SIASCOPY
Introduction
WHAT IS SIASCOPY?
SIAscopy understands the way light interacts with skin; the manner in which it scatters or bounces, the amount absorbed by cells and other structures as well as the differences changes in wavelength or colour make.
By understanding these interactions and comparing readings as light is sent into the skin and emerges back out, SIAscopy is able to determine the nature and position of many of the different cells and structures within skin.
In particular SIAscopy measures the amount of haemoglobin, melanin, collagen and whether melanin is in the epidermis or the dermis. The information is presented in the form of maps called SIAscans, which show how these measurements vary over the skin.
Technology
SIAscopy is a technology that is trusted globally to diagnose conditions as severe as skin cancer, it provides images that show how blood melanin and collagen are distributed beneath the surface of the skin. Siascopy is the only technology that can measure blood, melanin and collagen 'in-vivo' without the need for biopsy.
HOW DOES SIASCOPY WORK?
Due to the multi-layered structure of the skin, and because the most prominent chromophores have slowly varying spectral properties, it is possible to generate models which can predict the method of light transport within skin. This allows us to analyse the skin using broadband spectrophotometric techniques.
The diagram below shows the skin model structure used in SIAscopy. Four different primary wavelengths of light are shone into the skin in turn. An imaging chip is then used to record the light remitted from the skin at each pixel, giving an image representing the amount of light leaving the skin for each of the four wavelengths used. Cross polarisers are used to remove any scattering from the surface of the skin.
These images are fed into the SIAscopy algorithms which compare them to a mathematical model of the skin. The outputs of this algorithm are 4 images depicting the concentration of haemoglobin, melanin, collagen and dermal melanin within the area of skin imaged.
The Siascopy Model and Algorithms
In order to translate the meaning of reflected light into the condition of the skin, SIAscopy refers to a proprietary model of the skin which reflects the structure.
In order to generate this model simulations are run for hundreds of thousands of different combinations of haemoglobin, melanin, collagen and dermal melanin. The result of each simulation represents how the camera would respond if it was to image the corresponding combination of skin chromophores. This information is stored, and then interrogated during each scan in order to generate SIAscans. Each SIAscan is a bitmap representing the concentration of each chromophore on every pixel. There are more than 1.5 million measurements given from each scan.
Contact SIAscopy requires contact with the skin, and measures the skin over a diameter of 11mm. Non-contact SIAscopy acquires wide field images which are analysed to show the concentrations of haemoglobin and melanin within the skin.
Non-contact SIAscopy uses a digital camera to capture cross-polarised images of a scene. A flash gun is used as a light source, providing light over the entire visible spectrum. The camera provides raw information of the imaging chips response to the light, which results in 3 pictures being produced from the camera. Red, green and blue images are produced, each covering a different region of the visible spectrum. These images are then analysed in a similar way to contact SIAscopy, producing non-contact SIAscans which represent the concentration of haemoglobin and melanin within the skin.
Contact SIAscopy uses a specialised camera that touches the skin and gives very high-resolution images. Being in contact, it can also produce SIAscans for all types of cells and structures, giving the maximum amount of information about an area of skin or a lesion.
Non-contact SIAscopy produces SIAscans from a distance, using a digital camera, allowing an area such as an entire back or face to be imaged. Currently non-contact SIAscopy can image haemoglobin and melanin
Contact Information:
Astron Clinica Ltd
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Astron Clinica US LLC
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Astron Clinica Pty Ltd
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