Apparatus and method to evaluate hydration of the skin or the mucous membranes
First Claim
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1. An apparatus enabling a person to evaluate the hydration of a region of the body with the region including at least one of a region of the skin and a region of mucous membranes, the apparatus comprising:
- a sensor comprising an array of non-optical capacitive detection cells, anda processor apparatus arranged to deliver at least water content information in or on the surface of the region based on signals coming from said sensor,wherein the sensor presents spatial resolution of at least 100 μ
m in at least one direction,wherein the apparatus is arranged to analyze variation in water content over time with the sensor in place on the region under analysis.
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Abstract
An apparatus enabling a person to evaluate the hydration of a region of the skin or the mucous membranes. The apparatus includes a sensor including an array of non-optical detection cells and processor apparatus arranged to deliver at least one piece of information relating to the hydration of the region on the basis of signals coming from the sensor. A method for evaluation of hydration is also provided. The apparatus and method can also be used for evaluating, e.g., aging or the effectiveness of a treatment regimen.
61 Citations
27 Claims
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1. An apparatus enabling a person to evaluate the hydration of a region of the body with the region including at least one of a region of the skin and a region of mucous membranes, the apparatus comprising:
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a sensor comprising an array of non-optical capacitive detection cells, and a processor apparatus arranged to deliver at least water content information in or on the surface of the region based on signals coming from said sensor, wherein the sensor presents spatial resolution of at least 100 μ
m in at least one direction,wherein the apparatus is arranged to analyze variation in water content over time with the sensor in place on the region under analysis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus enabling a person to evaluate the hydration of a region of the body with the region including at least one of a region of the skin and a region of mucous membranes, the apparatus comprising:
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a sensor comprising an array of non-optical capacitive detection cells; and a processor apparatus arranged to deliver at least water content information in or on the surface of the region based on signals coming from said sensor, wherein the sensor presents spatial resolution of at least 100 μ
m in at least one direction, wherein the apparatus is arranged to deliver an indication relating to a state of aging of the skin, wherein the processing apparatus is arranged to determine two major directions of skin lines and a difference that exists between said directions, and wherein the apparatus is arranged to deliver an indication relating to the state of aging of the skin from said difference.
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22. An apparatus enabling a person to evaluate the hydration of a region of the body with the region including at least one of a region of the skin and a region of mucous membranes, the apparatus comprising:
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a sensor comprising an array of non-optical capacitive detection cells; and a processor apparatus arranged to deliver at least water content information in or on the surface of the region based on signals coming from said sensor, wherein the sensor presents spatial resolution of at least 100 μ
m in at least one direction, wherein the apparatus is arranged to deliver at least one image of the region analyzed by the sensor, wherein the processor apparatus is arranged to perform statistical processing of said image, wherein the information results at least from said statistical processing; and
wherein the statistical processing comprises determining a gray level shared by a greatest number of pixels in the image.
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23. An apparatus enabling a person to evaluate the hydration of a region of the body with the region including at least one of a region of the skin and a region of mucous membranes, the apparatus comprising:
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a sensor comprising an array of non-optical capacitive detection cells; and a processor apparatus arranged to deliver at least water content information in or on the surface of the region based on signals coming from said sensor, wherein the sensor presents spatial resolution of at least 100 μ
m in at least one direction, wherein said information comprises an indication relating to uniformity of water content, wherein mean gray levels of subsets of an image of the region analyzed by the sensor image are determined and a value is calculated that is representative of a difference between said mean gray levels, and wherein the value is a standard deviation.
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24. An apparatus enabling a person to evaluate the hydration of a region of the body with the region including at least one of a region of the skin and a region of mucous membranes, the apparatus comprising:
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a sensor comprising an array of non-optical capacitive detection cells; and a processor apparatus arranged to deliver at least water content information in or on the surface of the region based on signals coming from said sensor, wherein the sensor presents spatial resolution of at least 100 μ
m in at least one direction, wherein said information comprises an indication relating to uniformity of water content, wherein mean gray levels of subsets of an image of the region analyzed by the sensor image are determined and a value is calculated that is representative of a difference between said mean gray levels, and wherein the subsets of the image are formed by a rectangular grid over at least a portion of the image.
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25. An apparatus enabling a person to evaluate the hydration of a region of the body with the region including at least one of a region of the skin and a region of mucous membranes, the apparatus comprising:
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a sensor comprising an array of non-optical capacitive detection cells; and a processor apparatus arranged to deliver at least water content information in or on the surface of the region based on signals coming from said sensor, wherein the sensor presents spatial resolution of at least 100 μ
m in at least one direction, wherein said information comprises an indication relating to uniformity of water content, wherein mean gray levels of subsets of an image of the region analyzed by the sensor image are determined and a value is calculated that is representative of a difference between said mean gray levels, wherein the subsets of the image are disposed in an irregular manner over the image, and wherein the apparatus is arranged to compare the image with images in a bank of images, and at least on the basis of the comparison, to derive information that is useful for evaluating a state of at least one of the skin and a mucous membrane.
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26. An apparatus enabling a person to evaluate the hydration of a region of the body with the region including at least one of a region of the skin and a region of mucous membranes, the apparatus comprising:
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a sensor comprising an array of non-optical capacitive detection cells; and a processor apparatus arranged to deliver at least water content information in or on the surface of the region based on signals coming from said sensor, wherein the sensor presents spatial resolution of at least 100 μ
m in at least one direction, wherein the apparatus is arranged to deliver an indication relating to a state of aging of the skin, and wherein the processing apparatus is arranged to determine two major directions of skin lines and a difference that exists between said directions.
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27. An apparatus enabling a person to evaluate the hydration of a region of the body with the region including at least one of a region of the skin and a region of mucous membranes, the apparatus comprising:
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a sensor comprising an array of non-optical detection cells, and a processor apparatus arranged to deliver at least one piece of information relating to hydration of the region based on signals coming from said sensor; the process or apparatus is arranged to determine two major directions of skin lines and a difference that exists between said directions and the apparatus is arranged to deliver an indication relating to the state of aging of the skin from said difference.
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Specification