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Measuring the Skin pp 1–13Cite as

Photography in Acne: Skin Metrics

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Abstract

Accurate assessment of acne severity is essential for determining the appropriate treatment required. This paper reviews the use of photographic methods for such assessment. Literature included met the following criteria: proposed photographic standards to assess acne, evaluated such standards, or offered photographic methods to improve visualization and assessment. Validity was evaluated by comparing given photographic grading methods to other methods, such as lesion counting. Many photographic standards were shown to be objective, time-efficient, and have intra- and inter-grader consistency. Photography also documents progress for retrospective verification. Drawbacks include not allowing determination of depth, minimization of small lesions and erythema, and difficulty in maintaining consistent settings. Fluorescence and polarized photography improve visualization beyond clinical observation alone. Advances such as computer alignment, imaging segmentation, and three-dimensional analysis methods track lesions and measure objective characteristics. The combined experience summarized here strongly promotes the use of a photographic standard in assessing acne severity. Cook’s method can also be used to train and qualify graders. Photographic advancements improve accuracy of assessment by solving problems with consistent settings and depth visualization. Further advancements can improve image analysis through analysis of objective attributes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UC Irvine School of Medicine, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Audris Chiang

  2. Yale School of Medicine, 800 Howard Ave # 2, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA

    Farhaan Hafeez

  3. Department of Dermatology, University of California, 90 Medical Center Way, Surge 110, 0989, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0989, USA

    Audris Chiang & Howard I. Maibach

Authors
  1. Audris Chiang
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  2. Farhaan Hafeez
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  3. Howard I. Maibach
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Audris Chiang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Medecine Vasculaire Lab. Ingénierie et de Biologie Cutanées, CHU Besancon Service Dermatologie et, Besancon, France

    Philippe Humbert

  2. San Francisco, California, USA

    Howard Maibach

  3. Department of Dermatology, Saint Jacques University Hospital, Besançon, France

    Ferial Fanian

  4. Univ. Besançon Dépt. Dermatologie, Besançon, France

    Pierre Agache

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Chiang, A., Hafeez, F., Maibach, H.I. (2015). Photography in Acne: Skin Metrics. In: Humbert, P., Maibach, H., Fanian, F., Agache, P. (eds) Measuring the Skin. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26594-0_98-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26594-0_98-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-26594-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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