Depth-resolved investigation of multiple optical properties and wrinkle morphology in eye-corner areas with multi-contrast Jones matrix optical coherence tomography.

Abstract

Multi-contrast Jones matrix optical coherence tomography (JM-OCT) can provide quantitative depth-resolved local optical properties by improving the measurement algorithm. We examined the relationship between depth-resolved local optical properties of eye-corner skin measured by JM-OCT and corresponding wrinkle morphology of aged women (n=21; age range, 71.7±1.7years). Wrinkle morphology was analyzed by measuring the surface topography of three-dimensional replicas. The same regions were measured three-dimensionally by JM-OCT, and the local optical properties at each depth were computed. Birefringence (BR) and mean wrinkle depth correlated significantly at a depth of 88.2-138.6µm from the skin surface, and attenuation coefficient (AC) and mean wrinkle depth correlated significantly at a depth of 12.6-18.9µm and 189-459.9μm from the skin surface, although a degree of polarization uniformity (DOPU) did not. Stepwise multiple regression analysis demonstrated that a significant regression equation (R2 =0.649, P<.001) for predicting mean wrinkle depth was determined by BR at 107.1µm depth (BR 107.1 µm ), DOPU at 170.1µm (DOPU 170.1µm ), and AC at 252µm (AC 252 µm ) as independent variables and that these standardized beta regression coefficients were-0.860, -0.593, and-0.440, respectively, suggesting that BR, DOPU, and AC sufficiently explained mean wrinkle depth. These results suggest that BR 107.1 µm , DOPU 170.1 µm, and AC 252 µm may indicate collagen-related structure in the papillary, upper-reticular dermis, and microstructure or tissue density in reticular dermis, respectively, and may be involved in wrinkle formation.