Optical coherence tomography examination of hair

Human hair is a keratinous tissue composed mostly of flexible keratin, which can form a complex architecture consisting of distinct compartments or units (e. g. hair bulb, inner root sheath, shaft). Variations in hair shaft morphology can reflect ethnical diversity, but may also indicate internal diseases, nutritional deficiency, or hair and scalp disorders. Hair shaft abnormalities in cross section and diameter, as well as ultramorphological characterization and follicle shapes, might be visualized non-invasively by high-speed 2D and 3D optical coherence tomography (OCT). In this study, swept source OCT (ThorLabs) was used to examine human hair. Preliminary results showed that the high-speed OCT was a suitable and promising tool for non-invasive analysis of hair conditions.