CLIAMS:1. A kit for assessing the attributes of skin through the measurement of sound from the skin non-invasively, comprising of:
a. a probe;
b. a microphone equipped with an on/off switch for capturing sound (A & B);
c. an electronic circuit for amplification and filtering (C, D & E);
d. an analogue to digital converter for capturing, storing and analyzing data (F);
e. output connectors for connecting the said device with other devices such as computer or hand-held electronic devices (G);
f. a force transducer for limiting the approach of the said kit on the skin surface (H); and
g. a speed sensor for measuring the speed of movement of the said kit on the skin surface (I).

2. The kit of claim 1, wherein the kit operates at a frequency range of 1,000 Hz to 15,000 Hz.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the kit operates at a frequency range of 1500 Hz to 10000 Hz.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the kit operates at a frequency range of 2500 Hz to 9500 Hz.

5. The device of the preceding claims, wherein the said frequency range leads to elimination of noises during data analysis.

6. A non-invasive process/ protocol for measuring sound from the skin, comprising the steps of:
a. marking a distance of 6 inch on the skin surface;
b. touching one end of the marked region with the probe and pressing the probe on the skin;
c. switching on the microphone using the switch;
d. gliding/ sliding the probe from end to end of the marked surface at a fixed speed;
e. switching off the microphone once it reaches the other end of the marked region;
f. collecting the sound signal by the microphone when the probe slides on the skin and transfers the signal after conditioning to the storage device for further processing; and
g. processing the data using a suitable software and converting it into consumer understandable output.

7. The process of the preceding claims, wherein the process comprises correlating sound amplitude with one or more skin attributes such as skin dryness level, skin moisture content or skin pH.

8. The process of claim 1, wherein the process is used to distinguish the skin types (normal vs dry).

9. A non-invasive process/ protocol for measuring sound from the skin and evaluating product efficacy, comprising the steps of:
a. marking a distance of 6 inch on the skin surface;
b. touching one end of the marked region with the probe and pressing the probe on the skin;
c. switching on the microphone using the switch;
d. gliding/ sliding the probe from end to end of the marked surface at a fixed speed;
e. switching off the microphone once it reaches the other end of the marked region;
f. collecting the sound signal by the microphone when the probe slides on the skin and transfers the signal after conditioning to the storage device for further processing; and
g. processing the data using a suitable software and converting it into consumer understandable output for assessing skin condition depending on the sound amplitude generated in the preceding steps;
h. assessing the efficacy of the topically applied product based on step (g). ,TagSPECI:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a non-invasive diagnostic kit for assessing skin health conditions.

The invention concerns a method and system for characterizing tactile/skin roughness perception on skin using acoustic emission. The present invention relates to a method and system for measuring skin health conditions associated with skin dryness related pathological conditions. The present invention also relates to a method of facilitating cosmetic product selection based on the skin type.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Determination of skin conditions is very important and is highly desired. A skin analysis tool helps both the professional and the individual in determining skin types and the potential factors which are affecting their skin. In addition to this, the tool also helps the consumer in selecting the right products (cosmetics or personal care) for improving or maintaining their skin conditions. There are several factors not limited to ageing, physical conditions, hormonal fluctuations, environmental stress, biochemical irregularities, harsh surfactants, radiation, and many other biochemical changes that contribute to the skin health condition.

There are several methods or tools reported in the art for detecting skin conditions such as Corneometer, Cutometer, Dermaviduals, Elasticity probe, Glossymeter, Hydration probe, pH probe, Reviscometer and TEWL probe. The major disadvantages of using these instruments are (i) these are sophisticated and require expertise for operating them; (ii) all the instruments use high end electronics that impart high cost; (iii) consumer cannot use them directly; (iv) data interpretation requires prior knowledge.

From the European laid-open document EP-A-1 166 717, a device is known which is used in measuring skin parameters of living beings on a skin surface to be examined, wherein the elastic properties of a surface structure is measured with a probe arranged in a housing, a transmitter and at least one receiver.

US 8,591,413 disclosed a method and a device to generate echogram data which is analyzed to determine potential skin conditions.
Various methods have been reported in the prior art for determining skin conditions using acoustic emission.

