In Vivo Reflectance Confocal Microscopy: Usefulness for Diagnosing Hair Diseases

The 2008 study "In vivo reflectance confocal microscopy: usefulness for diagnosing hair diseases" explored the use of in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) for diagnosing hair diseases. The study involved eight participants, two healthy individuals and six patients with hair diseases such as alopecia areata, androgenic alopecia, and genetic hair shaft abnormalities. The RCM technique allowed for detailed analysis of hair structure by providing high-quality images of hair shaft intersections. However, it was limited to visualizing only the superficial parts of the hair follicles up to a depth of 200µm. The study concluded that while RCM could be a valuable tool for evaluating hair shaft diseases, further development was needed to apply this technique to abnormalities of the hair follicle and the perifollicular area.