METHOD FOR MEASURING HEIGHT OF SKIN BASAL CELL

Abstract

The invention is related to a method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell, comprising the following steps: providing a non-invasive microscopy device for shooting a picture of at least one skin basal cell of skin to be tested, including a laser source for emitting laser light with pulsed laser and an image processing element for processing image signals; converging the laser light to the skin to be tested via the image processing element and obtaining 2D images; utilizing the image processing element to stack the 2D images; labelling the first appearing 2D image of the at least one basal cell as a first layer; labelling the just disappearing 2D image of the at least one basal cell as a last layer; and multiplying the stacking number of the stacking images between the first layer and the last layer with a preset distance between two stacking images via calculation, thereby obtaining the height of the at least one basal cell for assessing of a skin pigmentation patient to be cured.

Claims

1. A method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell, comprising the following steps: providing a non-invasive microscopy device for shooting pictures of at least one skin basal cell of skin to be tested, including a laser source for emitting laser light with pulsed laser, and an image processing element for processing image signals; converging the laser light to the at least one skin basal cell of the skin to be tested via the image processing element and obtaining 2D images by the image processing element; utilizing the image processing element to stack the 2D images; labelling a first appearing 2D image of the at least one skin basal cell as a first layer; labelling a just disappearing 2D image of the at least one skin basal cell as a last layer; and calculating a stacking number of the 2D stacking images between the first layer and the last layer and multiplying the stacking number of the 2D stacking images with a preset distance between two adjacent stacking images, thereby obtaining the height of the at least one skin basal cell for treatment assessing of a skin pigmentation patient to be cured, wherein the stacking 2D images are of en face 2D images and are taken consecutively along an optical axis of the non-invasive microscopy device in a direction from skin epidermis to skin dermis, and the consecutive 2D images of the at least one skin basal cell are optionally chosen for a height assessment, and wherein an empty hole of one skin basal cell nuclei appears between the first layer and the last layer.

2. The method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell in accordance with claim 1, wherein the non-invasive microscopy device is a reflective confocal microscopy microscopy (RCM), two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy (TPEF), harmonic generation microscopy (HGM) or optical coherence tomography (OCT).

3. The method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a regulation means, disposed between the laser source and the image processing element, for regulating a pulse width, strength and a path of the laser light, and including a double confocal mirror (DCM), a first lens, an attenuation sheet, a light guide, a reflective mirror, a 2D scanning Galvo system, a second lens, a splitter and a three-axis control platform, wherein the image processing element includes a convex lens, a splitter, two filters, two photomultiplier tubes and a computer.

4. The method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell in accordance with claim 1, wherein the maximum diameter of the at least one skin basal cell on the en face direction is 10 micrometers.

5. The method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell in accordance with claim 4, wherein a length and a width respectively of one whole piece of the image is larger than 10 micrometers and the whole piece of the image includes at least one skin basal cell.

6. The method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell in accordance with claim 1, wherein a horizontal resolution of the non-invasive microscopy device is smaller than 5 micrometers.

7. The method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell in accordance with claim 1, wherein a height of the skin basal cell is 20 micrometers and a Z-axis resolution of the non-invasive microscopy device is smaller than 10 micrometers.

8. The method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell in accordance with claim 1, wherein Z-axis of the non-invasive microscopy device is spaced smaller than 10 micrometers.

9. The method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one skin basal cell is in a plural number and the height of the plurality of the skin basal cells is in a mean value.

10. The method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell in accordance with claim 9, wherein the plurality of the skin basal cells are distributed in a Jiugongge grid.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an upright skin basal cell measured according to the method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell according to the invention.

[0010] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a tilted skin basal cell measured according to the method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell according to the invention.

[0011] FIG. 3(a) is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a non-invasive microscopy device for use in the method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell according to the invention.

[0012] FIG. 3(b) is a block diagram showing a further embodiment of a non-invasive microscopy device for use in the method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell according to the invention.

