Abstract
Silicone gel sheeting (SGS) is widely used for scar treatment; however, studies showing its interaction with skin and efficacy of scar treatment are still lacking. THz light is non-ionizing and highly sensitive to changes in water content and thus skin hydration. In this work, we use in-vivo THz imaging to monitor how SGS affects the THz response of human skin during occlusion, and the associated THz reflectivity and refractive index changes are presented. We find that SGS effectively hydrates the skin beneath it, with minimal lateral effects beyond the sheeting. Our work demonstrates that THz imaging is able to detect the subtle hydration changes on the surface of human skin caused by SGS, and it has the potential to be used to evaluate different scar treatment strategies.
Highlights
Hypertrophic and keloid scars frequently occur on human skin after surgery and burn injuries [1,2]
The semi-occlusive nature of silicone gel sheeting (SGS) provides hydration that causes a decrease in trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL)
For maximum hydration increase, it is better to wear the sheeting as continuously as possible. These results indicate that the SGS only occludes the skin and increases the hydration level in the applied area, in other words the water does not diffuse to the surrounding area
Summary
Hypertrophic and keloid scars frequently occur on human skin after surgery and burn injuries [1,2]. The semi-occlusive nature of silicone gel sheeting (SGS) provides hydration that causes a decrease in trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL). It normalizes the hydration state of keratinocytes and signals to dermal fibroblasts to downregulate the production of collagens [3,5]. The high absorption by water constrains THz in vivo measurements to a reflection geometry and an imaging window is usually employed for accurate positioning [13,14]. During in vivo THz measurements, there are several variables including contact pressure and skin occlusion that can affect the skin properties and THz results; these factors need to be accounted for to achieve accurate characterization [17]. In this study, we carefully control the contact pressure and duration in addition to usual THz system settings to demonstrate how THz imaging can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of SGS treatment
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