Comparative Analysis of Ultrasound Examination of the Skin High Frequency Transducers

Abstract

Ultrasound examination of the skin was performed on 63 women, using a 10–22 MHz high frequency linear transducer on the scanning surface in B-mode and Color Doppler Imaging (CDI) mode with the scanning depth of 7 mm, as well as a 6–18 MHz transducer in B-mode with the scanning depth of 15 mm. The thickness of the dermis was measured between the epidermis and the subcutaneous adipose tissue in the middle and lower third of the face at standard points. To determine the border between the dermis and hypodermis, we used the subdermal vascular plexus as an additional anatomical landmark, which was well visualized in the CDI mode. Comparison of three or more groups of independent quantitative parameters was carried out using ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) for looking for dependencies in the data obtained by determining the significance of differences in means. The level of significance was presented according to F. Fisher’s criterion. As a result of the analysis of variance, a significance level was 0.15, based on which it was concluded that there is no difference in measuring the thickness of the dermis with 6–18 MHz and 10–22 MHz high frequency transducers. The optimal scanning depth for measuring the skin thickness is 7–15 mm. Evaluation of the skin microcirculation should be carried out in the Doppler mode at a pulse recurrence frequency of less than 1 kHz.