Skin-mimicking phantom for cosmetic absorption evaluation

Simultaneous Evaluation of Ultrasonic Cosmetic Penetration and Heat Generation Using a Thermochromic PDMS Phantom

This technology features a skin-mimicking phantom equipped with a transparent PDMS body, a membrane, and solvent injection/extraction ports to measure cosmetic penetration rates when used with ultrasonic devices. It includes a thermochromic region that changes color based on temperature, allowing for the simultaneous monitoring of ultrasonic heat distribution.

While various technologies exist to promote cosmetic absorption, such as sonophoresis, there is no standardized method for quantitatively evaluating absorption levels. Traditional alternatives like glass Franz diffusion cells are prone to resonance and breakage due to frequency shifts during ultrasonic exposure, and they fail to measure the depth of heat penetration into the phantom.

This technology enables the measurement of drug concentration passing through the membrane while visually identifying heat zones via thermochromic color changes, allowing for the analysis of both absorption efficiency and thermal stimulation in a single test. The PDMS body is durable against ultrasonic vibration and heat, and can be customized to fit probe sizes. It can be applied to verify the efficacy and safety of ultrasonic beauty devices and cosmetic absorption performance, providing repeatable comparative data without the need for animal testing.

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Key Features:

• Placing an ultrasonic device and drug on the membrane of the skin-mimicking phantom and injecting solvent into the internal space through the injection port
• Irradiating ultrasound to penetrate the drug into the internal space, then extracting the solvent-drug mixture to measure drug concentration
• An evaluation method that measures heat generated by ultrasound through the color change of a thermochromic material on the phantom
• A skin-mimicking phantom with a PDMS body consisting of a first part for internal observation and a second part containing thermochromic material that changes color in response to ultrasound or heat

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This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Education’s project for developing data-based digital healthcare medical devices for personalized skincare.

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