Automatic Wrinkle Detection Using Hybrid Hessian Filter

Aging as a natural phenomenon affects different parts of the human body under the influence of various biological and environmental factors. The most pronounced changes that occur on the face is the appearance of wrinkles, which are the focus of this research. Accurate wrinkle detection is an important task in face analysis. Some have been proposed in the literature, but the poor localization limits the performance of wrinkle detection. It will lead to false wrinkle detection and consequently affect the processes such as age estimation and clinician score assessment. Therefore, we propose a hybrid Hessian filter (HHF) to cope with the identified problem. HHF is composed of the directional gradient and Hessian matrix. The proposed filter is conceptually simple, however, it significantly increases the true wrinkle localization when compared with the conventional methods. In the experimental setup, three coders have been instructed to annotate the wrinkle of 2D forehead image manually. The inter-reliability among three coders is 93 % of Jaccard similarity index (JSI). In comparison to the state-of-the-art Cula method (CLM) and Frangi filter, HHF yielded the best result with a mean JSI of 75.67 %. We noticed that the proposed method is capable of detecting the medium to coarse wrinkle but not the fine wrinkle. Although there is a gap between human annotation and automated detection, this work demonstrates that HHF is a remarkably strong filter for wrinkle detection. From the experimental results, we believe that our findings are notable in terms of the JSI

Cryolipolysis for noninvasive body contouring: clinical efficacy and patient satisfaction

Nils Krueger,1 Sophia V Mai,2 Stefanie Luebberding,1 Neil S Sadick3 1Rosenpark Research, Darmstadt, Germany; 2Department of Dermatology, Louisiana State University, New Orleans, LA, 3Department of Dermatology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA Abstract: In recent years, a number of modalities have become available for the noninvasive reduction of adipose tissue, including cryolipolysis, radiofrequency, low-level laser, and high-intensity focused ultrasound. Each technology employs a different mechanism of action to cause apoptosis or necrosis of the targeted adipocytes. Among these technologies, cryolipolysis has not only been commercially available for the longest time, but has also been best researched including in vitro and animal models and randomized controlled clinical trials in humans. The principle behind cryolipolysis exploits the premise that adipocytes are more susceptible to cooling than other skin cells. The precise application of cold temperatures triggers apoptosis of the adipocytes, which invokes an inflammatory response and leads to slow digestion by surrounding macrophages. In clinical studies, cryolipolysis was shown to reduce subcutaneous fat at the treatment site by up to 25% after one treatment. Improvements were seen in 86% of treated subjects. At 73%, the patient satisfaction rate is higher than with other technologies used for noninvasive lipolysis. Cryolipolysis has been proven to be a very safe method for body contouring, and is accomplished with only minimal discomfort. Expected side effects are temporary erythema, bruising, and transient numbness that usually resolve within 14 days after treatment. With a prevalence of 0.1%, the most common complaint is late-onset pain, occurring 2 weeks post-procedure, which resolves without intervention. Although no procedure has been accepted as the gold standard for noninvasive body contouring as yet, cryolipolysis is considered to be both safe and efficient with a high patient satisfaction rate. Keywords: cryolipolysis, nonsurgical fat reduction, body contouring, patient satisfaction, patient safet

Formulation of topical acidic products and acidification of the skin – Contribution of glycolic acid

Objective: The acidic skin pH is one of the regulating factors of skin barrier homeostasis. Topical products as extrinsic factors which influence skin pH could be used for acidification of the skin and consequent beneficial effect. To formulate stabile and safe topical emulsion product with low pH is on-going challenge and areas interesting to explore are related to the effect of acidic products on the skin pH together with development of protocols for these studies. Aim of our work was to investigate formulations of acidic topical products with glycolic acid (GA) stabilized with long chain alkyl polyglucoside emulsifier, in regard to the specific colloidal structure of the vehicle, together with effect of products with different concentration of acidic active on skin pH. Methods: Investigated formulations were basic vehicle and two creams with glycolic acid (concentration 2 and 10 wt%). Microstructure was investigated by polarization microscopy, Raman spectral imaging, thermal analysis and rheological measurements. Effects on the skin were assessed by measurement of biophysical skin parameters in vivo studies (5-hour, 24-hour and 7-days). In vitro screening of antimicrobial activity was performed against bacteria Staphylococcus epidermidis. Results: Polarization micrographs and Raman images have shown that GA does not disturb the specific colloidal structure. Together with rheological and thermal analysis obtained results have shown that GA in higher concentrations contributes to vehicles’ lamellar structure. In 5-hour study the mean values of skin pH ranged from 3.98-4.25 and 3.89-4.10 after application of products with smaller and higher GA concentration. GA samples lowered skin surface pH to 5 and less in 24-hour and 7-day study, with stronger effect of sample with more GA. Sample with 10% of GA had significant inhibitory effect on growth of S. epidermidis in 1:1 concentration. Conclusions: Investigated APG emulsifier could be used as a stabilizer for acidic topical products with GA which are characterized by satisfactory safety profile. Topical products induce acidification of the skin after short- and long-term application without barrier impairment or sign of irritation. Acidification of the skin depends on presence of ingredients which are proton donors and their concentrations