Noninvasive and high-resolving photoacoustic dermoscopy of human skin

We proposed and developed a photoacoustic (PA) dermoscope equipped with an integrated PA probe to achieve quantification and high-resolution, high-contrast deep imaging of human skin. The PA probe, with light-sound confocal excitation and reception, is specially designed, and integrated with an objective lens, an ultrasound transducer, and an inverted-triangle coupling cup to facilitate convenient implementation in a clinical setting. The PA dermoscope was utilized for noninvasive and high-resolution imaging of epidermal and dermal structure in volunteers. The imaging results demonstrated that the characteristic parameters of skin disease, including pigment distribution and thickness, vascular diameter, and depth, can be obtained by the PA dermoscope, confirming that PA dermoscopy can serve as a potential tool for the diagnosis and curative effect evaluation of human skin disease. (C)2016 Optical Society of America