Toward Imaging Skin Vibrations Using Spectrally Encoded Interferometry

Background: The biomechanical properties of the human skin depend on numerous factors, including aging, dehydration, overexposure to sunlight, as well as scars, wounds and burns. Methods for evaluating these properties, include measuring skin capacitance, absorption or reflection of light, water evaporation, conductance, and response to mechanical indentation. In scarred or burned tissue, for example, the measured mechanical properties may provide insight into wound-healing mechanisms and may help developing therapies for preventing aberrant scarring.

Methods: Here we present the development of a technology termed spectrally encoded interferometry (SEI) for non-invasive imaging of the mechanical acoustic vibrations across selected regions of the skin for mapping the Young modulus distribution. By employing phase-sensitive single-shot line imaging, SEI can capture nanometer-scale axial displacements across an entire two-dimensional vibrating tissue, and provide rapid, parallel measurement of important biomechanical skin parameters.

Results & Conclusions: The talk will present the design and construction of the SEI system for exciting and imaging surface vibrations. We will discuss different tissue models for conducting the initial experiments, present our first results, and discuss the system potential for diagnostic and cosmetic applications.