Efficacy Assessment of a Pulsed-Type Bipolar Radiofrequency Microneedling Device for Treating Facial Acne Vulgaris Using a Skin-Color Imaging System: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Facial acne vulgaris with post-inflammatory erythema is one of the most common problems encountered in dermatologic clinics. It can leave hypertrophic scars and cause psychological problems. Thus, effective therapeutic interventions are needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a pulsed-type bipolar radiofrequency (RF) device for treating acne and post-inflammatory erythema. Eighteen patients who had been diagnosed with acne underwent three sessions of bipolar RF treatment at 4 week intervals. Efficacy was assessed based on the number of acne lesions and the total area of lesions. Acne lesion count and area were determined by color correction using the Viola–Jones algorithm after converting the photos into a CIELAB image and extracting the area higher than the erythema threshold from the A* channel. Most patients showed significant clinical improvement after the treatments. Acne lesion counts of the forehead, left malar, right malar, and total areas of the left malar and right malar were decreased significantly after sessions (all p < 0.05). Adverse effects such as pinpoint bleeding and pain were noted. However, they were transient and not severe enough to stop treatment. Thus, such pulsed-type bipolar radiofrequency microneedling is a safe and effective treatment for acne and post-inflammatory erythema.

Keywords

• acne vulgaris
• bipolar
• microneedle
• post-inflammatory erythema
• radiofrequency