US 20050106103 disclosed an acoustic emissions system and method for objective assessment of skin condition before, during, and after application and/or wash-off of products onto or from skin.

US 20080200777 disclosed an acoustic system for evaluating skin texture using system comprising an acoustic isolation box.

The major limitations of these acoustic methods/ devices disclosed in the art are associated with one or more of the technical problems such as indirect measurement of the skin sound, by rubbing skin on skin or with a sound generator and capturing the emitted sound, use of an enclosure for eliminating the environmental sound and cannot be used for measuring the skin conditions for other parts of the body such as forehead, chin etc., use of motorized control mechanism that can interfere with sound measurement method, not user friendly, possibility of errors during the process of measurement.

Other major drawbacks associated with existing systems of the prior art are requirement of expertise for handling and interpreting data, use of high end electronics that impart cost, can only be used for fore-arm and not for all parts of body, and cannot be used by the consumer directly.

This indicates that there is an unmet need for designing a simple user friendly device for measuring skin health conditions.

The present invention discloses a diagnostic kit for measuring skin health condition. The kit is designed in manner that it is user friendly, very easy to operate and provides desired output in consumer understandable language within seconds (< min). The present invention also eliminates noises during data analysis thus reducing the time required for the activity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a non-invasive diagnostic kit for assessing skin health conditions.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a very simple user-friendly method for measuring the skin health condition.

Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a method that correlates one or more skin conditions such as skin dryness level, skin pH etc.

Still another objective of the present invention is to provide the consumer a device for determining their skin condition using safe acoustic approach.

Still yet another objective of the present invention is to provide the consumer a method for knowing their skin type and selecting the right product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description, given by way of example, of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a block diagram for the diagnostic kit with details of different components of the kit;
Fig. 2 is a graph representing the working frequency range of the present invention;
Fig. 3 is a graph showing the evaluation of skin conditions of different panelists having different skin conditions using the kit disclosed in the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a graph showing the evaluation of skin conditions of different panelist’s pre- and post- application of the product using the kit disclosed in the present invention;
Fig. 5 is a graph showing the correlation of Skin moisture level (Corneometer reading) and sound amplitude of the present invention;
Fig. 6 is a graph showing the correlation of Skin pH and sound amplitude of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention discloses a diagnostic kit for non-invasively assessing skin type and attributes. The present invention also discloses a non-invasive method for measuring the skin health condition. The present method comprises use of sound amplitude produced while gliding an object on the surface of the skin to assess the skin type. The present invention facilitates prediction of skin attributes such as skin moisture, skin pH, and other pathological conditions associated with skin dryness. The present invention enables evaluation of the efficacy of cosmetic products based on the skin attributes. The instrument of the present invention possesses the ability to distinguish between skin types (normal vs dry). The instrument disclosed in the present invention uses sound frequency ranging from 1000 Hz to 15000 Hz which eliminates the noises obtained during data analysis. This further relates to a system with robustness of data with less time being involved in data analysis.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the skin type can be determined by the sound amplitude.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the protocol to measure the sound amplitude from the skin comprises:
(a) marking a distance of 6 inch on the skin surface;
(b) touching one end of the marked region with the probe and pressing the probe on the skin;
(c) switching on the microphone using the switch;
(d) gliding/ sliding the probe from end to end of the marked surface at a fixed speed;
(e) switching off the microphone once it reaches the other end of the marked region;
(f) collecting the sound signal by the microphone when the probe slides on the skin and transfers the signal after conditioning to the storage device for further processing; and
(g) processing the data using a suitable software and converting it into consumer understandable output.

According to another embodiment, the present invention also describes a sound scale/meter which can be used for
• Determining the skin conditions
• Demonstrating the product efficacy
• New product development and prototype screening

Table 1 provides the interpretation of the sound amplitude data in consumer understandable language.
Table 1

Figure 1 represents the block diagram for the diagnostic kit and the details of the different components of the kit. The present invention discloses a diagnostic kit/ means for measuring the skin health condition. The said kit comprises:
(i) a microphone equipped with an on/off switch for capturing the sound (A & B);
(ii) an electronic circuit for amplification and filtering (C, D & E);
(iii) an analogue or digital converter for capturing, storing and analyzing the data (F); and
(iv) an output connector for connecting the kit to other devices such as computer, hand held electronic devices such as mobile, tablets etc. (G);
(i) a force transducer for limiting the approach of the kit on the skin surface (H); and
(vi) a speed sensor for measuring the speed of movement of the kit on the skin surface (I).

