Surgery – Truss – Pad
Patent
1997-04-10
1998-04-14
Jaworski, Francis
Surgery
Truss
Pad
A61B 505
Patent
active
057381070
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns a method for measuring the moisture content in skin, especially in the keratinous layer (stratum corneum), as stated in the introduction of claim 1. The invention also concerns an apparatus for monopolar measurement of the moisture content in skin, especially in the keratinous layer (stratum corneum), as stated in the introduction of claim 7.
An evaluation of the degree of hydration of the stratum corneum by measuring the skin's electrical properties is a challenge, involving the difficult problem of relating electrical parameters to physiological conditions. It is of vital importance to obtain improved methods and apparatus for measuring the moisture or hydration in the stratum corneum, since the moisture content in the skin is closely dependent on the function of the skin, and measuring the state of hydration of the stratum corneum can enable an early diagnosis to be obtained of non-visible conditions in the skin. Electrical measurements of the skin's moisture content are also valuable for evaluating a number of different factors, for example for assessing the effect of medicaments, cosmetics, moisturizers and other skin care preparations for the moisture content in the skin.
Apparatus for measuring moisture in a substance by using the electrical parameters of the substance, are e.g. known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,174,498 which teaches an apparatus for find the moisture content of particular materials. The determination of moisture takes place by combining conductance and susceptance signals, while assuming that the substance has an electrically homogenous volume.
Modern moisturizers and similar skin care preparations are increasingly based on liposomes, where an aqueous volume is completely surrounded by one or more double membranes consisting of lipide molecules. These are formed spontaneously when the lipids (usually phosphoric lipids) are dispersed in aqueous media and can range in diameter from tens of nm to tens of micrometres. New skin care products therefore are increasingly utilizing liposomes in order to facilitate the transport of active substances into the skin. Intact liposomes only penetrate the stratum corneum, and since they are hygroscopic and capable of containing a volume of water equal to many times their phosphoric lipide weight, they will cause an increase in the moisture content of the skin.
In order to measure the effect of such skin care preparations, instruments have been employed of the type "Corneometer" and "Skicon", of which the latter is described in Tagami H. & al., "Evaluation of the skin surface hydration in vivo by electrical measurement", J.Invest. Dermatol. 75, 1980, pp. 500-507. These work on frequencies from approximately 100 kHz to several MHz where the impedance of the stratum corneum is low, thus making it difficult to obtain an isolated measurement of, for example, the admittance in the stratum corneum. Furthermore there is the possibility that two adjacent surface electrodes on the skin will be short-circuited due to skin cream, perspiration, etc.
International Patent Application WO92/06634 concerns a device for measurement of the electrical impedance of organic and biological materials, such as tissues from vegetable or animal origin. In theory this device might allow the derivation of the susceptance of the measured material, but is not intended for or suited to measuring the moisture of stratum corneum, as it is based on preferably using high frequency and its use moreover involves wetting stratum corneum in order that the contribution therefrom should be the least possible. Primarily, this device is suited with a measurement method for measuring the deep layers of the skin in order to detect skin irritations.
The argument in favour of using high frequencies for measuring skin moisture has been in order to reduce the effect of ionic conductivity in the sweat pores. Consequently the susceptance has been considered to be the electrical parameter which has the most explicit relation to the hydration of the stratum
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Grimnes Sverre
Martinsen .O slashed.rjan G.
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