title: Structural and Functional Analysis of Intact Hair Follicles and Pilosebaceous Units by Volumetric Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography.
abstract: Visualizing anatomical and functional features of hair follicle development in their unperturbed environment is key in understanding complex mechanisms of hair pathophysiology and in discovery of novel therapies. Of particular interest is in vivo visualization of the intact pilosebaceous unit, vascularization of the hair bulb, and evaluation of the hair cycle, particularly in humans. Furthermore, noninvasive visualization of the sebaceous glands could offer crucial insight into the pathophysiology of follicle-related diseases and dry or seborrheic skin, in particular by combining in vivo imaging with other phenotyping, genotyping, and microbial analyses. The available imaging techniques are limited in their ability for deep tissue in vivo imaging of hair follicles and lipid-rich sebaceous glands in their entirety without biopsy. We developed a noninvasive, painless, and risk-free volumetric multispectral optoacoustic tomography method for deep tissue three-dimensional visualization of whole hair follicles and surrounding structures with high spatial resolution below 80 μm. Herein we demonstrate on-the-fly assessment of key morphometric parameters of follicles and lipid content as well as functional oxygenation parameters of the associated capillary bed. The ease of handheld operation and versatility of the newly developed approach poise it as an indispensable tool for early diagnosis of disorders of the pilosebaceous unit and surrounding structures, and for monitoring the efficacy of cosmetic and therapeutic interventions.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biological and Medical Imaging (IBMI), Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany; iThera Medical GmbH, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ford
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Unit for Skin, Allergy and Regeneration (CRUSAR), Institute of Medical Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore; National University of Singapore YLL School of Medicine and University Medicine Cluster, Division of Rheumatology, National University Hospital, Singapore. Electronic address: paul.bigliardi@imb.a-star.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Paul L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Bigliardi
authors.affiliation: iThera Medical GmbH, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas C P
authors.initials: TCP
authors.lastname: Sardella
authors.affiliation: iThera Medical GmbH, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Urich
authors.affiliation: iThera Medical GmbH, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Neal C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.affiliation: iThera Medical GmbH, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kacprowicz
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Unit for Skin, Allergy and Regeneration (CRUSAR), Institute of Medical Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore; National University of Singapore YLL School of Medicine and University Medicine Cluster, Division of Rheumatology, National University Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bigliardi
authors.affiliation: Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC), Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore. Electronic address: malini_olivo@sbic.a-star.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Malini
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olivo
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biological and Medical Imaging (IBMI), Helmholtz Zentrum München, Neuherberg, Germany; Faculty of Medicine, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany. Electronic address: dr@tum.de.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Razansky
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000328:Adult; D005838:Genotype; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000502:physiology*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D008543:Melanins / Q000737:chemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D012627:Sebaceous Glands / Q000502:physiology*; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D041622:Tomography, Optical / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins; D008055:Lipids; D008543:Melanins