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To obtain objective data
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To visualize invisible changes and conditions
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To learn more - faster
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To help improve treatment and life quality for patients
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To improve quality of products
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To lower cost of product development
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Prior to therapy (e.g. tumors, port wine stains)
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Follow-up (e.g. wound healing, tumors, port wine
stains, aging)
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To document product claims (cosmetics, pharma.)
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To obtain accurate and reproducible data for basic
research
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In dermatology & plastic surgery (clinically, research)
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Pharmaceutical industry
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Cosmetic and aesthetic industry
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Others - neuro medicine, wound healing, paediatrics,
occupational medicine etc.
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Scientific skin research
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Irritancy/allergy testing
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Wound healing
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Collagen (photo damage, skin aging, skin rejuvenation)
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Cellulite (efficiency of treatment)
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Scleroderma, Psoriasis
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Tumors (basal cell, squamous cell, malignant melanoma …)
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Vascular lesions (port wine stains, hemangioma)
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Claims substantiation (cosmetics and pharma.)
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Frequency  20.000 Hz (20 kHz)
Ultrasound
Echograpy
Sonography
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Conventional ultrasound: fmax < 10 MHz
+ High penetration
+ Wide application range
+ Wide price range
- Low resolution
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High resolution ultrasound: f = 20 MHz or higher
+ High resolution
+ High definition
- Low penetration
- Limited to skin / subcutis
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skin boundaries
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Skin
Transmitted pulse of ultrasound
Received signal (A-scan)
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Probe
One image consists of 224 lines of ultrasound A-scan
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Epidermis Dermis
Subcutis
Probe
Normal face scan,
young lady, near eye
Water Film Gel
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Sound beam
Transducer housing
Water/gel path
Focal zone
In-depth penetration
Active element (x-tal)
Skin
Skin surface
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Axial resolution (Rax) is determined by the sound velocity (v) and the
system bandwidth (BW)
Rax 
v
2 BW
where BW ~ 75% of Fcrystal
E.g. 20MHz: v ~ 1580 m/s, BW ~ 0,75 * 20 MHz => Rax ~ 60 µm
50MHz: v ~ 1580 m/s, BW ~ 0,75 * 50 MHz => Rax ~20 µm
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Lateral resolution is determined by the beam diameter (diameter
determined by acoustic focusing)
typically 150 µm
Higher ultrasound frequency  higher band-width  higher resolution
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Determined by focal distance (water/gel path)
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Determined by attenuation (1 dB / MHz / cm)
Higher ultrasound frequency  lower penetration into the skin
Selection of ultrasound frequency is a trade-off
between resolution and penetration
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Nail foil – 20 MHz and 50 MHz
Notice the higher resolution but lower penetration
in the 50 MHz image
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Scar tissue
Normal skin
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Malignant
Melanoma
Probe
Thin and photo-aged
(Steroid atrophy)
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20 years
30 years
40 years
50 years
Normal photo-aged skin
Notice : The Collagen structure changes over time
(colors disappear over time)
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Cellulite
After AHA peeling
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Hemangioma in the face
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Scar tissue
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BCC, various body sites
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Distance (A-scan, arbitrary, B-scan edge/peak detect.)
 Intensity (B-scan edge/peak detection, Region of Interest)
 Area (B-scan edge/peak detection, Region of Interest)
 Volume
(3D-scan only)
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Insect bite
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Insect bite
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