Figure 2 represents the working frequency range of the said device of the present invention. The present invention operates in the frequency range of 1000 Hz to 15000 Hz, more specifically 1500 Hz to 10000 Hz and most specifically 2500 Hz to 9500 Hz for characterizing skin health conditions.

Figure 3 represents the evaluation of skin conditions of different panelists/ volunteers using the kit disclosed in the present invention.
Fig. 4 represents the evaluation of skin condition of different panelists pre- and post-application of the product using the kit of the present invention. As an exemplary case, fifty volunteers having different skin types ranging from normal to dry and in the age group ranging from 20 to 40 years were considered for the study. The hands of the sample volunteers were normalized by washing with 2 % SLES solution, followed by washing under flowing water and finally pat drying using a tissue. The volunteers were acclimatized by being made to sit in a room for 20 mins at constant temperature (25°C) and humidity. The relative humidity of the room was maintained between 45 to 50%. Then the skin moisture levels were measured. An area (2X2cm2) was marked on the volar forearms of the volunteer. The skin moisture level (i.e. skin hydration) was measured using a corneometer probe (Corneometer® CM 825 - Courage - Khazaka Electronic) taking an average of at least three readings. The sound of the skin was measured using the kit disclosed in the present invention in the marked area using the said protocol. 0.2 gm of moisturising cream (market products, P1, P2) was applied on the marked areas (twenty times clockwise and anti-clockwise circular motion using finger) and the volunteers were asked to wait for 15-20 minutes for equilibration for allowing maximum absorption of the products in the skin. The hydration levels post-application were again measured using the Corneometer and the sound from the skin was measured using the kit of the present invention.

The sound amplitude (dB) at 5000 Hz or the point at which the difference was maximum, was calculated from the frequency vs amplitude plots and the dB values were plotted against the respective Corneometer readings (before & after) as shown in Fig. 4. The measured dB values correlate well (>80%) with the values from the corneometer. This correlation substantiates the efficacy of the said method and device disclosed in the present invention for measuring the moisture level in skin non-invasively.

Protocol for measuring skin moisture level using Corneometer:
The moisture content of the skin was determined using a Corneometer by the following steps. The Corneometer® CM 820 measures the skin capacitance at low frequency (40-75 KHz).
1. An area of 2x2cm was marked on the volar forearm.
2. The capacity of the skin surface was measured by applying the probe (surface area 0.95 cm2) on the marked area with a constant pressure of 3.5 N on the skin for about 1.5 - 3 s.
3. The measured data was analyzed for person to person variation. The analyzed data was co-related with the sound amplitude data obtained from the current invention.
The correlation between the skin moisture level (Corneometer reading) and the sound amplitude of the present invention is shown in Fig. 5.

Protocol for measuring skin pH using methyl red as indicator:
The skin pH was determined using the following steps.
1. The skin sample was collected from human volar forearm using adhesive tapes (22 cm area)
2. The sample was kept in the micro centrifuge tubes with water (975 to 950 µL) and vortexed for about 20 seconds for extraction of water soluble components
3. 25 - 50 µL of methyl red dye solution was added to the above solution and mixed well
4. The change in the color of the solution was observed visually as well as spectrophotometrically (UV-Vis)
5. The pH of the skin was calculated from a standard curve constructed using known pH buffer solutions
6. The pH data was co-related with the sound amplitude data obtained from the current invention.

The correlation between the skin pH and sound amplitude of the present invention is shown in Fig. 6. As is observed from the figure, the sound amplitude measured with the kit of the present invention correlates well with the Corneometer data which is a well-accepted method for the skin moisture measurement in the art. This study is supportive of the claim of offering an efficient kit for the prediction of moisture levels in the skin.

Accordingly, while this invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to this description. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments as fall within the true scope of the invention.