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In vivo terahertz reflection imaging of human scars during and after the healing process
Author(s) -
Fan Shuting,
Ung Benjamin S. Y.,
Parrott Edward P. J.,
Wallace Vincent P.,
PickwellMacPherson Emma
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of biophotonics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.877
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1864-0648
pISSN - 1864-063X
DOI - 10.1002/jbio.201600171
Subject(s) - scars , terahertz radiation , contrast (vision) , in vivo , hypertrophic scar , biomedical engineering , wound healing , hypertrophic scars , medicine , materials science , pathology , optics , surgery , optoelectronics , biology , physics , microbiology and biotechnology
We use terahertz imaging to measure four human skin scars in vivo . Clear contrast between the refractive index of the scar and surrounding tissue was observed for all of the scars, despite some being difficult to see with the naked eye. Additionally, we monitored the healing process of a hypertrophic scar. We found that the contrast in the absorption coefficient became less prominent after a few months post‐injury, but that the contrast in the refractive index was still significant even months post‐injury. Our results demonstrate the capability of terahertz imaging to quantitatively measure subtle changes in skin properties and this may be useful for improving scar treatment and management.