Sponsored by Sylton
The OBSERV520x from Sylton (Ann Arbor, Mich.) offers powerful and diverse skin imaging and analysis capabilities to practitioners looking to bring a new dimension of visualization technology into their practice. Its features allow users to catapult their consult to the next level to provide clinically relevant information to help guide treatment choices. As a tool to capture not just before-and-afters for that ‘wow’ factor, but to educate and inform, it highlights issues and results that transcend what is noticeable to the naked eye.
Gabriel Buendía Bordera, a medical imaging specialist and scientific director of the Instituto de Fotomedicina (Barcelona, Spain), has worked alongside physicians performing clinical trials and testing medical devices for 15 years. “Essentially, OBSERV allows you to isolate the face and capture high quality images using different lighting schemes to highlight surface texture, pigmentation, and/or vascularity, which is extremely valuable in a clinical setting. The goal is to highlight what is happening with the facial skin in a manner that can be easily translated to the patient. The physician will use the visual aid of the photography to inform and educate so that the best possible treatment choices are made.”
OBSERV520x is designed to maximize efficiency and reproducibility by ensuring consistent face positioning, aided by both mechanical means and software, capturing images within ten seconds using an iPad connected to the device via Bluetooth 4.1. “The camera on an iPad is of remarkably high quality itself,” Mr. Buendía Bordera emphasized, “and these can be networked to allow authorized staff access to patient data and images.” The interface is intuitive and easy to use. Software is used to analyze, reposition and show comparisons, including a ghosting overlay and side-by-side partial image comparison with full front as well as left and right 45° and 90° 
angles.”
According to Mr. Buendía Bordera, the solid state LED, 360 light and filter technologies of OBERV520x provide illumination modes of true daylight, true ultraviolet (UV) light, Wood’s light (a long wave UV light that detects fluorescence in skin and also reveals thin and white hair), cross polarization and parallel polarization. “Different skin structures absorb light differently, so by working with light absorbance and fluorescence these will be more visible.”
When using OBSERV520x, the patient rests their chin on a dedicated pad and their hair is secured comfortably with a Velcro strap to help position the face correctly and minimize movement, while software correction is also employed. A lightshade is placed over the patient to isolate the face. “This gives us consistent pictures even between sessions, and the closed environment prevents contamination by outside light sources so that the light is as pure as possible,” Mr. Buendía Bordera explained.
With dimensions of 12.6 x 16.9 x 24.8 and weighing less than 25 pounds, OBSERV520x is easy to transport from room to room if needed.
“Many devices exist which use various means to quantify – to provide measurements and numbers – but perception of beauty is visual and instinctual,” said Walter Arkesteijn, the inventor of the OBSERV skin analysis system. “Our device bridges the gap, allowing physicians to digitally dissect the components that contribute to the appearance and present them to patients in the clinical setting.”