[0013] FIG. 4 shows image diagrams of one skin basal cell obtained by using harmonic generation microscopy (HGM) according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] According to the method of analyzing a skin basal cell of the invention, FIG. 1, illustrating a schematic diagram of an upright skin basal cell, and FIG. 2, illustrating a schematic diagram of a titled skin basal cell, depict images of a skin basal cell along an en face direction in different depths, in which a first appearing image of a skin basal cell is a 2D image of (1), a just disappearing image of the skin basal cell is a 2D image of (3), and an image of (2) between (1) and (3) will appear an empty hole of the skin basal cell nuclei. As such, the distance between the two 2D images is the so-called a height of the skin basal cell.

[0015] FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) respectively show a structural block diagram of a different embodiment of a non-invasive microscopy device for use in the method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell according to the invention.

[0016] Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. It is proposed in the invention a method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell, comprising the following steps: providing a non-invasive microscopy device 100 for shooting pictures of at least one skin basal cell of skin to be tested 130, including, as shown in FIG. 3, a laser source 110 for emitting laser light with pulsed laser, and an image processing element 120 for processing image signals; converging the laser light to the at least one skin basal cell of the skin to be tested 130 via the image processing element 120 and obtaining 2D images by the image processing element; utilizing the image processing element 120 to stack the 2D images; labelling a first appearing 2D image, as indicated (1) in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, of the at least one skin basal cell 130 as a first layer, also as indicated a layer (b) in FIG. 4; labelling a just disappearing 2D image, as indicated (3) in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 of the at least one skin basal cell as a last layer, also as indicated a layer (f) in FIG. (4); and with reference to the image diagrams of one skin basal cell obtained by using the harmonic generation microscopy (HGM) as shown in FIG. 4, calculating a stacking number of the 2D stacking images between the first layer and the last layer, i.e. four layers between the layer (b) and the layer (f) as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 4, and multiplying the stacking number of the 2D stacking images with a preset distance between two stacking or two adjacent stacking images, in which the distance between the two stacking or adjacent images are the same, in which in one embodiment, the distance is set at 1.8 micrometers, and the height of the at least one skin basal cell for treatment assessing of a skin pigmentation patient to be cured is obtained by 1.8 (micrometer)×4 (stacking number)=7.2 micrometers, wherein the stacking 2D images are of en face 2D images and are taken consecutively along an optical axis of the non-invasive microscopy device in a direction from skin epidermis to skin dermis, and the consecutive 2D images of the at least one skin basal cell are optionally chosen for a height assessment, and wherein an empty hole of one skin basal cell nuclei appears between the first layer and the last layer, as indicated (2) in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

[0017] In the method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell in accordance with the invention, the non-invasive microscopy device 100 is a reflective confocal microscopy microscopy (RCM), two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy (TPEF), harmonic generation microscopy (HGM) or optical coherence tomography (OCT).

[0018] Further, as shown in FIG. 3, another embodiment of a non-invasive microscopy device 200 used in the method for measuring the height of at least one skin basal cell of the invention includes a laser source 210, an image processing element 230 for shooting pictures of one skin basal cell 240, and in addition, a regulation means 220, disposed between the laser source 210 and the image processing element 230, for regulating a pulse width, strength and a path of the laser light, which comprises a double confocal mirror (DCM), a first lens, an attenuation sheet, a light guide, a reflective mirror, a 2D scanning Galvo system, a second lens, a splitter and a three-axis control platform, wherein the image processing element includes a convex lens, a splitter, two filters, two photomultiplier tubes and a computer, whereby, the images shot by such a structure of the non-invasive microscopy device may be double harmonic or triple harmonic microscopy.

[0019] In the method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell in accordance with the invention, in one example, the maximum diameter of the at least one skin basal cell along the en face direction is 10 micrometers, and a length and a width respectively of one whole piece of the image is larger than 10 micrometers and one whole piece of the image includes at least a skin basal cell. In addition, a horizontal resolution of the non-invasive microscopy device is smaller than 5 micrometers.

[0020] Further, a height of the skin basal cell is 20 micrometers and the Z-axis resolution of the non-invasive microscopy device is smaller than 10 micrometers, wherein the Z-axis of the non-invasive microscopy device is spaced smaller than 10 micrometers.

Furthermore, in the method for measuring the height of a skin basal cell in accordance with the invention, the at least one skin basal cell is in a plural number and the height of the plurality of the skin basal cells is in a mean value. In one example, the plurality of the skin basal cells are distributed in a Jiugongge grid.