Dermatology/Plastic surgery

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 164 KB
• Volume: 34
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0196-8092
• DOI: 10.1002/lsm.20050

✦ Synopsis

Background and Objectives: Methods to assess port wine stain (PWS) blanching in response to laser therapy are needed to improve therapeutic outcome. To address this issue, we have previously developed a cross-polarized digital imaging system and color image analysis method to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate PWS. In this study, the clinical efficacy of our imaging system was evaluated by analyzing images of PWS patients. Study Design/Materials and Methods: High-resolution crosspolarized digital color images were acquired from a pool of PWS patients undergoing laser treatment at the Beckman Laser Institute. After image processing, an erythema index (EI) image was obtained. For each subject, standard digital RGB images were compared after each successive visit. In addition, the reduction in PWS erythema at each visit was quantified with EI image. Results: Use of a head positioning device allows for direct comparison of unprocessed, standard digital images acquired over the course of this longitudinal study. Subtle changes in PWS erythema were more pronounced in EI images. Conclusions: Our cross-polarized digital imaging permits evaluation of the efficacy of laser PWS therapy, allowing direct comparison of unprocessed images. EI images can serve as a tool for quantitative assessment of PWS skin blanching.