Emerging Technologies in Dermatology
Rox Anderson, MD
In this presentation, Dr Anderson reviewed some of the emerging technologies in the field of dermatology. Topics discussed included:
- Microscopy
- Epidermal blister transfer blasting
- Restoring elastic recoil
- “Targeting” sebaceous glands
“Optical tools are used quite often in diagnostics in the field of dermatology and the ability to get true microscopic cross-sectional imaging is coming our way.” For example, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), an exciting clinical advancement, will soon be hands of dermatologists providing practitioners with the ability to conduct true microscopic tomography of the skin.
How can one practically conduct epidermal blister grafting? Dr Anderson’s group has been researching a process for replacing radiation-damaged skin with non-damaged epidermis of the same patient. This process has shown to be both cost-effective and timely, in that, significant improvement was seen in six months. This process could potentially be applied to conditions such as vitiligo, radiation injury, field cancerization, wounds, ulcers and other dermatologic disorders.
“One of the problems with aging is that we lose our elastic recoil.” This year, there has been some interesting information on the role of fractional lasers and the loss of elastic dysfunction. Can you artificially restore the elastic of the skin? These processes are in the pipeline and may one day be available.
Whatever benefit we get from sebaceous glands is outweighed by acne. What would happen if we move sebaceous glands? In the 1990s, research thought that most likely, there would be no acne and the process would be analogous to laser hair removal. Could lasers used at a certain wavelength selectively kill sebaceous glands? The answer is yes, if you have access to a laser at 1720 nm. The histological results are good and perhaps in the future scientists will develop a laser that will be capable of treating acne.
