The clinical usefulness of a skin analysis instrument (the Clarity™ skin advisor system)

Abstract

Background: Although a number of tools are currently available for objectively evaluating skin, there are not sufficient about the use of these instruments in the Korean dermatologic literature. Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the clinical application of a skin analysis instrument (Clarity™ Skin Advisor system, BrighTex Bio-Photonics, USA) for the evaluation of pigmentation, erythema, enlarged pores and wrinkles on the face. Methods: In this prospective clinical study, we enrolled 28 patients who visited our clinic during 3 months. Before and after the treatment, assessment of the facial skin was performed with the skin analysis instrument. The objective improvement evaluation was done by a trained observer. The subjective patient assessment and patient satisfaction were checked via a questionnaire. We analyzed the relationships between the five measuring items (spot count, the area affected, diffuse erythema, the enlarged pore count and the wrinkle count) and the subjective improvement, the patient satisfaction and the objective improvement. Results: A total of 28 subjects (9 males and 19 females) with facial pigmentary disorder, erythema, enlarged pores and/or prominent wrinkles were recruited. There was a statistically significant relationship between the objective improvement and four (spot count, diffuse erythema, enlarged pore count, wrinkle count) of the five measurement items (p<0.05). But only diffuse erythema showed a statistically significant relationship with subjective improvement, and only the wrinkle count showed a statistically significant relationship with patient satisfaction (p<0.05). Conclusion: In this paper, we suggest the possible clinical usefulness of the skin analysis instrument for assessing the change of the skin state in patients with cosmetic complaints.