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Skin Viscoelasticity by Acoustic Velocity and Dispersion: Effects of Tension in Stratum Corneum

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Measuring the Skin

Abstract

Aging, photoaging, dryness, and skin thickness (following a proliferative response) play an important role in changes or loss of skin elasticity. Although the changes in the mechanical properties of the skin have proved to be difficult to document but not impossible. It is very important to mention that the mechanical properties of the skin are not uniform in all directions, and there is a need to understand this angular anisotropy. We can document skin anisotropy by measuring the propagation time of a shear wave between two piezoelectric transducer sensors placed on the surface of the skin. Based on velocity and dispersion of the acoustic waves, we can obtain information about local density and tension of the tissue. We find that with increasing age, the anisotropy increases, while the angular dispersion width decreases. The ratio of these values provides a sensitive parameter for the assessment of the directional behavior of the skin mechanical properties. This parameter provides a large effective dynamic range capable of demonstrating close to an order of magnitude difference in skin viscoelasticity from infants up to 75 years of age. Also the direction of the angular anisotropy relates to the direction of the dermal cleavage lines as defined by Langer. Topical application of moisturizers can change the stratum corneum tension, plasticize the stratum corneum, and decrease the tensions induced by skin dryness. This methodology is most sensitive to the density and tension supported by the superficial layers of the skin: the stratum corneum and the viable epidermis.

Nikiforos Kollias has retired.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johnson & Johnson Consumer and Personal Products Worldwide, 199 Grandview Rd, Skillman, NJ, 08558, USA

    Eduardo Ruvolo, Christina Lee & Nikiforos Kollias

Authors
  1. Eduardo Ruvolo
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  2. Christina Lee
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  3. Nikiforos Kollias
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christina Lee .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Medecine Vasculaire Lab. Ingénierie et de Biologie Cutanées, CHU Besancon Service Dermatologie et, Besancon, France

    Philippe Humbert

  2. San Francisco, California, USA

    Howard Maibach

  3. Department of Dermatology, Saint Jacques University Hospital, Besançon, France

    Ferial Fanian

  4. Univ. Besançon Dépt. Dermatologie, Besançon, France

    Pierre Agache

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Ruvolo, E., Lee, C., Kollias, N. (2015). Skin Viscoelasticity by Acoustic Velocity and Dispersion: Effects of Tension in Stratum Corneum. In: Humbert, P., Maibach, H., Fanian, F., Agache, P. (eds) Measuring the Skin. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26594-0_132-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26594-0_132-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-26594-0

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