Methods of Non-Invasive In Vivo Optical Diagnostics in the Assessment of Structural Changes in the Skin Induced by Ultraviolet Exposure in an Experimental Model.

Background: This paper demonstrates the use of optical diagnostic methods to assess the dynamic skin changes observed in acute and chronic exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation in vivo.

Methods: Firstly, in order to initiate photoaging (chronic UV exposure), animals ( = 40) were divided into two groups: chronic UV exposure ( = 30), and control ( = 10; without irradiation). Photoaging in animals was induced by chronic repeated exposure to UVA radiation three times per week, for 12 weeks continuously, while the UV dose increased stepwise over the course of the experiment (55 minimal erythema doses (MED) in total).

Laser fluorescence spectroscopy in predicting the formation of a keloid scar: preliminary results and the role of lipopigments.

Keloid scars, in contrast to other scar types, significantly reduce the patient's quality of life. To develop a nondestructive optical diagnostic technique predicting the keloid scars formation , laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (LFS) was used to study the autofluorescence in skin of patients with various types of head and neck cicatricial deformities. The unexpected results were obtained for the endogenous fluorescence of lipofuscin.