title: Quantitative characterization of mechanically indented in vivo human skin in adults and infants using optical coherence tomography.
abstract: Influenced by both the intrinsic viscoelasticity of the tissue constituents and the time-evolved redistribution of fluid within the tissue, the biomechanical response of skin can reflect not only localized pathology but also systemic physiology of an individual. While clinical diagnosis of skin pathologies typically relies on visual inspection and manual palpation, a more objective and quantitative approach for tissue characterization is highly desirable. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an interferometry-based imaging modality that enables in vivo assessment of cross-sectional tissue morphology with micron-scale resolution, which surpasses those of most standard clinical imaging tools, such as ultrasound imaging and magnetic resonance imaging. This pilot study investigates the feasibility of characterizing the biomechanical response of in vivo human skin using OCT. OCT-based quantitative metrics were developed and demonstrated on the human subject data, where a significant difference between deformed and nondeformed skin was revealed. Additionally, the quantified postindentation recovery results revealed differences between aged (adult) and young (infant) skin. These suggest that OCT has the potential to quantitatively assess the mechanically perturbed skin as well as distinguish different physiological conditions of the skin, such as changes with age or disease.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Bioengineering, Urbana, Illinois, United StatesbUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, Illinois, United States.
authors.forename: Pin-Chieh
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, Illinois, United States.
authors.forename: Paritosh
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pande
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, Illinois, United States.
authors.forename: Ryan L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Shelton
authors.affiliation: The Procter and Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Joa
authors.affiliation: The Procter and Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.
authors.forename: Dave
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: The Procter and Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gillman
authors.affiliation: The Procter and Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kidd
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, Illinois, United States.
authors.forename: Ryan M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Nolan
authors.affiliation: The Procter and Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Odio
authors.affiliation: The Procter and Gamble Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Bioengineering, Urbana, Illinois, United StatesbUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, Illinois, United StatesdUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Urbana, Illinois, United StateseUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Internal Medicine, Urbana, Illinois, United States.
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Boppart
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003880:Dermatology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012867:Skin / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence