JP2008023065A - Assessment apparatus of horny layer cell - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an assessment apparatus of horny layer cells which can assess the horny layer cells a plurality of times by simply fixing and easily moving a support collecting the horny layer cells. <P>SOLUTION: The assessment apparatus of the horny cells which use an enlarged video system has a support section having the horny cells collected from a skin, a sliding mechanism section to hold and easily slide the support section, and a body section holding the sliding mechanism in a specimen fixing section as an interface with the enlarged video system. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an evaluation apparatus for horny layer cells on the skin surface. More specifically, the present invention relates to a stratum corneum cell evaluation apparatus characterized in that in distinguishing stained or unstained stratum corneum cells, a support from which the stratum corneum cells are collected can be easily fixed and easily moved.

  In using cosmetics, an important matter is to select appropriate cosmetics. A necessary condition for selecting such an appropriate cosmetic is to correctly distinguish the state or characteristics of the skin. For this purpose, as a technique for correctly distinguishing the state or characteristics of the skin, the stratum corneum cells are collected by stripping from an area such as the cheek of the face, and a stain such as gentian violet is used. The stratum corneum cells are stained (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2), the shape of the stratum corneum cells is clarified, and the area, volume, thickness, regularity of the stratum corneum cells, or peeling of the stratum corneum cells The technique which measures a condition and discriminate | determines skin conditions, such as a barrier function, skin quality, and skin property, using the value as an index value is already established (refer patent document 3, patent document 4, patent document 5). In other words, the smaller the area and volume, or the poorer the regularity of the arrangement, the horny layer cells have come to the outermost part before they mature sufficiently, the skin barrier function is low, the skin is sensitive, and the skin condition is Differentiate from bad. The basis of such differentiation is the shape of the stratum corneum cells, and therefore, the dyeing process with the above-mentioned staining agent was indispensable. However, this process has major problems such as required time, work space and environmental problems. It was.

  In order to overcome these problems, as a non-staining evaluation technique, an observation apparatus (see Patent Document 6 and Patent Document 7) using a video microscope, which has been used for observation of skin surface morphology, etc. is disclosed. Yes. In addition, an attempt has been made to develop a technique for reducing the work burden associated with human evaluation and improving accuracy and speed by using an image processing technique. For example, a method for determining the amount of stratum corneum detachment based on the amount of transmitted light (see Patent Document 8), and performing image processing on a transmitted image to analyze both the amount of stratum corneum detachment and the uniformity of stratum corneum detachment A method (see Patent Document 9), a method of analyzing the stratum corneum cell area and the degree of detachment by a learning image measuring device using an autocorrelation mask pattern (see Patent Document 10), and a stratum corneum cell area using multivariate analysis In addition, an automatic evaluation method for peeling degree (see Patent Document 11), an evaluation device for horny layer cells using a neural network (see Patent Document 12), and the like are also disclosed.

  Under such circumstances, when evaluating stratum corneum cells, the actual skin condition and stratum corneum cell evaluation can be performed with high accuracy because the areas where the actual skin condition changes and the areas where it does not change are mixed in a mosaic pattern. In order to make it coincide, it is a very important requirement to measure about 50 to 100 stratum corneum cells (see Patent Document 13). For this reason, it is an extremely important element that the support from which the stratum corneum cells are collected is simply fixed and moved and observed multiple times. However, in reality, the support from which the stratum corneum cells are collected is simply placed on a pedestal or fixed with an adhesive tape, etc., and such technology has not yet been obtained. I can say that.

JP 2000-125854 A JP 2003-202336 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-142224 JP 2000-116623 A JP 2001-013138 A JP 09-024025 A JP 2005-345191 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-055707 JP 09-131323 A JP 09-308619 A JP 2006-095233 A JP-A-2005-250596 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-142224 Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-361194

  The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and a horny layer cell can be evaluated multiple times by simply fixing and easily moving the support from which the horny layer cell is collected. It is an object of the present invention to provide a layer cell evaluation apparatus.

  In view of such a situation, the present inventors have sought to provide an evaluation device for horny layer cells that can more easily and easily evaluate horny layer cells a plurality of times. Is a stratum corneum cell evaluation apparatus using an enlarged video system, and in a specimen fixing part, which is an interface with the enlarged video system, a support part having stratum corneum cells collected from the skin, and the A stratum corneum cell evaluation apparatus, which has a slide mechanism part for holding and easily sliding a support body part, and a main body part for holding the slide mechanism part, is an apparatus that satisfies the above conditions. I found out and came to complete the invention. That is, the present invention is as follows.

(1) An apparatus for evaluating stratum corneum cells on the skin surface, comprising an information processing unit, a display unit, an enlarged video camera unit, and a sample fixing unit capable of moving in a plane without changing the focal point of the sample, the sample fixing unit Has a structure to be connected to the enlarged video camera unit, and has a support part having stratum corneum cells collected from the skin, and a slide mechanism part for holding and easily sliding the support part. An apparatus for evaluating stratum corneum cells.
(2) The stratum corneum cell evaluation apparatus according to (1), wherein the slide mechanism section has a groove structure for inserting the support.
(3) The stratum corneum cell evaluation apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein the slide mechanism unit includes a support holder that holds the support. (4) The support holding The device for evaluating stratum corneum according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the vessel is a plunger or a spring ball plunger.
(5) The stratum corneum cell evaluation apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein two or more of the plungers or spring ball plungers are arranged.

  In this way, it is possible to easily and rapidly and accurately evaluate the horny layer cells a plurality of times by simply fixing and easily moving the support part having the horny layer cells. In other words, when such a mechanism is not provided, for example, when the support from which the stratum corneum cells are collected is simply placed on a pedestal or fixed with an adhesive tape, the actual skin condition changes and changes. In order to match the actual skin quality and the evaluation of the stratum corneum with high accuracy, it is necessary to measure about 50 to 100 stratum corneum cells. It is essential to move the support having the stratum corneum cells several times and adjust the focus of the stratum corneum cells each time. However, according to the present invention, such an operation becomes unnecessary, and the stratum corneum cell area, the stratum corneum peeling, or the regularity of the stratum corneum cells, which is the object of the present invention, can be easily, rapidly and accurately performed. Is possible.

  By using the corneal cell evaluation apparatus of the present invention using an enlarged video system that is versatile for various skin observations, the support from which the horny layer cells are collected can be easily fixed and easily moved. It is possible to easily evaluate the stratum corneum cells a plurality of times, at high speed and with high accuracy. As a result, skin evaluation, counseling, selection of cosmetics, and the like at sales sites and the like become easier.

  The evaluation device for horny layer cells of the present invention is an evaluation device for horny layer cells on the skin surface for the purpose of easy, high-speed and high-precision evaluation of a plurality of times of horny layer cells, comprising an information processing unit, A display unit, an enlarged video camera unit, and a specimen fixing unit that can be moved in a plane without changing the focal point in the specimen. The specimen fixing unit has a structure to be connected to the enlarged video camera unit, The present invention relates to an evaluation apparatus for evaluating stratum corneum cells, which is provided with a mechanism for easily fixing a collected support and moving it easily. The enlarged video camera system includes a video camera unit that captures enlarged image information, an information processing unit that includes a personal computer that performs arithmetic processing on the enlarged image information captured by the video camera unit, a CRT that displays the information processing result, and the like. Specifically, the enlarged video system disclosed in Patent Literature 8 and Patent Literature 9 can be used.

  The evaluation items of the stratum corneum performed using the evaluation apparatus of the present invention are, for example, the degree of peeling of the stratum corneum, the arrangement regularity of the stratum corneum, or the stratum corneum cell area. The degree of exfoliation of the stratum corneum is whether the exfoliation of the stratum corneum cells is frequently observed, whether the layers are overlapping, or are separated one by one, The regularity of stratum corneum cells means that the size of stratum corneum cells is uniform and there is little variation, and the hexagonal structure in which the shape of each cell is not collapsed is firmly maintained, and the stratum corneum cells are aligned. The degree of regularity is defined as the degree to which the regularity is satisfied, and the stratum corneum cell area is an individual stratum corneum cell area, an average or a variance thereof. In order to know important skin characteristics such as the barrier function of the stratum corneum, skin properties and skin quality, it is extremely important to evaluate these evaluation items.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be exemplarily described in detail below based on examples with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to those unless otherwise specified. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an evaluation apparatus used for observation of stratum corneum cells according to one embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus of FIG. 1 includes a specimen fixing section (10) having a function of easily fixing a support from which horny layer cells are collected and capable of moving in a plane without changing the focal point of the horny layer cell specimen, and the specimen fixing section. The enlarged video camera unit (20) connected to the information processing unit, the information processing unit / personal computer (30) for computing the enlarged image information from the enlarged video camera unit, and the enlarged image and the calculation processing result of the image are displayed. Display unit CRT (40).

  FIG. 2 shows an elevational view and a plan view of the specimen fixing portion (10), and FIG. 4 shows a perspective view thereof, which will be described in further detail. The lens dome (21) holding the lens of the magnifying video camera unit (20) is mounted on a main body part A (11), a main body part B (12) and a slide mechanism part (13) comprising three parts. The main body A is provided with an O-ring (15) and a tightening bolt (14) to further secure the lens dome. In other words, since the lens dome and the main body A are both made of resin, they can be tightened with bolts via a rubber O-ring, and the focus adjustment and lens replacement operations can be performed. Also becomes easier. When the lens is mounted, the lens dome is inserted to a position where it comes into contact with the main body B. This is because the lens mounting position (tip of the lens dome) can always be positioned at a predetermined point. Moreover, it has the function which can position the support body part (17) mentioned later to the predetermined | prescribed point (distance from a lens dome front-end | tip).

  In FIG. 2, the slide mechanism part (13) is provided with a groove structure for inserting a support part (17) having stratum corneum cells collected from the skin. With such a groove structure, when the stratum corneum cells collected from the skin attached to the support body are observed, it is easily moved and observed a plurality of times to obtain evaluation data.

  FIG. 3 shows components of the specimen fixing unit. The slide mechanism part (13) of the specimen fixing part preferably has a support holder (19) that holds the support (17). The support holder is a mechanism having a function capable of holding a support having collected stratum corneum cells with a constant force and finely moving the position of the support. The force required for the support holder for holding the support section is preferably about 1.3N to 6.4N. Examples of such a function capable of exerting such a force include a leaf spring, a disc spring, a coil spring, a spring, a plunger, or a spring ball plunger, and the material is particularly limited to stainless steel, iron, copper, aluminum, and the like. It can be used without.

  The plunger (18) or the spring ball plunger (18) has a shape as shown in FIG. 2, and various shapes and types of plungers are commercially available as industrial machine parts (for example, Nabeya Co., Ltd., Takai Corporation). However, a spring ball plunger of a type in which a ball (spherical protrusion) is built in the tip of a cylindrical spring portion is particularly preferable. The material of the spring ball plunger is stainless steel, brass, plastic, or the like for both the ball part and the spring part. There is no particular limitation, and it is determined by the relative size to the support. Further, the attachment position is preferably a symmetrical position, for example, as shown in FIG. 3 so as to sandwich the collected horny layer cells. Two or more slide mechanism parts are attached to the support part having the horny layer cells. It is desirable to be in contact with the resin part of. In other words, the spring ball plunger has a function of keeping the distance between the support body and the tip of the lens dome constant and horizontal by pressing the support body against the main body B through the pressure of the spring through the tip of the ball. In the evaluation item of the stratum corneum, in order to observe the field of view of a large number of stratum corneum cells, the position of the support is slightly moved 3 to 10 times. With appropriate compression, the position of the support can be easily finely adjusted, and a very advantageous effect is achieved in that the focus is hardly shifted by the horizontal maintenance function.

  Thus, by using the corneal cell evaluation apparatus of the present invention using an enlarged video system that is versatile for various skin observations, the support from which the horny layer cells are collected can be easily fixed and easily moved. Thus, it is possible to easily evaluate the horny layer cells a plurality of times, at high speed and with high accuracy.

  The test examples evaluated using the evaluation apparatus for horny layer cells of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described below in further detail, but the present invention is limited only to these examples and test examples. It goes without saying that it is not done.

<Test Example 1>
When the stratum corneum cell evaluation apparatus having the slide mechanism of the present invention is used for the two items of stratum corneum detachment and stratum corneum arrangement regularity, which are objects of the present invention (Invention 1) Furthermore, when using an evaluation device for stratum corneum cells having a slide mechanism portion provided with a spring ball plunger (invention 2), and when simply moving a support from which stratum corneum cells are collected on a pedestal (conventional) Method) was compared as required time. In other words, from the cheeks of female subjects aged 18 to 65 years old, the stratum corneum cells on the support collected by the tape stripping method are stained with gentian violet, and 53 stratum corneum cell samples are collected. Was peeled off at a magnification of 50 to 200 with respect to the display, and the field of view was changed four times to obtain four necessary enlarged images for evaluation. Similarly, the arrangement regularity of the stratum corneum was 500 to 1000 times, and the field of view was changed 10 times to obtain 10 enlarged images. The average required time (second) per horny layer cell specimen at this time was determined. The magnified video camera part used a cosmetic microscope manufactured by Moritex Co., Ltd., and the specimen fixing part used was manufactured based on the design of FIG. In the case of non-stained stratum corneum cells, the RGB value for each pixel of the image image is converted, and pseudo color display (see Patent Document 14) is performed by each converted RGB value, thereby staining the stratum corneum. The average required time was obtained in the same manner as the cell specimen.

  Table 1 shows the results of the average required time. From Table 1, the time required for 1 / 2-1 / 3 or less is shown in the case of the present invention 1 or 2 in comparison with the conventional method regardless of the staining / non-staining of the stratum corneum and the evaluation items. It can be seen that the device of the invention is very easy and fast. This also has the effect that it is not necessary to change the setting of the entire observation apparatus every time the visual field is changed.

<Test Example 2>
In Test Example 1, in place of the average required time, the presence rate (defective rate:%) of inappropriate images for evaluation is calculated as an index of accuracy for the enlarged images (4 or 10) obtained for each evaluation item. did. In addition, regarding the degree of peeling of the stratum corneum cells, an appropriate image example (see FIG. 5) and inappropriate image example (see FIG. 6) for evaluation were shown.

  The results are shown in Table 2. Table 2 shows that in the case of the present invention 1 or 2, the defect rate is 1/3 or less, and the apparatus of the present invention has a very good accuracy. Further, as compared with FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, blurring partially occurs. Due to the presence of such a defective image, re-measurement is required at the time of visual evaluation by a person, and automatic evaluation is expected to have a great influence such as a decrease in accuracy due to re-measurement or evaluation error. It can be seen that has the effect of each stage. In the case of taking an average of a large number of fields of view, there is an advantage that fields of view including the same part can be excluded, and the accuracy of evaluation is improved.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily evaluate the horny layer cells a plurality of times at high speed and with high accuracy. As a result, it is possible to provide information useful for skin evaluation, counseling, and selection of cosmetics in places directly in contact with customers, such as department stores and stores.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the evaluation apparatus used for observation of the horny layer cell of one Example concerning this invention. It is the elevation view and top view which show the sample fixing | fixed part which concerns on one Example concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows the component of the sample fixing | fixed part which concerns on one Example concerning this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the sample fixing | fixed part which concerns on one Example concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows the enlarged video image of the stratum corneum cell sample which concerns on a test example (drawing substitute photograph). It is a figure which shows the enlarged video image of the stratum corneum cell sample which concerns on a comparative example (drawing substitute photograph).

Explanation of symbols

10 Specimen Fixing Section 20 Enlarged Video Camera Section 30 Information Processing Section (Personal Computer)
40 Display (CRT)
11 Body A
12 Body B
13 Slide mechanism 14 Clamping bolt 15 O-ring 17 Support 18 Plunger (spring ball plunger)
19 Support holder 21 Lens dome

Claims (5)

An apparatus for evaluating stratum corneum cells on the skin surface, comprising an information processing unit, a display unit, an enlarged video camera unit, and a sample fixing unit that can be moved in a plane without changing the focal point of the sample. It has a structure to be connected to a video camera unit, and has a support part having stratum corneum cells collected from the skin, and a slide mechanism part for holding and easily sliding the support part. An evaluation device for stratum corneum cells. 2. The stratum corneum cell evaluation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the slide mechanism portion has a groove structure for inserting the support. The stratum corneum cell evaluation apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the slide mechanism unit includes a support holder for holding the support. The said support body holder | retainer is a plunger or a spring ball plunger, The evaluation apparatus of the stratum corneum cell of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. 5. The stratum corneum cell evaluation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein two or more plungers or spring ball plungers are arranged.