Clinical feasibility of various optical instruments for quantitative evaluation of pulsed-dye laser treatment of port wine stain skin

Abstract

For quantitative prediction and evaluation of pulsed dye laser therapy of port wine stain (PWS) skin, the CIE L*a*b* color difference, ΔE*, has been utilized to characterize numerically the color differences between normal untreated and treated PWS skin. Three optical instruments (Minolta chromameter CR-200, a cross-polarized diffuse reflectance imaging system, and visual reflectance spectrometers) are compared to investigate their clinical feasibility for quantitative color assessment. Compared to the chromameter as a standard measurement instrument, other instruments also provide valuable measurements of skin color for the relative quantification of PWS treatment outcome. The fiber-optic visual reflectance spectrometer is preferable for continuous measurement of a small area of skin. The cross-polarized imaging system is useful as a simple non-contact measurement technique to provide spatially resolved color difference images.