A multi-spectral dermatoscope was used to investigate the effect of laser hair removal. Ten volunteers underwent three laser treatments, 6 weeks apart. In a subsequent trial, three volunteers received one laser treatment after which the skin region was imaged at short intervals. Practical solutions were developed to re-locate the investigated skin area. After exact matching using rigid and elastic registration software, the images showed acute and delayed effects on the hairs, pigment and vasculature after laser hair removal and subsequent healing response. The multi-spectral dermatoscope provides a perfect tool to study the efficacy and side effects of laser hair removal procedures and can be used to optimize the treatment plan.

Date Published: 23 February 2009
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 7161, Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics V, 71610T (23 February 2009); doi: 10.1117/12.808222

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7161:
Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics V
Henry Hirschberg M.D.; Brian Jet-Fei Wong M.D.; Kenton W. Gregory M.D.; Reza S. Malek; Nikiforos Kollias; Bernard Choi; Guillermo J. Tearney; Justus F. R. Ilgner; Steen J. Madsen; Laura Marcu; Haishan Zeng, Editor(s)