Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disorder which affects ~20% of children and ~3% adults worldwide. There lacks a direct, non-invasive method of evaluating atopic dermatitis (AD) accurately. Here, the use a multispectral raster-scanning optoacoustic mesoscopy (MS-RSOM) as an objective imaging tool for AD is proposed. MS-RSOM is a novel, non-invasive optoacoustic imaging modality which can provide label-free, high resolution imaging up to 1.5 mm below the skin. It can provide useful information on melanin, oxyhemoglobin (HbO2), deoxyhemoglobin (Hb) and oxygen saturation (sO2) from the skin layers. This preliminary study was conducted on 4 AD patients and 2 healthy volunteers using MS-RSOM system. From the MS-RSOM images, the epidermis thickness and oxygen saturation were computed from the healthy volunteers as well as from the non-lesional and eczema lesional areas of the eczema subjects.
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