METHOD FOR IMAGING SKIN SURFACE INTERCELLULAR AND INTRACELLULAR STRUCTURE USING A COMPOUND TO ENHANCE CONTRAST

• US 20030028099A1
• Filed: 08/02/2001
• Published: 02/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Unilever Home & Personal Care USA (Unilever PLC)
• Original Assignee: Unilever Home & Personal Care USA (Unilever PLC)
• Inventors: Ananthapadmanabhan, Kavssery Parameswaran, Thorn Leeson, Daniel, Subramanyan, Krishna Kumar
• Granted Patent: US 6,544,183 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/431
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0059 using light, e.g. diagnosis by transillumination, diascopy, fluorescence A61B5/0093, A61B5/1455, A61B5/02416 and A61B5/0261 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0068 Confocal scanning
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0071 by measuring fluorescence emission
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/442 Evaluating skin mechanical properties, e.g. elasticity, hardness, texture, wrinkle assessment

Abstract

The present invention relates to methods to image the skin surface in order to view intercellular and intracellular structure. In particular, the invention relates to use of a compound (e.g., fluorescent dye) to enhance contrast and obtain better imaging.

Claims

1. A method for imaging the intercellular and intracellular structure of a skin surface comprising:

(1) choosing a desired site of any desired size or shape on the subject'"'"'s body;

(2) applying a contrast enhancing compound to the chosen site using any suitable application method;

(3) acquiring single or multiple images, by any suitable method, of an area that is contained within the site that the compound was applied to;

(4) if the area that is imaged exhibits skin texture or if the skin surface is not parallel to a focal plane of the imaging instrument, reconstructing the multiple images into a single image that displays all cells on the skin surface in focus by performing a maximum intensity rendering;

(5) optionally repeating steps (3) and (4) to collect additional images as required.

2. A method according to claim 1, which is an in vivo method.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein said compound is a fluorescent dye.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said dye is selected from the group comprising of fluorescein, pyranine and fluorescein octadecyl ester.

5. A method according to claim 1 wherein, if maximum intensity rendering is performed, compound or compounds are predominantly absorbed in the uppermost layer of skin cells.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein area over which images is acquired is 10-40 _μ

m.