Dielectrical properties of living epidermis and dermis in the frequency range from 1 kHz to 1 MHz

Abstract

We determine the in-vivo dielectric properties—resistivity and relative permittivity—of living epidermis and dermis of human skin soaked with a physiological saline solution for one minute between 1 kHz and 1 MHz. This is done by fitting approximate analytical solutions of a mechanistic model for the transport of charges in these layers to a training set comprising impedance measurements at two depth settings on stripped skin on the volar forearm of 24 young subjects. Here, the depth settings are obtained by varying the voltage at a second inject on the electrical-impedance-spectroscopy probe. The model and the dielectric properties are validated with a test set for a third depth setting with overall good agreement. In addition, the means and standard deviations of the thicknesses of living epidermis and dermis are estimated from a literature review as 61±7 μm and 1.0±0.2 mm respectively. Furthermore, extensions to resolve the skin layers in more detail are suggested.

Keywords

• dermis
• epidermis
• electrical impedance spectroscopy
• in-vivo
• relative permittivity
• resistivity
• skin thickness