In vitro and in vivo validation of a new three-dimensional fringe projection-based device (AEVA-HE) dedicated to skin surface mapping.

BACKGROUND:Aging signs are much visible on the surface of the skin that presents different changes: cheeks start to sag, more and deeper wrinkles appear, and pigmentation spots increase. Face diagnostic to recommend products includes assessing cutaneous micro-relief or the micro-depressive network on the face. Furthermore, there is an increasing demand for clinical and instrumental methods to prove the efficacy of anti-aging treatments. As a result, very accurate and sensitive three-dimensional (3D) devices are developed and validated to measure and quantify aging skin and to catch fine anti-aging products acting on wrinkles and fine lines. METHODS:AEVA-HE, a non-invasive 3D method based on fringe projection technology, is used to robustly characterize the skin micro-relief from a full-face acquisition and from multiple extracted zones of interest. In vitro and in vivo studies are conducted to assess the reproducibility of this system and its precision toward a standard fringe projection system, DermaTOP. RESULTS:The AEVA-HE successfully measured micro-relief and wrinkles and demonstrated the reproducibility of measurements.  AEVA-HE parameters were found highly correlated to DermaTOP. CONCLUSION:The present work illustrates the performance of the AEVA-HE device and its dedicated software kit as a precious tool for quantifying the major characteristics of wrinkles appearing with age and thus offers a high potential for assessing the effect of anti-wrinkling products.