A prospectus on the surface metrology of seborrheic keratoses

TL;DR

This study uses optical profilometry to quantify surface textures of seborrheic keratoses, revealing patterns that could aid noninvasive dermatological diagnosis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of 3D surface metrology to differentiate seborrheic keratoses from normal skin based on quantifiable roughness parameters.

Findings

Surface roughness varies with sex, sun exposure, and diagnosis.

Histological diagnosis shows the most significant differences in surface texture.

Quantifiable surface patterns can distinguish keratoses from normal skin.

Abstract

Background: Human skin texture has yet to be quantified for diagnostic purposes. Here, the surface metrology of seborrheic keratoses is investigated with an optical profiler. Materials and Methods: Dermatologic specimens of 7 cadavers were prepared. Specimens were molded with polyvinyl siloxane and casts prepared with resin, which were scanned using a 3D white light optical profiler. Each scan produced 48 variables, categorized into 3 groups for each location: control, lesion center, and lesion edge. Images of the histopathology slides for suspected seborrheic keratoses were reviewed by a dermatopathologist. Results: The parameters under investigation included border versus center of keratoses, age, sex, lesion location, degree of sun exposure, and cause of death. Although some parameters differ between individuals and age groups, the majority of differences identified between the roughness parameters measured are a result of sex, sun exposure, and histological diagnosis, listed in order of increasing importance. Histological diagnosis provided the most significant, definitive number of individual measurements of areas of roughness in seborrheic keratoses in comparison to other parts of the skin (regardless if those were controls or a different pigmented lesion aside from seborrheic keratoses). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that there are quantifiable patterns of surface textures that can be compared between keratotic and standard normal skin surfaces. These findings suggest this method has the potential to be applied as a noninvasive adjunct to current methods of dermatological diagnosis.