TY - JOUR

T1 - Impregnation of healthy nail tissue with optical clearing agents for improved optical coherence tomography imaging

AU - Ortner, Vinzent Kevin

AU - Mandel, Victor Desmond

AU - Haedersdal, Merete

AU - Philipsen, Peter Alshede

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2020 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Objectives: The impact of optical tissue clearing on optical coherence tomography (OCT) for nail tissue imaging has not been investigated. This study seeks to compare the effects of an emollient and water on visualization of micromorphology and morphometric outcomes. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six healthy nail plates were processed with a fractional CO2 laser, imaged with OCT, and measured with calipers in duplicates. All samples were reassessed after 12-hour long sequential immersion in water and an emollient (Crodamol™ STS). OCT images were evaluated for thickness and scattering signal of the nail. Results: Emollient-impregnation caused stronger scatter responses (P <.0001) and decreased nail thickness (MD 45 μm, P <.0001) measured on OCT. Caliper-derived measurements were not affected by Crodamol™ (MD 11 μm, P =.5538). Hydration increased nail thickness on OCT (MD 49 μm, P <.0001) but reduced thickness measurements taken with calipers (MD 41 μm, P <.0001). Emollient-impregnation improved visualization of onychocytes compared with dry (P =.0209) and hydrated samples (P <.0001), and reduced occurrence of refractive artifacts (P <.0001). Conclusion: The use of an emollient for OCT imaging can enhance nail tissue visualization without significant effects on caliper measurements. Hydration of nails, in contrast with emollient-impregnation, may lead to disagreement between caliper- and OCT-measured nail thickness and should be practiced cautiously.

AB - Objectives: The impact of optical tissue clearing on optical coherence tomography (OCT) for nail tissue imaging has not been investigated. This study seeks to compare the effects of an emollient and water on visualization of micromorphology and morphometric outcomes. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six healthy nail plates were processed with a fractional CO2 laser, imaged with OCT, and measured with calipers in duplicates. All samples were reassessed after 12-hour long sequential immersion in water and an emollient (Crodamol™ STS). OCT images were evaluated for thickness and scattering signal of the nail. Results: Emollient-impregnation caused stronger scatter responses (P <.0001) and decreased nail thickness (MD 45 μm, P <.0001) measured on OCT. Caliper-derived measurements were not affected by Crodamol™ (MD 11 μm, P =.5538). Hydration increased nail thickness on OCT (MD 49 μm, P <.0001) but reduced thickness measurements taken with calipers (MD 41 μm, P <.0001). Emollient-impregnation improved visualization of onychocytes compared with dry (P =.0209) and hydrated samples (P <.0001), and reduced occurrence of refractive artifacts (P <.0001). Conclusion: The use of an emollient for OCT imaging can enhance nail tissue visualization without significant effects on caliper measurements. Hydration of nails, in contrast with emollient-impregnation, may lead to disagreement between caliper- and OCT-measured nail thickness and should be practiced cautiously.

KW - caliper

KW - crodamol

KW - nail tissue

KW - optical clearing agent

KW - optical coherence tomography

U2 - 10.1111/srt.12923

DO - 10.1111/srt.12923

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 32681563

AN - SCOPUS:85088129605

VL - 27

SP - 178

EP - 182

JO - Skin Research and Technology

JF - Skin Research and Technology

SN - 0909-752X

IS - 2

ER -