ABSTRACT
The development of commercially available measurement devices that allow for the quantitative evaluation of skin function and provide continuous data is an important advance in experimental dermatology. The comeometer has gained worldwide acceptance as an efficient instrument to measure the water content variation in the stratum corneum under a great variety of physiological, pathological, and experimental conditions. The physical principle of the conductance method is based on the changes in the electrical properties of the stratum corneum which occur when the skin is hydrated. Human skin impedance decreases for an applied high-frequency current and becomes easily measurable with dry electrodes, although, it has been impossible to measure accurately resistance and capacitance to high frequencies. The Dermal Phase Meter allows impedance-based capacitance readings by integrating measurements at different frequencies of the applied alternating current.
