Mobile snapshot hyperspectral imaging device for skin evaluation using diffractive optical elements.

OBJECTIVE: A mobile handheld snapshot hyperspectral imaging device was developed and tested for in vivo skin evaluation using a new spectral imaging technology. METHODS: The device is equipped with four different LED light sources (VIS, 810 nm, 850 nm, and 940 nm) for illumination. Based on a diffractive optical element (DOE) combined with a CMOS sensor chip, a snapshot hyperspectral imager is achieved for the application on human skin. The diffractive optical element (DOE) consists of a two-dimensional array of identically repeated diffractive microstructures. One hyperspectral image for all wavelength regions is taken within a few seconds. Complex recalculation of the VIS spectral distribution and image information from the received DOE image requires several minutes, depending on computing performance. A risk assessment on the irradiation sources shows no risk of harm due to the LED radiation. RESULTS: Skin tone color patches experiments reproducibly deliver images and spectra of different skin tones. First in vivo use of the device identified pigmentation changes within the field of view. CONCLUSION: We present a working mobile snapshot hyperspectral imaging tool based on diffractive optical elements. This device or future developments thereof can be used for broad skin evaluation in vivo.

Noninvasive measurement of the 308 nm LED-based UVB protection factor of sunscreens.

The current method for determining the sun protection factor (SPF) requires erythema formation. Noninvasive alternatives have recently been suggested by several groups. Our group previously developed a functional sensor based on diffuse reflectance measurements with one UVB LED, which was previously evaluated on pig ear skin. Here we present the results of a systematic in vivo study using 12 sunscreens on 10 volunteers (skin types [ST] I-III). The relationship of the UVB-LED reflectance of unprotected skin and melanin index was determined for each ST. The spatial variation of the reflectance signal of different positions was analyzed and seems to be mainly influenced by sample inhomogeneity except for high-protection factors (PFs) where signal levels are close to detection noise. Despite the low-signal levels, a correlation of the measured LED-based UVB PF with SPF reference values from test institutes with R2 = 0.57 is obtained, suggesting a strong relationship of SPF and LED-based UVB-PF. Measured PFs tend to be lower for increasing skin pigmentation. The sensor design seems to be suitable for investigations where a fast measurement of relative changes of PFs, such as due to inhomogeneous application, bathing and sweating, is of interest.

In vivo sun protection factor and UVA protection factor determination using (hybrid) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and a multi-lambda-LED light source.

The sun protection factor (SPF) values are currently determined using an invasive procedure, in which the volunteers are irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) light. Non-invasive approaches based on hybrid diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (HDRS) have shown a good correlation with conventional SPF testing. Here, we present a novel compact and adjustable DRS test system. The in vivo measurements were performed using a multi-lambda-LED light source and an 84-channel imaging spectrograph with a fiber optic probe for detection. A transmission spectrum was calculated based on the reflectance measured with sunscreen and the reflectance measured without sunscreen. The preexposure in vitro spectrum was fitted to the in vivo spectrum. Each of the 11 test products was investigated on 10 volunteers. The SPF and UVA-PF values obtained by this new approach were compared with in vivo SPF results determined by certified test institutes. A correlation coefficient R2 = 0.86 for SPF, and R2 = 0.92 for UVA-PF were calculated. Having examined various approaches to apply the HDRS principle, the method we present was found to produce valid and reproducible results, suggesting that the multi-lambda-LED device is suitable for in-vivo SPF testing based on the HDRS principle as well as for in-vivo UVA-PF measurements.

Multi-wavelength, handheld laser speckle imaging for skin evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: A handheld device was developed and qualified for in vivo human skin evaluation using laser speckle imaging technology. METHODS: Each laser speckle device prototype allows the choice of up to three different laser wavelengths in the range of 400 nm to 800 nm in total. Speckle pattern analysis gives various speckle parameters, for example, speckle contrast, speckle size, speckle modulation or fractal dimension. The developed laser speckle device prototypes were evaluated investigating three skin issues. RESULTS: We receive reproducible results from the speckle imaging device. For skin ageing, we found significant changes within three age groups. The effect of a methyl nicotinate treatment was clearly visible and quantifiable using a moorFLPI device as well as our speckle imaging device. In terms of basal cell carcinoma diagnosis, we found significant differences between normal and diseased skin, even though the number of samples was limited. CONCLUSION: As shown with first application examples, it was possible to demonstrate the potential of the method for skin evaluation in vivo.

Quantification and characterization of radical production in human, animal and 3D skin models during sun irradiation measured by EPR spectroscopy.

