Clinical photographs are useful for diagnostic, surveillance, teaching, compliance and patient satisfaction. Photographs taken using the appropriate equipment and light can often illustrate more information than what is visible to the unaided eye during skin examination.

For skin conditions where no epidermal changes are present, cross-polarised light is appropriate to use. Vellous hair and Langer’s Lines will disappear, and any colour changes will be evident. Colour changes that may be appreciated more accurately from cross-polarised light are caused by a wide variety of conditions including:Pigmented lesions, vitiligo, port-wine stains, hemangiomas, ecchymosis, post-inflammatory hyper/hypo-pigmentation, albinism, dermal melanocytosis, other vascular conditions and erythema.

Parallel polarisation on the other hand, enhances visualisation of epidermal processes and surface textures and color. Polarised light allows clear vision of pigment networks, often guiding therapists in management and improved diagnostic accuracy. Both fully cross-polarised and parallel polarised photographs can be captured with ScanX device and then viewed side by side to fully appreciate the skin changes.