary
Optical and vascular imaging can noninvasively quantify skin photodamage and actinic keratosis (AK) stages. This method aids clinicians in assessing risk and monitoring high-risk populations effectively.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Optics
- Dermatology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Sun exposure causes skin photodamage, increasing the risk of actinic keratosis (AK).
- Accurate staging of photodamage is crucial for risk assessment and patient management.
- Current methods for photodamage assessment can be subjective.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate optical properties and vascular parameters for characterizing skin tissue from photodamage to AK.
- To compare spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) data with a published photodamage scale.
- To develop a noninvasive method for quantifying skin aging and precancerous lesions.
Main Methods:
- Multi-wavelength spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) was performed on 55 adult subjects.
- Dermatologists assessed photodamage levels from photographs in a blinded manner.
- Artificial neural networks were employed for statistical data characterization.
Main Results:
- Optical and vascular parameters effectively quantified skin photodamage.
- The method discriminated between low, medium, and high grades of photodamage with accuracies of ~70%, ~76%, and ~80%, respectively.
- SFDI data correlated with clinical photodamage assessments.
Conclusions:
- Noninvasive SFDI can objectively quantify skin photodamage and AK.
- This approach offers potential for risk assessment and monitoring in high-risk individuals.
- The findings support the clinical utility of advanced imaging techniques in dermatology.