Sun radiation is indispensable to our health, however, a long term and high exposure could lead to erythema, premature skin aging and promotion of skin tumors. An underlying pathomechanism is the formation of free radicals. First, reactive oxygen species (*OH, *O2-) and then, secondary lipid oxygen species (C centered radicals, CCR) are formed. A high amount of free radicals results in oxidative stress with subsequent cell damage. In dermatological research different skin models are used, however, comparative data about the cutaneous radical formation are missing. In this study, the radical formation in porcine-, (SKH-1) murine-, human- ex vivo skin and reconstructed human skin (RHS) were investigated during simulated sun irradiation (305-2200 nm), with X-band EPR spectroscopy. The amount of radical formation was investigated with the spin probe PCA exposed to a moderate sun dose below one minimal erythema dose (MED, ~25 mJ/cm2 UVB) in all skin models. Furthermore, the *OH and *CCR radical concentrations were measured with the spin trap DMPO within 0-4 MED (porcine-, human skin and RHS). The highest amount of radicals was found in RHS followed by murine and porcine, and the lowest amount in human ex vivo skin. In all skin models, more *OH than CCR radicals were found at 0-4 MED. Additionally, this work addresses the limitations in the characterization with the spin trap DMPO. The measurements have shown that the most comparable skin model to in vivo human skin could differ depending on the focus of the investigation. If the amount of radial production is regarded, RHS seems to be in a similar range like in vivo human skin. If the investigation is focused on the radical type, porcine skin is most comparable to ex vivo human skin, at an irradiation dose not exceeding 1 MED. Here, no comparison to in vivo human skin is possible.

Evaluation of detection distance-dependent reflectance spectroscopy for the determination of the sun protection factor using pig ear skin.

Determination of sun protection factors (SPFs) is currently an invasive method, which is based on erythema formation (phototest). Here we describe an optical setup and measurement methodology for the determination of SPFs based on diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, which measures UV-reflectance spectra at 4 distances from the point of illumination. Due to a high spatial variation of the reflectance data, most likely due to inhomogeneities of the sunscreen distribution, data of 50 measurement positions are averaged. A dependence of the measured SPF on detection distance is significant for 3 sunscreens, while being inconclusive for 2 sunscreens due to high inter-sample variations. Using pig ear skin samples (n=6), the obtained SPF of 5 different commercial sunscreens corresponds to the SPF values of certified test institutes in 3 cases and is lower for 2 sunscreens of the same manufacturer, suggesting a formulation specific reason for the discrepancy. The results demonstrate that the measurement can be performed with a UV dose below the minimal erythema dose. We conclude the method may be considered as a potential noninvasive in vivo alternative to the invasive in vivo phototest, but further tests on different sunscreen formulations are still necessary.

In vivo study for the discrimination of cancerous and normal skin using fibre probe-based Raman spectroscopy.

Raman spectroscopy has proved its capability as an objective, non-invasive tool for the detection of various melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) in a number of studies. Most publications are based on a Raman microspectroscopic ex vivo approach. In this in vivo clinical evaluation, we apply Raman spectroscopy using a fibre-coupled probe that allows access to a multitude of affected body sites. The probe design is optimized for epithelial sensitivity, whereby a large part of the detected signal originates from within the epidermal layer's depth down to the basal membrane where early stages of skin cancer develop. Data analysis was performed on measurements of 104 subjects scheduled for excision of lesions suspected of being malignant melanoma (MM) (n = 36), basal cell carcinoma (BCC) (n = 39) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (n = 29). NMSC were discriminated from normal skin with a balanced accuracy of 73% (BCC) and 85% (SCC) using partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Discriminating MM and pigmented nevi (PN) resulted in a balanced accuracy of 91%. These results lie within the range of comparable in vivo studies and the accuracies achieved by trained dermatologists using dermoscopy. Discrimination proved to be unsuccessful between cancerous lesions and suspicious lesions that had been histopathologically verified as benign by dermoscopy.

Perturbation factors in the clinical handling of a fiber-coupled Raman probe for cutaneous in vivo diagnostic Raman spectroscopy.

The application of fiber-coupled Raman probes for the discrimination of cancerous and normal skin has the advantage of a non-invasive in vivo application, easy clinical handling, and access to the majority of body sites, which would otherwise be limited by stationary Raman microscopes. Nevertheless, including optical fibers and miniaturizing optical components, as well as measuring in vivo, involves the sensibility to external perturbation factors that could introduce artifacts to the acquired Raman spectra and thereby potentially reduce classification performance. In this study, typical perturbation factors of Raman measurements with a Raman fiber probe, optimized for clinical in vivo discrimination of skin cancer, were investigated experimentally. Measurements were performed under standardized conditions in clinical settings in vivo on human skin, as well as ex vivo on porcine ears. Raman spectra were analyzed in the fingerprint region between 1150 and 1730 cm(-1) using principal component analysis. The largest artifacts in the Raman spectra were found in measurements performed under the influence of strong ambient light conditions as well as after miscellaneous pre-treatments to the skin, such as use of a permanent marker or a sunscreen. Minor influences were also found in measurements using H2O immersion and when varying the probe contact force. The effect of reasonable variation of the fiber-bending radius was found to be of negligible impact. The influence of measurements on hairy or sun-exposed body sites, as well as inter-subject variation, was also investigated. The presented results may serve as a guide to avoid negative effects during the process of data acquisition and so avoid misclassification in tumor discrimination.

Evaluation of Raman spectroscopic macro raster scans of native cervical cone biopsies using histopathological mapping.

