The occlusion effects in capacitive contact imaging for in vivo skin damage assessments.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the occlusion effects in capacitive contact imaging, and to develop a new quantitative methodology for in vivo skin assessments using capacitive contact imaging and condenser-TEWL (transepidermal water loss) method. METHODS: Two measurement technologies were used in this study, i.e., capacitive contact imaging and condenser-TEWL method. Three types of skin damages were studied, intensive washes, tape stripping and sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) irritation. The test skin sites were chosen on the volar forearms of healthy volunteers (aged 25-45); the measurements were taken both before and periodically after the damages. RESULTS: The results show that the time-dependent occlusion curves of the capacitive contact imaging can reflect the types of damages, and by analysing the shapes of the curves, we can get information about the skin surface water content level and stratum corneum thickness. The results also show that the combination of capacitive contact imaging and condenser-TEWL method gives extra information about the skin damages, such as the types of the damages and status of the damages. CONCLUSION: We have developed a potential new quantitative methodology for skin damage assessments using capacitive contact imaging and condenser-TEWL method. The combination of the two technologies can provide useful information for skin damage assessments. We have also developed a mathematical model for analysing the occlusion curves