Measurement of Young's Modulus of Stratum Corneum in Finger by Optical Coherence Tomography

Abstract

　It is important to evaluate the mechanical properties of the fingertip skin, which is one of the factors affecting the tactile sensation. In this paper, in order to quantify the mechanical properties of the stratum corneum of the fingertip, a fingertip measurement system using optical coherence tomography (OCT) was developed and the Young's modulus of the stratum corneum of the fingertip was measured using the fingertip measurement system. First, a fingertip measurement system using OCT was constructed. Then, it was devised the method to detect the stratum corneum of the fingertip from the tomographic image of contact area between the fingertip and the acrylic plate. As a result, the proposed method successfully detected the stratum corneum from tomographic images. Next, the fingertip was pressed against the acrylic plate with various pressing forces, and the thickness of the stratum corneum at the fingertip is measured. From the measurement results, the Young's modulus of the stratum corneum of the fingertip could be calculated. Finally, the measurement was performed by changing the position of the fingertip pressed against the acrylic plate, and the Young's modulus of the stratum corneum of the fingertip was calculated under each condition. It was confirmed that the Young's modulus of the stratum corneum differs depending on the position of the fingertip.