Use of the pigmentometer, a new device for measuring skin albedo: Relating skin color with a series of physiological measures

Abstract

Use of the Pigmentometer, a new device for measuring skin albedo: Relating skin color with a series of physiological measures. An apparatus has been described for the indirect measurement of skin albedo in human subjects. This device operates on the principle of the reflectance of light as influenced by the lightness or darkness of the skin. This new equipment was used to examine the relationship between lightness or darkness of the skin and the basal level and responsivity of some autonomic nerovus system physiological variables in a series of 46 black and 47 white male and female subjects. It was observed that blacks had significantly lower (darker) skin albedo (PI), a significantly higher skin resistance (SR) and amplitude of the galvanic skin response (GSR), and an insignificant higher basal heart rate (HR). Pearson Product-Movement correlations between all measures from the total population showed significant relationships between PI and SR, SR and GSR and HR and HRR (heart rate response). The further separation of the total population into subgroups of blacks, whites, males, females, and black and white male and female groups, respectively, altered some of these differences and relationships previously observed. These results appeared to support the premise that race is more responsible for influencing the measured physiological responses, particularly SR, than is the lightness or darkness of the skin.