Zaytsev SM, Amouroux M, Tuchin VV, Genina EA, Blondel W. In vivo skin optical clearing efficacy quantification of clinically compatible agents using line-field confocal optical coherence tomography.
J Biomed Opt 2023;
28:055002. [PMID:
37250859 PMCID:
PMC10224698 DOI:
10.1117/1.jbo.28.5.055002]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Significance
The clinical use of optical methods for in vivo skin imaging is limited by skin strong scattering properties, which reduce image contrast and probing depth. The efficiency of optical methods can be improved by optical clearing (OC). However, for the use of OC agents (OCAs) in a clinical setting, compliance with acceptable non-toxic concentrations is required.
Aim
OC of in vivo human skin, combined with physical and chemical methods to enhance skin permeability to OCAs, was performed to determine the clearing-effectiveness of biocompatible OCAs using line-field confocal optical coherence tomography (LC-OCT) imaging.
Approach
Nine types of OCAs mixtures were used in association with dermabrasion and sonophoresis for OC protocol on three volunteers hand skin. From 3D images obtained every 5 min for 40 min, the intensity and contrast parameters were extracted to assess their changes during the clearing process and evaluate each OCAs mixture's clearing efficacy.
Results
The LC-OCT images average intensity and contrast increased over the entire skin depth with all OCAs. The best image contrast and intensity improvement was observed using the polyethylene glycol, oleic acid, and propylene glycol mixture.
Conclusions
Complex OCAs featuring reduced component concentrations that meet drug regulation-established biocompatibility requirements were developed and proved to induce significant skin tissues clearing. By allowing deeper observations and higher contrast, such OCAs in combination with physical and chemical permeation enhancers may improve LC-OCT diagnostic efficacy.
Collapse