Raman spectroscopy based discrimination of cervical precancer and normal tissue has been shown previously in vivo with fiber probe based measurements of colposcopically selected sites. With a view to developing in vivo large area imaging, macro raster scans of native cervical cone biopsies with an average of 200 spectra per sample are implemented (n=16). The diagnostic performance is evaluated using histopathological mapping of the cervix surface. Different data reduction and classification methods (principal component analysis, wavelets, k-nearest neighbors, logistic regression, partial least squares discriminant analysis) are compared. Using bootstrapping to estimate confidence intervals for sensitivity and specificity, it is concluded that differences among different spectra classification procedures are not significant. The classification performance is evaluated depending on the tissue pathologies included in the analysis using the average performance of different classification procedures. The highest sensitivity (91%) and specificity (81%) is obtained for the discrimination of normal squamous epithelium and high-grade precancer. When other non-high-grade tissue sites, such as columnar epithelium, metaplasia, and inflammation, are included, the diagnostic performance decreases.

Influence of tissue absorption and scattering on the depth dependent sensitivity of Raman fiber probes investigated by Monte Carlo simulations.

We present a Monte Carlo model, which we use to calculate the depth dependent sensitivity or sampling volume of different single fiber and multi-fiber Raman probes. A two-layer skin model is employed to investigate the dependency of the sampling volume on the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients in the near infrared wavelength range (NIR). The shape of the sampling volume is mainly determined by the scattering coefficient and the wavelength dependency of absorption and scattering has only a small effect on the sampling volume of a typical fingerprint spectrum. An increase in the sampling depth in nonmelanoma skin cancer, compared to normal skin, is obtained.

Quantitative Raman spectroscopy in turbid media.

Intrinsic Raman spectra of biological tissue are distorted by the influences of tissue absorption and scattering, which significantly challenge signal quantification. A combined Raman and spatially resolved reflectance setup is introduced to measure the absorption coefficient micro(a) and the reduced scattering coefficient micro(s) (') of the tissue, together with the Raman signals. The influence of micro(a) and micro(s) (') on the resonance Raman signal of beta-carotene is measured at 1524 cm(-1) by tissue phantom measurements and Monte Carlo simulations for micro(a)=0.01 to 10 mm(-1) and micro(s) (')=0.1 to 10 mm(-1). Both methods show that the Raman signal drops roughly proportional to 1 micro(a) for micro(a)>0.2 mm(-1) in the measurement geometry and that the influence of micro(s) (') is weaker, but not negligible. Possible correction functions dependent on the elastic diffuse reflectance are investigated to correct the Raman signal for the influence of micro(a) and micro(s) ('), provided that micro(a) and micro(s) (') are measured as well. A correction function based on the Monte Carlo simulation of Raman signals is suggested as an alternative. Both approaches strongly reduce the turbidity-induced variation of the Raman signals and allow absolute Raman scattering coefficients to be determined.

Evaluation of a novel noncontact spectrally and spatially resolved reflectance setup with continuously variable source-detector separation using silicone phantoms.

We present a new variant of a noncontact, oblique incidence spatially resolved reflectance setup. The continuously variable source detector separation enables adaptation to high and low albedo samples. Absorption (µ(a)) and reduced scattering coefficients (µ(') (s)) are determined in the wavelength range of 400-1000 nm using a lookup table, calculated by a Monte Carlo simulation of the light transport. The method is characterized by an silicone phantom study covering a wide parameter range 0.01 mm(-1) ≤ µ(a) ≤ 2.5 mm(-1) and 0.2 mm(-1) ≤ µ(') (s) ≤ 10 mm(-1), which includes the optical parameters of tissue in the visible and near infrared. The influence of the incident angle and the detection aperture on the simulated remission was examined. Using perpendicular incidence and 90-deg detection aperture in the Monte Carlo simulation in contrast to the experimental situation with 30-deg incidence and 4.6-deg detection aperture is shown to be valid for the parameter range µ(') (s) > 1 mm(-1) and µ(a) < 1.2 mm(-1). A Mie calculation is presented, showing that a decreasing reduced scattering coefficient for increasing absorption can be the consequence of real physics instead of cross talk.

Fantastic Ca2+ "z-waves" fade out quietly.

The first report that high speed Ca(2+) waves travel in a restricted zone around the cell periphery in a clockwise manner and which can only be revealed by very high speed imaging has been quietly retracted. In the original report, a single small region of high Ca(2+) was seen to spin around the cell periphery and around phagosomes formed within phagocytes in a manner unlike anything reported previously. This consequently caused a lot of interest. Several other papers reporting a similar phenomenon in a variety of cells were also published by the same lab and the phenomenon has been included in high profile reviews such as in Science. However, several groups have failed to reproduce this work and attempts to detect the Ca(2+) waves or the mechanism for their generation have failed. Now, the original report has been quietly retracted. In this short commentary, we give a brief account of the sorry story of the non-existent circulating Ca(2+) waves (z-waves) in the hope that the literature can be rectified and that future cell calcium biologists are not misled by these fantastic and spurious Ca(2+) reports.