Maximum-intensity-projection imaging for dynamic analysis of mental sweating by optical coherence tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) shows great potential for microscopic observation of human sweating dynamics. It should be a key technology in the development of new techniques for the study of dynamic physiology. In this study, the dynamic motion of eccrin sweat glands is visualized by three-dimensional (3-D) OCT imaging, and a novel 3-D image construction method, using maximum intensity projection (MIP) of B-mode OCT images, is proposed for in vivo dynamic analysis of mental sweating on human fingertips. Time-sequential MIP-OCT images with a frame spacing of 1.4s provide quantitative analysis of the sweating dynamics, which in turn leads to the evaluation of the activity of the sympathetic nerve. Dynamic changes in the microstructure of eccrin sweat glands can be clearly observed in the 3-D images constructed by volume rendering. (C) 2008 The Japan Society of Applied Physics.