_{IS YOUR SKIN THIRSTY? OPTOACOUSTIC SENSOR MEASURES WATER CONTENT IN LIVING TISSUE}

Researchers from Skoltech and the University of Texas Medical Branch (US) have shown how optoacoustics can be used for monitoring skin water content, a technique which is promising for medical applications such as tissue trauma management and in cosmetology. The paper outlining these results was published in the Journal of Biophotonics.

Too much or too little water in skin tissues can be a sign of various health problems, such as an edema (swelling caused by fluid accumulation) or dehydration, which can also have cosmetic impacts. Right now, electrical, mechanical and spectroscopic methods can be used to monitor water content in tissues, but there is no accurate and noninvasive technique that would also provide a high resolution and significant probing depth required for potential clinical applications.

Sergei Perkov of the Skoltech Center for Photonics and Quantum Materials and his colleagues decided to test whether the optoacoustic method can be used for this purpose. In optoacoustic monitoring, tissue is irradiated with pulsed ...