What factors influence the results of the image session?
A number of factors contribute to the actual scores generated by the VISIA
complexion analysis algorithms, including the condition of the skin (cleaned
vs. fresh make-up, old make-up, time-of-day), head registration within the
booth, facial expression (particularly for wrinkles), stray hair, glare areas
resulting from oily skin, etc. Note that the percentile scores were generated
for subjects with cleaned skin prior to their imaging session, so results may
vary if make-up is not removed prior to a patient’s VISIA session.
What is the definition for each of the three types of skin conditions? How does
VISIA use this information?
´Clean´ is defined as skin that has been recently cleansed and without make-up
or skin conditioners applied. ´Fresh Make-up´ is defined as make-up recently
applied (roughly within the past hour); ´Other´ covers all other cases. No
change is made in terms of either taking the photo or in the analysis process
based upon the skin condition selected.
This information is recorded in the patient’s file for each session and allows
scores to be properly interpreted if images were captured under different
conditions session-to-session.
Should the patient’s eyes be open or closed when the picture is taken?
It is strongly recommended that the eyes be closed for the UV photos given the
intensity of the UV flashes. For standard photos, the eyes can be either open
or closed, although more aesthetically pleasing images are achieved with the
eyes open. Because the mask is created using the standard photo (in which the
patient’s eyes are typically open), there is no need to be concerned that
eyelashes will be included inadvertently in UV analysis, even though the
patient’s eyes are closed.
What are the definitions of the various
skin features and how are the features detected?
Spots: Spots are typically brown or red
skin lesions including freckles, acne scars, hyper-pigmentation and vascular
lesions. Spots are distinguishable by their distinct colour and contrast from
the background skin tone. Spots vary in size and generally have a circular
shape.
Pores: Pores are the circular surface
openings of sweat gland ducts. Due to shadowing, pores appear darker than the
surrounding skin tone and are identified by their darker colour and circular
shape. The VISIA system distinguishes pores from spots based on size; by definition,
the area of a pore is much smaller than a spot.
Wrinkles: Wrinkles are furrows, folds
or creases in the skin, which increase in occurrence as a result of sun
exposure, and are associated with decreasing skin elasticity. This skin feature
has the greatest variability from image to image as it is highly dependent upon
the facial expression of the client. Wrinkles are identified by their
characteristic long, narrow shape.
Texture: Texture is primarily an
analysis of skin smoothness. Texture measures skin colour and smoothness by
identifying gradations in colour from the surrounding skin tone, as well as
peaks (shown in yellow) and valleys (shown in blue) on the skin surface that
indicate variations in the surface texture.
Porphyrins: Porphyrins are bacterial
excretions that can become lodged in pores and lead to acne. Porphyrins
fluoresce in UV light and exhibit circular purple spot characteristics.
UV Spots: UV spots occur when melanin
collects below the skin surface as a result of sun damage. UV spots are
generally invisible under normal lighting conditions. The selective absorption
of the UV light by the epidermal melanin enhances its display and detection by
VISIA.
Red Areas: Red Areas represent a
potential variety of conditions, such as acne, inflammation, Rosacea or spider
veins. Blood vessels and haemoglobin contained in the papillary dermis, a
sub-layer of skin, give these structures their red colour, which is detected by
the RBX Technology in VISIA. Acne spots and inflammation vary in size but are
generally round in shape. Rosacea is usually larger and diffuse compared to
acne, and spider veins usually are short, thin and can be interconnected in a
dense network.
Brown Spots: Brown Spots are lesions
on the skin such as hyper-pigmentation, freckles, lentigines, and melasma.
Brown Spots occur from an excess of Melanin. Melanin is produced by melanocytes
in the bottom layer of the epidermis. Brown Spots produce an uneven appearance
to the skin, and are detected in VISIA by RBX.